When we sat down with Israel Tshibangu, founder of OPEN (Organisation pour la Protection de l'Environnement et de la Nature) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we wanted to understand something simple but profound: why did his organisation choose to join Kuja? What was it about our platform that made sense for a local NGO working on climate change and food security in one of the world's most challenging contexts?
What we discovered was a story about access, trust, and the power of meeting organisations where they are.
The Weight of Being Local
Israel doesn't sugarcoat the challenges. Since founding OPEN in January 2016, his team has been working across the DRC with a clear mission: fighting climate change while tackling hunger and poverty through concrete, community-led action. Their values are impressive; integrity, transparency, respect, inclusion, community solidarity, innovation, and sustainability. They're doing the work that matters most, building solutions from the ground up with the people who need them most.
But being a local organisation comes with obstacles that international donors and platforms often don't see or understand.
"We face insecurity and instability in the zones where we operate," Israel explains. "We have very limited access to direct financing. The processes, the requirements, the criteria, they limit our accessibility." Then there are the language barriers. "Many opportunities come in other languages, and in our predominantly Francophone environment, we really struggle to access those opportunities."
He pauses before adding, "There's also a lack of recognition of local organisations. We have weak institutional capacity, and many local organisations simply aren't seen."
This is the reality for countless organisations across Africa and beyond. They're led by people who know their communities intimately, who understand the nuances of local context, who can design and implement solutions that actually work, but they're shut out of systems that claim to support them.
A Name That Felt Like Home
Israel discovered Kuja in an unexpected way. "I was browsing LinkedIn less than a year ago," he recalls. "I came across Kuja, and what impressed me was that LinkedIn is very professional, but when I saw 'Kuja,' that's a local word, I understand very well. I thought, what does this mean? I understood it as something familiar, and I wanted to see what was happening."
That small detail, a name in a local language on a professional platform, was an invitation. It signalled that this wasn't just another international initiative speaking at local organisations, but something different.
When he explored the page, what he found confirmed his intuition. "The accessibility, the networking, it welcomes everyone. There was the possibility to register, to see opportunities. I didn't hesitate to register the organisation directly."
The Message That Changed Everything
But here's where the story gets interesting. What happened next is what truly convinced Israel that Kuja was different.
"I hadn't even finished my registration. There were still things to add, to update. I registered in the afternoon, and by 8 PM, less than eight hours later, I received a message on WhatsApp from the platform team." He laughs. "I thought, 'Wow, these people take what they do seriously.'"
That immediate, personal response did something powerful. "It gave me confidence. The fact that you take what we do into full consideration, that matters."
In a world where local organisations often feel invisible, where applications disappear into black holes and emails go unanswered, that simple act of acknowledgment was revolutionary.
Breaking Down the Barriers
When we asked Israel what convinced him to fully engage with Kuja, his answer went straight to the heart of what's broken in the current system and what we're trying to fix.
"Kuja is contributing to the promotion of local leadership," he says. "It's intensifying the localisation of humanitarian aid. It's acting as a bridge between organisations and opportunities."
He rattles off what that means in practice: "You can access funding opportunities, and online learning opportunities. You can connect with other organisations and create direct links. It facilitates networking. It gives energy to people like us, allowing us to evolve regardless of whether we're local or national."
The platform, he explains, has actually solved, not just responded to, but solved a critical challenge: "Partnership and access. It brings you closer to opportunities, to donors, to the resources we need."
What Makes Kuja Different
We wanted to know: what sets Kuja apart from other platforms or initiatives? Israel had clear answers.
"First, it's multilingual. On many other platforms, English is an absolute requirement. Here, I can engage in French." Then there's the accessibility model: "On other platforms, you have to pay membership fees. You have to provide all your documents, confidential or not. Kuja facilitates accessibility without excessive demands."
But perhaps most importantly, it's about dignity and agency. Kuja doesn't treat local organisations as problems to be solved or beneficiaries to be managed. It treats them as partners with valuable expertise and legitimate needs.
The Ripple Effect
Israel hasn't kept Kuja to himself. "I'm in contact with more than 300 to 350 organisations, and I influence many partners. People trust me, so when I recommend something, they listen."
He's already been sharing Kuja with other organisations because, in his words, "It promotes the localisation of humanitarian aid. It upholds the principles of partnership. It puts at your disposal things that other platforms don't offer directly. You have the possibility of being connected with others."
When we asked him about the concept of a "connected and autonomous organisation," a phrase we use at Kuja, he thought for a moment before offering his interpretation: "A connected organisation is one that maintains contact with others and with technology. An autonomous organisation has capacity within itself and is also capable of supporting others of accompanying those who need reinforcement."
That's exactly right. And it's what Kuja is helping organisations like OPEN become.
Why This Matters
Israel's story isn't unique and that's precisely the point. Across the global south, there are thousands of organisations like OPEN: locally led, deeply embedded in their communities, doing critical work with limited resources and even more limited access to the systems that could support them.
These organisations don't need to be "empowered" in the patronising sense that word often carries. They need barriers removed. They need to be seen, heard, and connected to the resources and partnerships that match their capacity and ambition.
They need platforms that respect their language, their context, and their expertise.
They need someone to respond to their message within eight hours and mean it.
That's what Kuja is building. Not a marketplace where local organisations perform for international donors, but a genuine ecosystem where connection, trust, and partnership can flourish on more equitable terms.
As Israel put it: "Kuja is helping us become both connected and autonomous. It's connecting us to a world of opportunities we couldn't access before, and it's empowering us to stand on our own, to grow stronger, and to reach further."
That's not just a platform feature. That's a shift in how we think about local leadership and humanitarian aid itself.
Interested in joining a community of local and national organisations working to solve real problems in their communities? Learn more about Kuja and become part of the network.