Long before crowdfunding had a name, Kenyans were doing it on village paths and church lawns. Harambee brings that spirit online so no one has to carry a burden alone.
“Let us all pull together.” A call to join hands, give what you can and share in the result.
Harambee is a Swahili word for pulling together. It became a way of life across Kenya: when a family faced a funeral, a school needed a classroom or a village needed a well, neighbours came together and each gave what they could.
At independence in 1963, Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, made Harambee a call to build the new nation through shared effort. The word now sits on Kenya’s coat of arms.
In the decades that followed, communities across the country raised money and labour to build schools, health clinics and water projects themselves. These gatherings were known as harambees, and many are still held today.
Many hands make the load light. That is the whole idea.
The principle behind every campaign on HarambeeA traditional harambee is powerful, but it has limits. It depends on who can be in the room. It can take weeks to organise. Money is collected in envelopes, and relatives abroad often cannot take part at all.
Then mobile money changed everything. When M-Pesa arrived, sending KES 100 to someone across the country became as easy as sending a message. The tools to pull together at any distance finally existed.
Harambee was founded to put the tradition and the technology together: one place where anyone can start a campaign, tell their story, and let their whole community give, near or far.
Harambee is chosen as the national call to build the country together.
Villages raise funds and labour for schools, clinics and wells through local harambees.
M-Pesa makes small, instant payments possible for millions of Kenyans.
A small group of Kenyans sets out to bring the harambee online, with trust and transparency built in.
A pilot with families, schools and community groups proves that people give when they can see where it goes.
Harambee launches to the public so any Kenyan can start or support a campaign.
KES 50 matters as much as KES 5,000. A big goal is just many small gifts added together.
We review campaigns and verify organisers, and large payouts go to the people providing the service, such as hospitals and schools.
Asking for help should never feel like begging. Campaigns tell real stories in the person’s own words.
We keep supporter fees at zero so more of every shilling reaches the cause.