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our Projects​


The Organization

The ella fund is thrilled to be an investor in Water Equity's latest impact investment fund, Water Credit Investment Fund 3 (WCIF3). WaterEquity Inc is a social impact investment fund manager created by the team from water.org on the heels of 20+ years of successfully improving access to water and sanitation for the world’s poor via microcredit facilities. A logical next step following water.org’s grant and loan-based facilities, WaterEquity funds identify and invest in enterprises such as microfinance institutions, product manufacturers, and water utilities that are ready to serve water supply and sanitation needs in developing countries. 

The Opportunity

The burden of sourcing safe water lies predominantly on girls and women, and water scarcity and contamination disproportionately impact low-income women and girls. For many girls who must walk long distances to access clean water, school is unrealistic. By reducing the health burden of contaminated water to families, investment in clean water and sanitation can contribute to health, education and economic empowerment. 

The Project

The ella fund's investment in Water Credit Investment Fund 3 (WCIF3) will help provide affordable debt capital to enterprises that expand access to household water supply and sanitation in India, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. The fund is projected to help provide safe water and sanitation solutions to 4.6 million people over seven years, and 90+% of borrowers of microfinance water loans are women. The goals of WCIF3 are closely aligned with the ella fund’s mission in that microfinance for water supply and sanitation has been shown to improve health and result in enhanced education and economic opportunities for those most impacted by poor water supply, girls and women. 
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The Organization

Women in Data Sciences Zurich (WiDS) is a two-day technical conference featuring engineering and business leaders from companies at the forefront of data science. Its goal is to inspire and educate data scientists worldwide, regardless of gender, and support the women in the field. 

The Opportunity

The aim of the WiDS conference is to showcase a wide range of career paths and roles people can explore, that have machine learning and data science infused in them, including scientific endeavours both in academia and in industry, being a startup founder, doing artwork at the intersection of AI and art, business and product leadership. 

The Project

The ella fund is a proud sponsor of the 2019 and 2020 conferences, with our contribution earmarked for travel grants for women in need of financial assistance. ​
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The Organization

The ella fund is proud to support EspeRare, a nonprofit foundation based in Geneva. Founded by three female social entrepreneurs with a collective 40-plus years of experience in pharmaceutical development, the foundation leverages an innovative inclusive non-profit business model to advance the development of therapeutic solutions for rare diseases.

The Opportunity

Vast strides have been made in cancer therapy over recent decades, but rare childhood cancers have not benefited to the same extent as their frequently-occurring counterparts. In its quest to uncover the potential of existing therapies to address severe unmet therapeutic needs in rare diseases, EspeRare has identified a JNK-inhibitor, EspoiR-005 (ER-005), as a promising first-in-class candidate for the treatment of rare pediatric cancers. The JNK (c-Jun-N-Terminal Kinase) pathway has been implicated in multiple diseases, from inflammatory conditions to various cancers, and the potential of JNK-inhibitors as therapeutics has therefore generated significant interest. EspeRare obtained the rights to ER-005 following initial development in fibrotic and inflammatory conditions, and EspeRare has access to the compound’s sizable existing preclinical and clinical safety and efficacy database.

The Project

The ella fund’s investment will support a series of proof-of-concept screening studies for ER-005 in rare cancers. For this program, EspeRare has chosen to collaborate with the Centre Léon Bérard in Lyon, France, a cancer referral and treatment center and research institute specialized in rare tumors that comprises a pediatric hemato-oncology unit. Should this initial research phase produce promising results, EspeRare intends to rapidly progress the development program into clinical trials.
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The Organization

The ella fund is excited to support CCBRT, Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania, a health care organization which works to prevent disability, provide affordable medical and rehabilitative services, and aid empowerment of people with disabilities and their families. CCBRT’s vision is a Tanzania where people have access to quality disability services as well as safe maternal and newborn healthcare.

The Opportunity

Each year in Tanzania, 11,000 women die due to complications of pregnancy/childbirth, 66,000 babies do not survive their first month of life, and as many as 3,000 Tanzanian women develop obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury consisting of a hole between the birth canal and bladder or rectum caused by prolonged, obstructed labor. Fistula, which is preventable, afflicts the most vulnerable women and girls, those living in extreme poverty and far from medical services. Tragically, there is a strong association between fistula and stillbirth, approximately 90% of women who develop obstetric fistula end up delivering a stillborn baby. Left untreated, obstetric fistula causes chronic incontinence and can lead to other physical ailments, including frequent infections, kidney disease, painful sores and infertility. The physical injuries can also lead to social isolation and psychological harm: women and girls with fistula are often unable to work, and many are abandoned by their husbands and families, and ostracized by their communities, driving them further into poverty. Their isolation means they often go unnoticed and little action is taken to address or prevent their condition. Women and girls suffer needlessly, often for years, with no hope in sight. 
Sources: CCBRT, UNFPA

The Project

The ella fund is proud to support CCBRT by co-funding a three-year program of Swiss Philanthropy Foundation's thematic fund "Health." The project is designed to enhance Tanzanian women's access to fistula treatment, with the support of WISE Philanthropy Advisors. The program aims to train over 600 community health workers (“fistula ambassadors”) to enhance disease awareness and referrals and will sponsor reconstructive fistula surgery for over 2,000 afflicted women. After the surgery, the women will stay at the hospital for at least six weeks to receive training in hygiene, nutrition, family planning and reintegration back into the community. Some women will have the opportunity to stay for a yearlong course in screen-printing, sewing, beading, and crochet and will then be prepared to start their own business. As such, the program touches on all three key aspects of the ella fund’s mission: education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.
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The Organization

Pocket Hero is a fashion brand for kids with insulin pumps. Behind Pocket Hero is Simona Koncytė, a designer, social entrepreneur and mother of two. Simona was inspired to design clothing specifically adapted for carrying insulin pumps when a close friend’s child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Confronted firsthand with the challenges of protecting and concealing the pump while maintaining full functionality without having to undress, Simona invented ingenious pockets and incorporated them into a stylish range of clothing. Thanks to her clothes, kids can run, jump, climb, dance – “do what kids do” – while keeping their insulin pumps safe and sound.  
 
The Opportunity

Type 1 diabetes affects millions of people around the world, including more than half a million children. Therapeutic advances in recent years have greatly improved the daily management of the disease, in particular the advent of wearable electronic insulin pumps. Insulin pumps are especially well suited for kids, for whom multiple daily insulin injections are not practical or appropriate, but they are expensive and must be managed with care. Currently, kids who use insulin pumps carry them primarily in external belts, meaning they are visible, vulnerable to being dropped or hit, and the catheter needs to be inserted from the external pump through or around the child’s clothing to reach the injection site. These constraints add to the challenges and stigma already faced by T1D kids. What if a specifically-designed system were available, one that protects and conceals the insulin pump and is directly integrated into stylish and durable clothing? Improving the freedom, self-confidence and quality of life of T1D kids and their parents is Pocket Hero’s mission.

The Project

We met Pocket Hero’s founder Simona Koncytė thanks to our collaboration with Reach for Change, the global champion of social entrepreneurship. Simona entered her project in the 2019 Reach for Change Challenge in Lithuania and was selected as one of the two finalists. She was awarded funding and mentoring by the ella fund and entered the Reach for Change social business incubator. Our backing has given her the boost she needed to transform her idea into reality, culminating in the launch of her e-shop on World Diabetes Day in November 2020. Her dream is to scale her brand globally, helping improve the daily lives of pocket heroes and their parents around the world. 
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The Organization

Socialinė Iniciatyva is a social business that brings mobile youth work services to places that do not have them, because kids and young people in rural areas deserve the opportunity to live to their potential. Behind Socialinė Iniciatyva is entrepreneur Viktorija Gaspariūnaitė, an experienced youth worker and leader who started her business to respond to an unmet need. Viktorija works to unite the public, private and volunteer sectors around the comon goal of achieving positive social changes among youth and has developed a sustainable business model with multi-pronged funding streams.
 
The Opportunity

Youth work helps young people to reach their full potential. It encourages personal development, autonomy, initiative and participation in society, and its value and importance are recognized by the European Council and other similar institutions across the world. The availability of youth work services varies across settings, with rural areas and small towns tending to be underserved due to lack of infrastructure and personnel. Youth work encompasses a broad range of activities (eg social, cultural, educational, sports-related and political) carried out with, by and for young people through non-formal and informal learning.

The Project

​We met Socialinė Iniciatyva and its founder Viktorija Gaspariūnaitė thanks to our collaboration with Reach for Change, the global champion of social entrepreneurship. Viktorija entered her project in the 2020 Reach for Change Challenge in Lithuania and was selected as one of the two finalists. She was awarded funding and mentoring by the ella fund and entered the Reach for Change social business incubator. Our backing has enabled her to accelerate roll-out and scaling of her services to new towns and regions. Her dream is to scale her services wherever they are needed across Lithuania and offer her innovative approach even more broadly, because youth work matters everywhere. 
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  • Our Mission
    • Our Purpose >
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Entrepreneurship
    • Our Values
    • The Facts
  • Our Story
    • Our Name
    • Our Team
    • Governance
  • Our Projects
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Projects
    • Our Partners
  • Contact Us