CYCLE OF GIVING

The shop, which was created from two shipping containers filled with nearly 1,000 used bikes that AKP paid to collect and ship, has been operating in Nakatindi Village since 2015. Since then more than 6,500 bicycles have been saved from landfill, then renovated and sold by the women who manage and run the shop. All have full bike mechanic training, skills that are valuable in the region.

“I can fix any bike,” says Esther Kawewe, one of seven female staff at the Chipego Bike Shop in Nakatindi, Zambia. “I really like working on the gears because that’s the first thing I learned to do when I started here.”

In many communities around the world, access to transport is key to autonomy and opportunity. At AKP, we also believe that meaningful philanthropy is about collaborative projects designed by and for the people they are meant to benefit.

Our bike shop program, which is now operating in Egypt, Jordan, Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda, combines the two via a co-created model that has wide community benefits and ongoing potential. Each project operates from an initial donation, funded by AKP, of a container of bicycles collected by A&K employees around the world, including in the U.S., UK and Australia. In addition, we are extremely indebted to our long-term partners at Working Bikes in Chicago.

A number of jobs are created for local women who are taught mechanical and business skills that are relevant for their area as part of the initial capital.

After a training period of around a month, small teams create and run a business selling refurbished bikes at affordable prices, setting aside a percentage of earnings for salary, spare parts and business licenses, as well as a portion to pay for their resupply shipments. This model creates immediate employment for shop workers to support their families and achieve financial independence as well as wider mobility opportunities for the community, such as students who want to attend a school that is beyond walking distance or health care professionals who want to serve a wider population.

Every woman-owned bike shop is established as an independent social enterprise and each one is successfully re-supplied through business revenue. Says Esther about the project:

“Fixing bikes has made us more confident and changed our lives.”

Building on the success of the first bike shop, a second bike shop was opened in Nkuringo in March 2024, on the Kisoro side of the forest. This new shop launched with two containers of bikes and six new workers trained by the successful women from Buhoma. It now employs 12 women and has sold 3,250 of the 3,900 bikes delivered.