Kwanda is closing down

Posted by Jermaine

Posted 13 February 2023

Writing this letter is difficult and emotional, and it's hard to know where to start. So I'll start from the beginning ...

Kwanda opened its doors three years ago and was created with the belief that if we come together, all the problems we face are solvable. It was designed to encourage charitable giving and to make it fun, transparent and accessible. We made a strong case for that over the years, and although we didn't quite deploy as much capital as we planned, we deployed a lot and touched many lives for the better.

Despite this, as CEO, I've struggled to build an operationally sound and sustainable organisation out of Kwanda Due to the sheer difficulty of building something new, operational inexperience and a loss of personal motivation and energy. This journey has been all-consuming, and so this month, I made the difficult decision to close the doors on Kwanda. This decision was made more challenging because I know how loved and supported Kwanda is by so many people. So many of our members poured their hearts, time and money into the vision we laid out with Kwanda.

We've all shared in this community and its impact around the world, and I know it'll be tough to see this end. I've floated the idea of handing over the leadership but have not been able to come to a handover solution that will ensure the values and integrity of the platform as it is today.

I want to thank everyone who believed in this mission and came together to build this platform. As a result, we touched over 7000 lives, and the brand will be remembered and cherished long beyond this moment. This wasn't a failure. This was a success, and I'm proud to have succeeded alongside my fellow villagers.

What happens next ...

Per our governing document, we will stop all contributions and distribute the capital to a handful of impact partners and organisations still pushing onward. This will, of course, be subject to a vote.

We're also looking into open-sourcing some of our technology so that other organisations can utilise what we've built.

I personally need to rest and take some time to reflect. However, I'm still committed to being helpful and contributing, so I'll be back to building things in no time and contributing to humanity in the small ways I can, and I encourage you all to keep doing the same.

If you ever need to reach me, you can find me on Linkedin or Twitter. I'm happy to share lessons learned and advise those still building in the space.

It's been a ride. Thank you all!

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