YGAP

About ygap

ygap is an International Development not-for-profit with an innovative approach to poverty alleviation.
We back impact entrepreneurs – or as we like to call them ‘local leaders’ – with solutions to local problems in some of the world’s toughest communities. Rather than imposing our perceived solutions on a foreign community, we support the local leaders who live there and have developed their own.

The ygap Story

A few years ago, some young travellers looked at the world around them, and the levels of poverty that many people lived in, and believed that things could be different. Rather than merely sitting around talking about the problems of the world, they took action. They saved up some money, packed their bags and took flights to Africa to help build a better world.

They started by building schools, for kids that were not all that much younger than them. They sweated, and bled and gave all they could. As they worked, they made friends with the local people who worked alongside them, sweating, bleeding and giving as well, and learned something that changed them forever; that these local people were more passionate and more committed to changing their own communities than the young travellers ever could be.

They realised that their job was not to be the heroes, but instead to work alongside the true local heroes. So they travelled back to their homes and began to build social enterprises and movements of people who also believed that the world could be better. The small group of young people grew to hundreds of people, and then thousands and they began to search for more local heroes to help them end poverty in the villages and townships of the world. To create jobs. To help kids through school. To improve people’s health and safety. To build better homes.

As they backed more local heroes, hundreds living in poverty had their lives changed.

Then thousands.
Then tens of thousands.
Then hundreds of thousands.
And then the young dreamers realised how far beyond them it had come.
It became a movement.
A movement of people around the world doing what they could.
Working together, for a better world.
Day by day.
Dollar by dollar.
Bit by bit.

Our Alignment with the UN SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define global sustainable development priorities and aspirations for 2030 and seek to mobilize global efforts around a common set of goals and targets.

The SDGs call for worldwide action among governments, business and civil society to end poverty and create a life of dignity and opportunity for all, within the boundaries of the planet.

Unlike their predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs explicitly call on all businesses to apply their creativity and innovation to solve sustainable development challenges.

We are committed to supporting the SDGs by finding local leaders around the world with solutions to local problems facing poverty, health, education, equality, food security, sustainability, safety and so on. Our role is to help refine, support and scale their solutions to ensure we contribute maximum social impact.