Peter Mosher ’14 and Kiyan Ng ’14

Supporting social enterprise in Africa.

Peter Mosher ’14 and Kiyan Ng ’14 use their talents to help nonprofits grow

In his two years as a Peace Corps agribusiness advisor in Cameroon, Peter Mosher ’14 worked to help cocoa farmers earn a fair living from their product. It was a tough task, says Mosher, who watched farmers sell cocoa to middle men for pennies on the dollar.

“The revenue they received was two to three percent of the value of the final product of, say, a chocolate bar,” he says. “I was working to help them form farmers’ cooperatives so they could gain bargaining power. Local nonprofit groups were trying to help the farmers, too, but they also faced obstacles that were tough to overcome.”

Having seen the devastating effects that poverty and low wages had on entire communities in Africa, Mosher and Kiyan Ng ’14, co-founded Partners for Equality and Capacity Expansion (PEACE). Currently staffed by Mosher, Ng, and two of Mosher’s former Peace Corps colleagues, PEACE helps African social enterprises with advice and guidance on fundraising, marketing, social media, and technology.

Officially launched in 2020, PEACE is currently partnering with two groups: WOCAPSS-Africa (Women’s Cancer Prevention and Support for African Society), based in Nigeria; and Uwezo Wetu, which focuses on environmental issues and helps create jobs in agriculture and livestock in Bukavu, Congo.

“Our partners in PEACE want to apply for international funding but it’s often competitive and there are a lot of hurdles,” explains Mosher. “These community-based organizations need help to realize their missions.”

Mosher was an economics major while Ng studied economics and Spanish at Grinnell, but the two didn’t get to know each other until after graduation. “We never had any classes together,” says Ng, who was born in Hong Kong, then moved to California, when she was 12. She became a freelance digital marketing specialist after leaving a similar job at Ancestry.com, and lives in the Bay Area. Mosher is currently completing a master’s degree in international public affairs at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Mosher and Ng met and launched PEACE after the two were introduced by a mutual friend. “Our biggest challenge right now is that I’m a full-time student and Kiyan works full time,” he says, but they’re slowly and steadily building PEACE. When they have more time and funding, they will recruit more African-based partners to work with.

“I always wanted to give back to communities in need, so when I met Peter and we talked about PEACE, I felt my background in marketing could really help,” says Ng.

“We know how to work together,” adds Mosher. “Kiyan does marketing and operations and business strategy – she’s always thinking of new ways to grow the organization. I bring the field experience and work on the programmatic side of the nonprofit.”

They’d like PEACE to one day be a full-time project but at the moment it’s a balancing act with school and work. “I want to make positive impacts without seeking a return and be the stepping stone for someone to reach their dreams,” Ng says.

“What we are doing is so Grinnellian,” adds Mosher. “Grinnellians really do care about social justice.”

Learn more about how PEACE supports local African social enterprises become more effective.

— by Anne Stein ’84