Three women carrying produce across a trail bridge

2025

Annual Report

January 2025 – December 2025

Four people walking through a field at sunset

Bridges to Prosperity is now Fika

Bridges to Prosperity has changed its name to Fika. In Kiswahili and many other African languages, “fika” means “to arrive,” with the connotation of arriving safely. The new identity reflects the organization’s evolution from building bridges to partnering with governments to plan and deliver safe, reliable transport access at a national scale.

Under its new name, Fika will continue building bridges with communities while partnering with governments as mobilizers, planners, and trainers for rural infrastructure.

By 2030, we aim to enable 10 million more people to safely reach essential services; mobilize $100 million in rural access funding; embed rural access in at least seven national plans; and sunset our support in at least two regions that are meeting rural access needs independently.

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Our Vision

Safe arrivals for everyone, everywhere

Our Mission

We enable safe, reliable rural transport access

A tablet showing a Fika map of rural access

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A Year In Review

“To some, it’s just a bridge. To our community, it’s peace of mind, stability, and a better life. Every lost life while crossing the river echoes the urgent need for change. Through this bridge, their legacy lives on, igniting hope and resilience.”
— Shallo Shaka, Mother of the Community
Ethiopia

Notes from the Board Chair and CEO

It’s not hyperbole to say that every year at Fika feels like a landmark year. In 2025, we closed out a pivotal five-year strategic plan, engaged our entire team in creating a new strategic plan, prepared to launch a new name that represents our strategic evolution, and worked with governments and the local private sector to create safe transportation access for 1,541,892 additional people across seven countries.

Behind that massive number is a model we’ve spent years building: a deliberate shift from doing the work ourselves to enabling others to do it at scale. In 2025, that shift became the main story. In Ethiopia, we secured funding for the next phase of our TRAIL program, co-developed with Helvetas in alignment with a parallel program resourced by The World Bank, positioning the Government of Ethiopia to lead rural connectivity investment as part of its national food security agenda. In Uganda, local private sector companies are implementing, even as the government moved to adopt the national trail bridge manual. In Zambia, a local authority signed our first co-financing agreement, and we launched Fika Collect, our data tool for rural transport planning, directly into the hands of government partners. Each of these is a step toward the same goal: governments and local industry funding and building rural access without us.

This was also the year our evidence caught up with our conviction. The Rwanda randomized controlled trial, one of the most rigorous evaluations of transport infrastructure ever attempted and first envisioned back in 2018, began delivering its results. That work earned the International Road Federation’s Technology and Innovation Award and helped carry rural access into the global transport conversation, from the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers stage in Lagos to a new seven-country impact map that anchors travel time to social impact.

We did all of this against real headwinds across our sector, and those headwinds only sharpened our belief that cost-effective, government-led infrastructure is not a line item to be cut, but a cornerstone of development.

None of it would be possible without you: our program teams, the end-user communities who advocate for access and provide critical feedback on how to make it better and safer, the government partners who lead alongside us, and the board, funders, advocates, and implementing partners who believe that safe access is a right, not a privilege. As we step into a new name and a new strategy, we do so grounded in everything we’ve learned together.

Warmly,

Nivi Sharma, CEO

Eric Mwangi, Board Chair

2025 Snapshot

Rwanda

Bridges built: 35

Bridges supported: 3

People served: 153,610

Uganda

Bridges built: 3

Bridges supported: 2

People served: 26,200

Zambia

Bridges built: 2

People served: 12,000

Ethiopia

Bridges supported: 79

People served: 1,527,679

Eswatini

Bridges supported: 8

People served: 21,567

Bolivia

Bridges supported: 7

People served: 4,705

Peru

Bridges supported: 1

People served: 120

People directly served

1,745,881

Total bridges

140

Aerial view of a town in Uganda with morning mist

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New Beginnings on the Path to Global Impact

“I went into labour during heavy rains, and because of this bridge, I reached the health centre safely and delivered my child. Before, that same journey took four hours on foot, and the river had already claimed several lives. Now it takes 30 minutes by motorcycle; farming and trade have improved, and more of our children are completing school.”
— Fenny Chebet, Aryowetd
Uganda

Progress Against Our 2021–2025 Strategic Plan

What we said, what we did and what we learned

The bet we made

Our 2021–2025 plan committed us to a significant pivot: from doer to enabler. We moved from an organization that builds bridges to one that works within existing infrastructure systems to help governments effectively fund and deliver rural access at scale. The plan was organized around three pillars, which also served as the pathways for our Systems Theory of Change: Technical Assistance, Evidence (proving our model and impact), and Advocacy. Each had specific objectives and key results, and five years on, we’ve seen that strategic bet pay off. Several headline goals were exceeded, and a few important targets were missed or scaled back, mostly on timeline and scope rather than on direction.

Bridges built and supported against target, 2021–2025

Year	Built target	Supported target	Total target	Built actual	Supported actual	Total actual
2021	37	0	37	22	0	22
2022	62	0	62	39	0	39
2023	84	10	94	76	11	87
2024	90	50	140	51	79	130
2025	36	142	178	40	100	140

Prove Model + Impact: Our biggest wins, and the misses we learned the most from

We also delivered on the goal of supporting two new government-led programs: TRAIL in Ethiopia (launched in early 2022 with Helvetas) and Zambia (officially launched by 2024), and in those programs, as well as in Uganda, we reached the milestone of the majority of Fika bridges being completed by the private sector.

The wins: We set out to run the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of built environment infrastructure with the Government of Rwanda, and we completed it. By FY24, our research partners had finished surveying, with preliminary findings pointing to significant gains in farm value, household income, food security, education, and wellbeing, and an annual return on investment far outpacing sector norms. As part of the RCT, we also reached a record number of bridges completed in Rwanda in a single year.

The misses: Slow ramp-ups in the early stages of implementing the MOU with the Government of Rwanda, coupled with the onset of COVID-19, slowed construction in Rwanda and reduced the total number of bridges completed as part of the RCT and first phase of the MOU. The evidence objective was ultimately met, but at a smaller scale and slower pace than we set for ourselves. We also didn’t reach the scale and pace we expected in Uganda, largely due to leadership shifts and underresourcing our technical assistance efforts. Still, we’re proud of the ground we gained in 2025 to catch both programs up to anticipated growth over the next five years.

A man pushing a loaded bicycle across a trail bridge

Technical Assistance: Big directional achievements and plenty of room for growth

Move our operational hub to East Africa: We achieved this early in the strategic plan period, and it paid off. By FY22, all operations staff were based in East Africa, with the organizational hub in Rwanda and our CEO and key senior leadership based in Kenya and Uganda. We planned to have more than 75% of resources allocated to the continent, and by the end of 2025 that number was 92%.

30% of resources to technical assistance: Achieved in a big way: By FY24, for the first time, more bridges were built through technical assistance and resource mobilization than by our own teams, a clear marker of the doer-to-enabler shift, and that trend has continued. While this felt like an enormous step forward, it became clear that we needed to expand our technical advisory capacity to serve our most important stakeholders: governments and their rural constituents. Holistic rural network planning, broader and more adaptable infrastructure portfolios and standards, and a staff of teachers, builders, and technical advocates is what we need to achieve our endgame of safe access for everyone, everywhere.

Tools + country expansion: We launched our Fika Digital program and multiple technical products that have already changed the way rural transport is funded and planned. With Better Planet Laboratory, we created a machine-learning model that tripled the world’s mapped waterways, and a novel travel time model to estimate access deltas across huge geographies. We worked with local institutions to adapt Fika’s trail bridge manuals, standards, and trailbridge curriculum for local context in two countries, launched the Fika Collect mobile app and training program, and established training partnerships with 3 entities. We expanded Fika’s bridge portfolio to include stone arch bridges in 2024 and constructed 7 in Rwanda. Fika supported the government in converting 8 bridges from timber to steel decking. We opened two new country programs, conducted needs assessments and provided technical assistance in five others, and seeded partnerships in geographies across the world in preparation for the launch of our new strategy.

A trail bridge spanning a river valley between green hillsides

Advocacy: The flywheel

Our strategic plan set out a goal of launching ROUTE (Rural Opportunities for Universal Transportation Equity), a coalition of advocates, transport experts, and development practitioners, to advance rural transport access on the global agenda. Early exploration and conversations with key stakeholders made it clear that was not the best lever for the systems change we were aspiring to. While we intimately understood the challenges of rural transport at the local level in the countries we had worked in, we had real knowledge gaps about the barriers to scale at the national and global level.

So instead, we invested in organic relationship development across the development and transport sectors, and spent a lot of time learning, listening, and understanding the friction points that prevented rural access from becoming an international priority.

The relationships we built and the knowledge we gathered culminated in incredible momentum in 2024 and 2025 that provided critical insight as we shaped our next strategic plan and a springboard for rural transport access in general.

Funding and reach

Revenue: Our plan targeted non-in-kind revenue above $10M by FY25, and by the end of our closing year, total revenue and support was $17M with in-kind at $320K, comfortably ahead of target. We are grateful to government partners that made program growth possible across the region, and funding partners that bought into our big bet.

People reached: The plan aspired to connect over two million more rural residents, and this is perhaps the greatest achievement of those five years: We reached well over four million additional people.

Two people carrying loads on their heads beside a fast-flowing river

How our last strategy shaped our 2026–2030 strategy

The new plan is explicit that 2021–2025 “gave us permission to step back from the construction site.” It doubles down on what we know works: policy integration, evidence-based advocacy, government partnerships, in-country expertise, and innovative financing. Three lessons carried directly forward: policy integration is catalytic (Rwanda’s National Feeder Roads Program; Ethiopia embedding trailbridges in federal curricula and standards); nothing happens without funding (Ethiopia’s TRAIL success helped unlock a ~$35M World Bank investment toward 373 bridges by 2029, while Uganda’s coalition stalled precisely on funding); and local capacity exists but needs adapted tools, trust, and collaborative integration.

The period also produced the rebrand from Bridges to Prosperity to Fika, signaling the expansion from bridges to full rural-access networks. The 2026–2030 targets- 10M more people, $100M mobilized, rural access in 7+ national plans, sunsetting two regions, and a safe-access scorecard- are the natural next escalation of the systems-change bet this plan validated.

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Financials

“Accessibility means I have the power to get what I want, when I want it. That’s what it means to me.”
— Lucy, Community Member
Zambia

Statement of Financial Position

Assets
Current Assets	$11,909,714
Other Assets	$311,498
Noncurrent Assets	–
Total Assets	$12,221,212
Liabilities & Net Assets
Current Liabilities	$613,348
Total Liabilities	$613,348
Net Assets Without Donor Restrictions	$1,695,436
Net Assets With Donor Restrictions*	$9,912,428
Total Net Assets	$11,607,864
Total Liabilities & Net Assets	$12,221,212
FY25 Change in Net Assets	$1,186,639
Beginning Net Assets	$10,421,225
Ending Net Assets	$11,607,864

Statement of Activities

Revenue and support

Individual & Grant Contribution 76%
Corporate Partnerships 11%
Government Contributions 10%
In-Kind Contributions 2%
Others 1%

Expenses

Program 92%
Administrative 4%
Development 4%

Read our 2025 audited financial statements (PDF).

A suspended bridge with red towers over farmland

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Acknowledgements

“I used to carry a spare set of clothes to school; the boat would sink, and I’d arrive soaked and covered in mud. Every morning I’d gather the children so we could cross the river together, and during the rainy season, a detour added 90 minutes to our journey. Today, that’s over. Children cross safely on their own, arriving home right after class instead of waiting for an escort. This bridge brought safety, dignity, and peace of mind to our whole school community.”
— Uwizeyimana Marie Gorette · Teacher, GS Gakoro
Rwanda

Board of Directors

Eric Mwangi – Chair
Sue Dorsey – Treasurer
Ann Cannella
Anne Maria Makhulo
Ben Brahinksy
Fola Esan
Ibraheem Sanusi
Jonathan Nash
Jon Dale
Varja Lipovsek
Ken Frantz – Founder

UK Charitable Trust

Jon Dale – Chair
Ed Wilkinson
Ian Firth
Jane Kelly
Nick Francis
Radana Crhova

Bridge Builder Circle

Andrew Hartmann
Benjamin Jablonski
David and Kassy VanMuyden
Jacqueline Shaldjian
Jason Hatcher
Jay Adams
Jeremy and Sarah Hunter
Rob and Karen Richardson
Robert and Robin Nardi

Individual, Family, and Organizations

Benard Brahinsky
Bob Felder
Brian and Yael Shuman
Cassandra Schnarr
Cecilia Berardi
Chris Reseigh
Daniel and Kaylene Skaggs
Daniel Chandler
Daniel Dalpra
David Gerson
Deborah and David Nice
Enterprise/Taylor Charitable Entities
Goldman Sachs Gives
Gordon and Katherine Day
Guy Johnson and Mary Lue Dumestre
Jacobs Engineering
Jan Tuchman and Joe Rosta
Jean Keener Charitable Fund
Jon Dale
Jon Engelberth and Margaret Walker Charitable Fund
Larry and Tami Cohen
Mark and Michelle Williams
Michael Potter Charitable Foundation
Microsoft
Morgan Family Trust
MTE Fund
Our Change Foundation
Parsons Corporation
Paul Walker
RAN Giving Fund
Robert and Linda Bang
Scott and Judy McNary
Seth Moore
Steve Weaver
Wayne Boggs Charitable Fund
William Jones

*All contributions in this list were greater than $1,000.