OBJECTIVES
The main purpose and objective of the Grit Foundation is the preservation of the planet through the creation and support of initiatives focused on the
protection of the environment, including life on land and below water. Human development is also a primary objective, and the Grit Foundation strives to
deliver real and measurable social impact to the people of Africa, by creating and supporting social initiatives that empower people to make a real and lasting
difference in their own lives and the communities around them.
Grit’s development subsidiary, Gateway Real Estate Africa (“GREA”), an African real estate development specialist, will play a significant role in the delivery of the Grit Foundation’s objectives.
Senior management’s key performance indicators are weighted, inter alia, to Grit’s sustainability targets to ensure consistent focus and delivery.Grit has a target of more than 40% of women in leadership positions (41% as at 30 June 2022) and more than 65% local employee representation (77% as at 30 June 2022).
With a strong emphasis on gender diversity, Grit started the Women’s Property Network in Mauritius in 2017 to provide a platform for females in the sector
to support and share insights with each other. This platform proved so successful that it was expanded under the umbrella of Women with Grit to include all
professional females.
The platform recently went global, with its first podcast in celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023 and is available on all major streaming
services, including Podcasts (Apple) and Soundcloud.
As a women-led team, we understand the impact of females in the workplace. To empower disadvantaged women in Kenya, we have partnered the NGO
BuildHer to sponsor female cohorts to undergo intensive training within the built environment. In addition to artisanal skills, these women also obtain financial and life skills, making a measurable, lasting impact not only on their lives but also the communities in which they live.
BuildHer research has shown that cohorts increase their income by 530% on average after only four months of training and that more than 4000 people directly and indirectly benefit from the programme.
Through our family of partnerships, we are ensuring the placement of these cohorts at our developments for on-site experience and to earn an income. In
its maiden year, our initiative resulted in almost a quarter of the staff at our latest development in Kenya being female, occupying positions across the project
spectrum, from labour to professional and management services.
We are a proudly women-led team and understand that being a female in the build environment requires sensitivity to different needs. Therefore, we partner
with Woman’s Warehouse and BuildHer to create safe spaces for women construction workers to engage on intimate or sexual health issues.
In addition to education and advise, we distribute menstrual packs to each woman who attend these sessions, empowering them with menstrual freedom for 5 years.
A Mauritian animal welfare NGO that runs a veterinary clinic focussing on sterilisation of dogs and cats as the solution to managing the overpopulation of these animals in Mauritius, together with educating people on being responsible pet owners. All Life Matters also runs an animal sanctuary that provides a home to many types of rescued animals such as retired racehorses, pigs, monkeys, cows and many more. In order to carry out its work, All Life Matters provides permanent employment to over fourteen local people.
Supporting Hope House by purchasing unique hand-made furniture made from recycled wood that will be used at Grit’s new head office at The Precinct in Grand Baie. Hope House is an NGO aimed to uplift and empower individuals and communities through skills development and mentoring.
Providing under privileged children at the Baichoo Madhoo Government School in Mauritius with laptops for home schooling during Covid-19. During the pandemic, home schooling became a priority to keep children safe. Some families however did not have the means to buy laptops and continue with their children’s education.
Maintenance of the borehole plant and provision of security at the SOS Children’s Village in Tete, Mozambique. The borehole is shared between the SOS Children's village and Grit’s Mall de Tete.
Grit and GREA supports Shamas Rugby, a development organization that uses rugby to promote the holistic development of underprivileged children and youth in Kenya. Through rugby, boys and girls living in urban slums and rural areas across Kenya and beyond are developed and educated both on and off the pitch.
GREA provided pro-bono development management services for the construction of an extension to the school. The extension serves to provide additional building facilities to the current students, whose classrooms were over-capacitated. The new building of comprises five classrooms, two specialist classrooms, a staff room with kitchenette, a nurse’s office, storeroom, server room, staff ablutions and two sets of student ablutions. There is also an external covered play area.
A serious concern during the first waves of the pandemic was the equal access to vaccines for all, with very little availability, especially in developing countries. As the co-developers of Rosslyn Grove Diplomatic Residences, GREA and Verdant Ventures joined forces the American Chamber of Commerce in Kenya to secure 1 000 vaccines through a donation of US$10 000.
Through the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, GREA and Verdant Ventures arranged to have all contractor staff working on-site at the Rosslyn Grove development vaccinated. Two vaccine drives for Rosslyn Grove site personnel took place with 407 site personnel vaccinated against 301 registered participants.
As the world was ravished by Covid-19, GREA showed solidarity through the donation of 4 000 food packs across the country in collaboration with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the Ruparelia Foundation.
In response to COVID19, GREA and Verdant Ventures, the co-developers of Elevation Diplomatic Residences were approached by the office of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia who aimed to deploy 48,000 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to compile data accurately and timeously for tracing and case management in order to curb the spread of the virus throughout the country. GREA and Verdant each contributed US$10,000 towards this project which helped to enhance surveillance and management of the pandemic.
Nurturing talents and promoting human development are primary objectives of the Grit Foundation. We strive to deliver real and measurable social impact to the people of Africa, by creating and supporting social initiatives that empower people through the nurturing and support of local talents that make a real and lasting difference in the lives of individuals and the communities around them.
Grit Ambassadors
Our Family of Partnerships include ambassadors that share our believe that with guts, resilience, innovation and tenacity one will always Find the Way. It is our privilege to play a part in the pursuit of their passions and the many lives they impact in the process.
Matt McGilliveray is a professional surfer, and a competitor on the elite World Surf League Championship Tour. He scored a perfect 10 in Tahiti last year, a 3rd place at the Margaret River PCO and finished 13th in the 2022 WSC ratings. Matt is working hard at qualifying for the Olympics and to finish 2023 in the WSC top 10 rankings.
Ariane Ochoa Torres is a professional surfer from the Basque Country in Spain. She is a rising star on the World Qualifying Series and the Spanish women’s champion for 2022. She was the runner-up of the 2022/2023 Rip Curl Pro Anglet WQS 3000 event, and finished 3rd at the Misla Pro Ericeira WQS event in 2021.
Mauritius Women Barbarian Rugby Team
Ongoing support of the Mauritius Women Barbarian Rugby Team, including facilitating the team’s participation in the Dubai Sevens International Rugby Tournament that took place in December 2021. The objective of the support for the team is to promote diversity, breaking down stereotypes of women, to anchor and showcase the place of women within Mauritian sport and to proudly represent Mauritius internationally.
Unity Building,
The Precinct,
M2 Junction,
B11 Fond du Sac Road,
Grand Baie
31301
Mauritius
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+230 269 7090
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[email protected]
