Addis Ababa
Self Help Africa
Gorta was formed in 1965 by the Irish government in response to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s call for countries to support long term agricultural and economic development in the world’s poorest regions. Today the Gorta Group is a group of innovative organisations driving sustainable economic and social change across Africa.Comprising Self Help Africa, Partner Africa and TruTrade, the Gorta Group combines expertise in market-based solutions to poverty and rural development; climate change mitigation and resilience; trade facilitation and farmer and worker rights; underpinned by an inclusive ethos that specifically targets women and youth.  In August 2021, United Purpose joined the Gorta Group, which operates as Self Help Africa (SHA), bringing together two organisations with proud histories of assisting those in greatest need. United Purpose, formerly Concern Universal, has worked for more than 40 years as a leader in community-led development and grassroots innovation. SHA now has over 700 staff worldwide as a result of the merger, and a global turnover of over €40m. We are currently implementing a portfolio of 80 projects in Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia funded by a variety of institutional and private donors including the European Union, Irish Aid and World Food Programme. In 2020, we supported close to eight million people in rural communities across sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh.