Rural and Economic Development

Many impoverished communities around the world are ripe with natural resources, but lack the knowledge or opportunity necessary to form a market and delivery system to distribute and gain profit from their goods.

Working at both the grassroots and global trading levels, World Hope International helps to lay the groundwork for business in developing countries.

For example, Adelphe and the Village Partnerships program promote entrepreneurship at the community level, which aims to create sustainable food and income security, while FIRST STEP connects businesses investing in Sierra Leone with international trading opportunities. Finally, WHI’s Mobile Power and Integrated Energy Center program encourage entrepreneurship.

In Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea, 94 percent of the population does not have access to electricity due to poor infrastructure and unaffordability. Without clean, affordable and reliable electricity, education, health, and communications are negatively impacted.

To rectify this dire situation, WHI teamed up with Mobile Power Ltd. to provide clean, affordable energy to off-grid communities in Sierra Leone to help improve livelihoods, reduce carbon emissions and improve health. WHI is leveraging its network of village partnerships to deploy 25 Mobile Power Village Systems, reaching 2,000 households. Local entrepreneurs will be able to charge for the use of this energy thus ensuring employment and sustainable energy generation and distribution. Mobile Power will be rolled out in Papua New Guinea in the near future.