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Small Scale Seed Funding
FOOTPRINT TO FREEDOM INVESTING IN SURVIVOR LEADERSHIP
Across Africa, many survivor-led grassroots organizations carry powerful ideas and initiatives, yet most are shut out of traditional funding. The heavy requirements and documentation mean that survivor leaders, especially in Africa, rarely get the chance to access resources to bring their visions to life.
Through the African Survivor Coalition (ASC), we saw this gap and decided to act. With the support of Fred Foundation and éLiberare, we launched the Small-Scale Grants Program: a simple, accessible seed-funding initiative that gives ASC members €1,000 grants to kickstart their ideas.
But this is more than funding. Each grantee also receives mentorship and guidance to grow their initiatives, projects that not only empower them as leaders but also impact the lives of other survivors in their local communities.
We are proud to announce the first winners of this program
This is only the beginning. With your support, we can expand this initiative and ensure more survivors have the tools, resources, and opportunities to lead change.
Partner with us. Invest in survivor leadership
MEET OUR INCREDIBLE SMALL-SCALE GRANT WINNERS AND THEIR INITIATIVES
Name: Violet Mwaniga
Survivor Network
Country: Kenya
Project Title: Beauty Salon – Turning Experience into Empowerment
A survivor of labour trafficking, Violet is using her experience to launch a beauty salon that will provide income, confidence, and skills training to vulnerable youth, including adolescent girls, young mothers, and trafficking returnees. Her initiative tackles unemployment and prevents exploitation by offering mentorship and dignified livelihoods through beauty services.
Name: Awah Francisca Mbuli
Survivor Network
Country: Cameroon
Project Title: Upgrading Survivors’ Network to Full NGO Status
As a survivor of human trafficking and founder of the Survivors’ Network, Awah is addressing a key barrier faced by grassroots survivor-led groups: limited recognition and access to resources due to legal status. With this grant, she will transition her association into a fully registered NGO unlocking funding opportunities, gaining government support, and strengthening her mission to fight trafficking and support survivors across Cameroon.
Name: Rose Erica Johnson
Hope for Future
Country: The Gambia
Project Title: Expanding a Survivor-Led Catering Business
A survivor-advocate, Rose is transforming her catering parlor into a thriving, socially impactful enterprise. With this grant, she will scale her business to create employment for fellow survivors and fund educational support for vulnerable children through her foundation tackling both economic vulnerability and prevention.
Name: Yenenesh Tilahun
KASMA Charitable Foundation
Country: Ethiopia
Project Title: Relocating the Kasma Coffee Enterprise
Founded by trafficking survivors, Kasma Charitable is relocating its survivor-run coffee shop to Merkato Africa’s largest open market. This move will increase sales, create jobs for survivors, and fund reintegration services like counseling and training. The project tackles economic instability and raises public awareness through a powerful survivor-led model.
Name: Chylian Ify Azuh
Female Returned Migrants Network
Country: Nigeria
Project Title: Survivor Empowerment Skills Centre (SESC) – EMPOWER-NEST Collective
A survivor of trafficking to Libya, Chylian founded FREMNET NG to support female returnees with healing, skills, and dignity. With this grant, she will establish a permanent skills center to train survivors in fashion and household product making, creating economic independence and a safe, empowering space for healing. The project addresses lack of stable support for female returnees and promotes survivor-led reintegration.
Name: Agano Rumbo Bernadette
Country: DR Congo
Project Title: Jiko La Uhuru – Healing in Harmony
Bernadette, a survivor and human rights activist from eastern DRC, is launching an art-based healing initiative to support survivors of trafficking and war-related trauma. Through expressive workshops like painting, writing, and drawing, this project provides psychosocial support and empowers participants to become peer leaders.
Name: Aziamadje Ayi Hervé
Cercle des Sages
Country: Togo
Project Title: Projet Agricole Solidaire à Faible Coût
In Togo, survivors of trafficking and people in vulnerable communities often face food insecurity and lack viable income opportunities. Hervé, a survivor and grassroots advocate, is addressing this by launching a sustainable micro-agriculture and livestock project. With this grant, he will grow vegetables, raise poultry and goats, and create an affordable, income-generating model to empower survivors and foster economic resilience.
Name: Agnes Afrakomah
Freedom Mission International
Country: Ghana
Project Title: FMI African Fashion Designer
Survivors of trafficking in Ghana, especially women and single mothers, often lack access to safe livelihoods or support to heal and rebuild. Agnes, a survivor and founder of Freedom Mission International, is addressing this through a fashion design training center that combines healing, skills development, and entrepreneurship. With this grant, she will equip a survivor-led workshop to produce and sell African fashion accessories fostering dignity, income, and leadership.
Name: Abigail Smith
Nicole May
Country: South Africa
Project Title: Nicole May – Ethical Fashion by Survivors
In South Africa, many survivors of trafficking lack long-term economic opportunities after escape. Abigail, a survivor and co-founder of Nicole May, is addressing this by launching a fashion brand that creates sustainable employment and showcases survivor-made clothing. With this grant, she will invest in industrial equipment and e-commerce tools to grow the brand and support others through skill-building and ethical fashion
Name: BA Abdoul Aziz
Mouvement Citoyen pour la Paix et la Concorde
Country: Senegal
Project Title: Programme de soutien pour le développement personnel des survivants
In Senegal, many trafficking survivors especially children from vulnerable backgrounds like talibé boys struggle with trauma, low self-esteem, and lack of reintegration support. Aziz, a survivor himself, is addressing this through a series of personal development workshops focused on self-confidence, healing, and future empowerment. With this grant, he will train 10 survivors in Louga through participatory sessions, peer mentorship, and community-based recovery.
Name: Frehewort Abiy
Thrive Ethiopia
Country: Ethiopia
Project Title: Survivor-Led Advocacy and Reintegration Support
Ethiopia faces high rates of trafficking, especially among women and displaced youth, due to conflict, poverty, and weak protections. With this grant, Thrive will launch a survivor-led initiative offering safe shelter, trauma counseling, vocational skills training in eco-friendly businesses, and community-based prevention in trafficking hotspots. The project will empower survivors to rebuild their lives, lead local advocacy, and create lasting change across vulnerable communities.
Name: Godfrey Mpandikizi
Tanzania Anti-Trafficking Legal Initiative
Country: Tanzania
Project Title: Building a Survivor-Centered Movement
In Tanzania, trafficked children and individuals especially in sectors like mining face lifelong injustice, with limited access to legal support. Godfrey, a survivor of labor trafficking, founded TATLI to fight this. With this grant, he aims to expand a survivor-led movement providing free legal aid, advocacy, legal empowerment, and protection services for vulnerable women and children across Tanzania.