Putting Stars on the Map

In 2017 we hired a Jaza Star named Bimkubwa Seif Nasso to work at a Hub in Pemba. As a single mom with limited opportunity, here’s what Bimkubwa says about here job prospects prior to joining Jaza:

“There are not many job opportunities available to rural women like me, especially with my educational level. I am a secondary school leaver and the options I have to make a living are limited to extremely small businesses that make very little money or marriage, ’ said Bimkubwa.

She had no plans to do either of those things.

Bimkubwa worked her way up the ranks, and now manages 7 Hubs and 14 Jaza Stars as a Hub Manager. Last month we launched a Hub in Tumbe, Pemba, that fell under her management and she didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. Bimkubwa moved to the village, and spent 15 days camping on site with her Jaza Stars to make sure the Hub reached its full potential.

Bimkubwa’s Hub at Tumbe is one of our top performing site and currently powers over 1800 people across 280 households. Because our Jaza Stars and Hub Managers are compensated through a revenue share model, Bimkubwa has grown her income by over 60% this year and has bought a piece of land that she is currently building a house on.

This story illustrates the magic of what we’re building at Jaza.

Our Jaza Stars have become our why at Jaza and our internal mission is to put stars on the map — our work will be done when our communities can be seen from space. As Jaza Stars power their communities swap by swap, house by house we have already begin to feel the shift.