Partners

Locally led change is built on relationships. We’re proud to work alongside a growing community of partners, networks, and alumni who share our commitment to shifting power and putting communities first.

Our Alumni

Our alumni are independent organizations founded by former leaders of USAID locally led development initiatives who are now driving change in their own countries. We are proud to collaborate with them as trusted local leaders, implementation partners, and innovators who bring deep knowledge of the communities they serve.

  • ASPIRA Consulting International

    ASPIRA Consulting International is a Zimbabwean consulting firm providing advisory, program implementation, and institutional strengthening services across Southern Africa. We champion locally led development by combining deep local expertise with global best practices to help governments, development partners, NGOs, and the private sector strengthen institutions and deliver measurable, sustainable impact.

    Visit website

  • Community Service Alliance

    Community Service Alliance (CSA) is a non-profit organization located in the Dominican Republic that partners with communities to drive locally led change while creating transformational learning experiences for the next generation of global leaders. CSA has a dual mission—to facilitate exchange that both supports community projects and is life changing for both participants and communities, while effectively channeling resources to the priorities that local communities define.

    Visit website

  • Economic Development Fund

    The Economic Development Fund Inc. (EDF) is committed to advancing inclusive economic growth in emerging communities. Through strategic services and private capital, EDF helps founders and owners to create legacies through job and wealth creation for their families, teams, and communities.

    Visit website

  • Growth and Innovation Development Services (GIDS)

    Growth and Innovation Development Services (GIDS) is a Zambian organization that connects funders with local partners and provides the capacity strengthening, technical assistance, and accountability support needed to build effective, locally led development partnerships. It also helps local organizations strengthen their governance, financial management, program delivery, and fundraising, while supporting funders to design programs grounded in community priorities and local realities.

    Visit website

  • ImpactScale Ventures

    ImpactScale Ventures (ISV) is a development advisory and innovative finance firm that helps local governments, nonprofits, corporates, and social enterprises mobilize sustainable resources through blended finance, strategic partnerships, and impact acceleration. Drawing on more than 90 years of the founders’ combined experience, ISV designs scalable financing and partnership models that strengthen locally led development and accelerate measurable social impact across health, education, livelihoods, climate resilience, and economic empowerment.

    Visit website

  • LocalWorks Foundation Nepal

    LocalWorks Foundation Nepal is a locally led organization advancing inclusive and sustainable development by partnering with communities, governments, and development actors to address locally identified priorities. We combine deep community knowledge with global expertise to create lasting impact for women and girls, marginalized groups, and underserved populations. Our work spans inclusive economic opportunities, gender equality and social inclusion, policy and systems strengthening, climate resilience, and evidence-based learning.

    Visit website

  • Mariang for Community and Ecosystem Services

    Mariang for Community and Ecosystem Services is a Bangladeshi nonprofit organization committed to bringing opportunity, dignity, and hope to communities too often left behind. Drawing on the knowledge, principles, and proven success stories of USAID’s Local Works approach, we listen first, trust local leadership, and empower disadvantaged communities to shape and lead their own development. Through community-owned agribusinesses, Mariang creates sustainable livelihoods and reinvests economic gains in schools, green entrepreneurs, green businesses, and the conservation of forests, wildlife, and biodiversity.

    Visit website

  • Yamalé Alliance

    Yamalé is an African organization whose name comes from the Wolof word meaning “equal footing.” Its mission is to represent governments in complex negotiations, advance community rights, and strengthen legal and institutional systems across the continent. The Yamalé Legal Platform (yamalelegal.com), a separate arm of the organization, makes African business law accessible across all 54 African countries through a comprehensive Legal Library, AI-powered legal research, a curated lawyer network, and the Yamalé Vault.

    Visit website

Strategic Partners & Collaborators

Lasting change happens through collaboration. We work with a diverse range of organizations — from nonprofits and research institutions to foundations, social enterprises, and private sector partners — to co-create ideas, deliver initiatives, share knowledge, and advance locally led development together.

Networks & Alliances

We are proud to be part of a growing movement advancing more locally led, equitable, and effective development. Through these networks and alliances, we contribute to shared learning, collective action, and efforts to strengthen the field as a whole.

Interested in working with us?

We’re always looking to build new relationships around locally led development.

Get in Touch