A Journey of Collective Impact and Human-Centred Philanthropy
Jermaine Craig, founder of Kwanda shared with CIC the incredible journey of the organisation to build a radically transparent community of philanthropists funding innovative projects across Africa.
Jermaine Craig, Founder of Kwanda
When you listen to Jermaine Craig talk about Kwanda, it’s clear that his vision for this philanthropic initiative comes from a deeply personal place. Kwanda isn’t just about donations—it’s about community, resilience, and the power of collective action. At the core of this movement is the belief that anyone can contribute to meaningful change, no matter their financial resources. For Jermaine, Kwanda provides people access to philanthropy and ensures that, together, they can make a lasting impact on communities in need.
“IF YOU HAVE ONE PERSON, YOU MIGHT NEED £1 MILLION TO DO SOMETHING. BUT IF YOU HAVE 100,000 PEOPLE, SUDDENLY YOU ONLY NEED £10 FROM EACH PERSON TO ACHIEVE THE SAME THING.”
Kwanda was founded at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic disrupted the world. But Jermaine’s journey began much earlier. “I started Kwanda because of my own interest in philanthropy and not having the network or money to actually do anything about that interest for a very long time,” Jermaine explains. For years, he thought about ways he could make a difference if he had the resources, but then he shifted his focus from what he lacked to what he could create.
“Access has always been important to me,” Jermaine says. “Once I’ve gained access to something, I think about how I can make that thing accessible to others.” This principle inspired the idea for Kwanda—a platform that emphasises collective rather than individual philanthropy. “If you have one person, you might need £1 million to do something. But if you have 100,000 people, suddenly you only need £10 from each person to achieve the same thing,” Jermaine explains.
Jermaine grew up in a close-knit community where mutual support was the norm. "I grew up in what I would call the party house. My parents always threw block parties, and everyone could come in," he recalls. That sense of belonging shaped his understanding of how powerful a community can be when it works together. Later, when he moved to Nigeria, Jermaine saw the ingenuity of people finding creative solutions to daily challenges. “I saw genius things being built on the roadside—solutions that responded to the frictions of daily life,” he says. “If I had the money, I would have hired that person or invested in their idea.”
These experiences inspired Jermaine to create Kwanda—a platform where people with a shared passion for giving could pool resources and ideas to solve problems and create lasting change.
One of Kwanda’s standout features is its commitment to transparency. Jermaine and his team ensure that all financial transactions are visible to the public. “All our financial transactions are available on a public ledger, so people can see where every pound is going,” Jermaine explains. This live digital bank statement allows members to track spending in real time, providing full financial transparency. In addition, Kwanda involves its members in decision-making processes. "Our members vote on which projects to fund," Jermaine says. "For example, if we’re looking to build a classroom in Tanzania, we put the proposal to our members, and they vote yes or no." By allowing the community to shape which initiatives move forward, Kwanda empowers its members to drive the impact they want to see.
One of Kwanda's most inspiring projects is its reusable menstrual kit initiative, a community-driven effort to address period poverty in Africa. "This project was interesting because it wasn’t something I would have discovered or funded on my own," Jermaine admits. "It was the community—our members—who kept bringing up the issue of period poverty. At first, I thought, 'This is just about giving out pads.' But then I began to see the bigger picture."
The initiative aimed to provide reusable menstrual kits to girls across Africa, allowing them to continue their education without being interrupted by the lack of access to menstrual products. "For every £5 we spend we can reclaim over 400 hours of education for women over 2-3 years" Jermaine explains.
The project didn’t just provide essential supplies—it created a sustainable ecosystem. Local sewists were hired to produce the kits, generating income and providing valuable skills. Jermaine beams with pride as he shares the latest development: "Some of the girls who received kits a few years back have now trained as sewists themselves. They’ll be producing the next batch of kits for younger girls. There’s this circular nature to it—it’s not just the impact itself but people buying into the idea of this as a solution."
For Jermaine, this project epitomises what Kwanda is about: sustainable, community-led change. "We’re not just giving things away. We’re building something that can last, something that the community can take ownership of and expand."
While Kwanda’s growth has been impressive, it hasn’t come without challenges. One of the biggest hurdles, Jermaine says, is that there’s no playbook for what Kwanda is trying to achieve. "We’re doing full transparency—people have access to me as the CEO, they can ask me hard questions, and we have to be okay with not having all the answers," he explains. While this openness can feel daunting, it also builds trust with Kwanda’s community. “Because we’re transparent, there’s a lot of room for mistakes. We can say, 'Hey, we failed in this particular project,' and people still trust us.”
Funding has also been a challenge. Since Kwanda acts as a grant-maker itself, many traditional funders are hesitant to support them. "We have these big ambitions, but we have to grow along with our membership, which means we’re bootstrapped," Jermaine says. This gradual growth can be frustrating, but Jermaine sees the upside: "It’s a long-term play. We’re building something resilient for the future, something that will last for decades, not just a few years."
Another challenge is that Kwanda’s work often focuses on long-term solutions that aren’t as attention-grabbing. "We’re big on sustainability," Jermaine says. "We don’t want to do things that just feel good in the moment but don’t last. Making a case for investing in long-term solutions is harder. It’s like saying, 'Here’s this small problem that will have a big impact over time,' versus a big crisis that needs solving right now."
Being able to articulate these messages is one of the reasons that Jermaine originally applied for an Impact Award from CIC after seeing it on social media. “I saw it on a feed—it might have been LinkedIn. It was quite early on when we relaunched, and I thought, 'Hey, let’s do something.'” Initially, Jermaine wasn’t sure if applying was the best use of his time. "I didn’t want to spend time applying for a grant when I could focus on building up our income. But this wasn’t just cash—it was about capacity and branding support, which we really needed."
Kwanda was matched with Dan Baines, a Brand Strategist working with global brands, and volunteer from CIC. Dan helped Jermaine refine Kwanda’s messaging and communications strategy. Jermaine describes the experience as transformative. “Dan was really cool. What was most interesting was that he knew of Kwanda, and had friends who were already aware of us too, so I felt lucky. I think we got a bit of extra juice out of the fact that he was closer to the brand than others might have been," he says.
Dan’s structured, visual approach to the project resonated with Jermaine. “I liked the way he structured things—getting a visual representation of how things would look. It worked for me more than just a lot of conversation,” he recalls. What Dan provided went beyond simple marketing materials—it gave Kwanda a sense of direction and clarity. "He pointed out the different themes, and once they were plotted out, I thought, 'That’s everything. Nothing’s missing.' It gave us confidence moving forward."
The impact of the partnership with CIC was profound. “It wasn’t just a brand piece or a marketing asset—it was more like a business strategy,” Jermaine explains. The new communications strategy helped clear mental blocks and allowed Jermaine to think more holistically about the future. “It’s helped us shape how we think about building a team, our visuals, and how we communicate. It can help us fundraise, build our team, and even think about new business models.”
Jermaine feels confident about Kwanda’s future. They are working toward reaching a sustainable financial model, with a goal of generating £10,000 a month in contributions. Once they hit that target, they’ll be able to invest more in outreach and creative marketing. "Once we get to that point, we can start saying, 'Let’s put money into a creative marketing budget,' and that’s when we’ll really see the brand shining through," Jermaine says.
Looking ahead, Jermaine is excited about what’s to come for Kwanda. “We’re building something for the long haul. We want Kwanda to be around 20 or 30 years from now, making a lasting impact in communities across Africa and beyond.”
Kwanda brings diasporans together to fund sustainable development across Africa. Villagers make a monthly pledge of at least £5 that contributes to funding projects and grants them voting rights.
Website: www.kwanda.co