While in Kenya meeting with groups I made an ambitious goal of starting what I called a Social Capital Network, and would later become Covalent Global Capital, in the second quarter of 2009. The date was chosen because it would mark 1 year since I went to Africa to investigate the possibility of individual giving to African-led charities. This goal was set to motivate my full efforts to bring broad financial support to community-based, self-help efforts throughout Kenya. The goal, as I mentioned, was “ambitious” in sense that this was a new venture and the possibility of failure has to be recognized.

I am sad to report that this goal was not achieved. I motivated my full efforts, my mind, my time, and my heart to this effort. I cut out all other options to assure that I held true that all my effort would see this through. This effort is not been barren but rather has born a new direction for Covalent Global Capital.

The idea behind this effort is not small. It is not to be awestruck with pity and help a few people in Africa. It’s big. To circumvent a system that doesn’t work well at all, that provides little if any support to those providing charity, schooling, and social service to their communities. With the goal of starting in 1 year there is the natural pressure to start small, show that you can help. I have resisted this, not wanting to yield to external private interests and not wanting to impose my particular likes and dislikes of certain charitable efforts. To advocate to help a particular charity group is noble, but you must recognize it is the effort of an ant. You need millions, yes millions, of ants droned in to carry any significant force. I do not see Covalent Global as an ant; to advocate for a select few goes against our values. We seek a fair and accessible system for all. So we are not starting as an ant because: No ant, not even siafu, can grow as big as an elephant, ndovu.

I saw Covalent Global as an elephant. It would take care of the legal niceties required to allow many donor advised funds to give to African-led charities. The problem with this has not been the legality. Rather, I returned to an America that is changing. Changing so much that it even elected a Black president. Haha, what? But more importantly for Covalent Global, America has seen a dramatic fall in the financial markets. With assets off 28%, many at foundations are struggling to keep their job. America is still very wealthy, but suddenly losing nearly 1/3 of what you thought you had can be scary. That makes people very hesitant to act on new programs and ideas. Furthermore, the competency of individual donors and foundations on international giving and charitable giving to Africa, in particular, is quite low. It is improving, notice Fidelity Charitable, one of the largest donor advised funds, is now working with CAF America and other intermediaries to carry out international giving; however the general low level of actual giving to Africa makes it hard to see an elephant these days. Rather the elephants in the room are becoming the problems themselves.

If Covalent Global is not an ant and it’s not an elephant, what is it? Hmm, a camel? Haha, maybe. Camels are tremendously useful for a wide number of reasons. Plus, it is always funny to see a Camel amongst the urban density of Nairobi. Really, what Covalent Global is doing is working to address the elephants in the room as mentioned above, especially the biggest elephant of them all, that very little if any financial support reaches those providing charity, schooling, and social service to their communities throughout Kenya and Africa in general. In doing so, we are becoming more than just an intermediary or a link that enables funds to flow. We are becoming a provider of information and educator for effective giving. We are creating giving programs that foster critical thinking and allow select donors to leverage their donations financially and internationally (e.g., a donor’s $8,000 could become $20,000; local offices and information straight from communities throughout Kenya). This giving program has many things in common with universities.

Learn more about these plans in this brief: Covalent Global Executive Summary. In the weeks ahead, I will discuss this new direction more and source your views and ideas. Is Covalent Global now a Camel or something else? Together we will explore what Covalent Global really is.

Salaama - tutaonana baadaye,

Jason Higbee