What is Girl Hub?

Girl Hub is DFIDs first joint venture with the private sector collaborating with the Nike Foundation to unleash the girl effect* at scale.1 About the Nike Foundation The Nike Foundation invests exclusively in adolescent girls as the most powerful force for change and poverty alleviation in the developing world. The Foundations investments are designed to get girls on the global agenda and drive massive resources to them. The work of the Nike Foundation has been the result of extensive research to establish how global poverty could best be eliminated. The results were revolutionary, but not surprising. They found that adolescent girls were the most untapped demographic, with the greatest potential to stop poverty before it starts by changing the trajectory in the most formative years of a girls life.

About girleffect.org girleffect.org tells the story of girls creating a ripple impact of social and economic change on their families, communities and nations. The work of the girl effect is driven by girl champions around the globe. The Nike Foundation created the girl effect with significant financial and intellectual contributions by the NoVo Foundation and Nike, Inc. and in collaboration with key partners such as the United Nations Foundation and the Coalition for Adolescent Girls. The Role of Girl Hub The Girl Hub partnership was created with the sole purpose of taking the girl effect to scale. The Nike Foundations deep expertise in girls as well as communications combined with the reach, scale and knowledge of DFID creates a powerful partnership capable of transforming girls lives and impacting inter-generational poverty. The work of Girl Hub is focused around shifting systems for girls; ensuring that girls are included in the system design of national governments and major donors. The first example of this is the national rollout of an adolescent girl health program with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and DFID Rwanda. In addition Girl Hub has supported DFIDs top management group in redesigning its gender strategy to ensure girls and women are a key priority for every country. Girl Hub is also maximising Nikes powerful marketing expertise by creating participative communications platforms that empower girls to lead and reposition girls in society. Currently both girl-led radio shows and magazines are in development. Most importantly, Girl Hub brings girls voices to bear by ensuring their active participation in all aspects of its work. On-going deep insights continue to be mined and utilised throughout its work.

1 GIRL EFFECT: n.

The unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world

Girl Hub established its first national hub in Rwanda. As the first physical manifestation, Girl Hub Kigali opened in March 2011 and now regularly hosts girl workshops and face-to-face meetings between girls and decision makers. Northern Nigeria is also gaining momentum and Ethiopia will open during 2012 supporting DFID Ethiopia with its new objective to embed adolescent girls into its entire country strategy. Other countries are also now under consideration.