BOMA’s Rural Entrepreneur Access Program (REAP) has empowered thousands of people to escape extreme poverty. It started by empowering pastoral women in Northern Kenya, resulting in successful businesses created, increased education for girls and better meals. REAP proved so sustainable and cost-effective that BOMA invested in studying and scaling this approach to combat rising levels of extreme poverty in Africa’s drylands.

"Climate, gender and poverty seem like different things, but when you go to the ground you’re confronted with the fact that this is the same issue. So we have to build and design something to address the scale of not just one challenge, but many challenges." — BOMA CEO Sam Owilly.

We are delighted to announce that BOMA was a part of a panel discussion at Skoll World Forum, where we engaged in a dialogue with Spring Impact, Co-Impact, and IKEA Foundation exploring impact at scale. Spring Impact compiled the essential insights, and we are excited to share them with you — click the link below to read now.

Since 2009, BOMA has helped more than 583,230 people break free from the intergenerational cycle of extreme poverty. In 2022 alone, we enrolled a monumental 38,090 new participants in BOMA’s poverty graduation program. This marks the highest number of new participants enrolled by BOMA in a single year, and an increase of 77% over our new participants enrolment numbers in 2021.

International Women's Day is an opportunity to reflect on the global state of gender equality — and resolve to improve it. At BOMA, we believe that empowering women and other vulnerable groups like youth and refugees is central to building a brighter future. Unfortunately, women across the globe remain oppressed by patriarchal norms and trapped in the vicious cycle of extreme poverty. To date, we have empowered more than 583,230 women, youth, and refugees break free from the bonds of extreme poverty. This is thanks in large part to the women leaders who drive BOMA’s work.

Real Leaders magazine's Impact Awards rank 300 Impact Companies solving existential problems through innovative and sustainable market-based solutions. Proximate leadership strengthens BOMA at every level, and we are proud to see our local staff and entrepreneurs recognized!

BOMA and IKEA Foundation have teamed up to hone and expand BOMA's innovative approach to alleviating poverty in the areas most impacted by climate change. This $10.1 million in funding from IKEA Foundation marks the largest grant in BOMA’s history.