How Atlas Helped an NGO to Get People on the Ground in Rural Africa
Industry: NGO
Offices: New York, USA
Main focus: Rural Africa
Key Benefits of Working with Atlas
Designated account manager
Local support
Improved diversity
Operational reliability
About
The End Fund is a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to eradicate Neglected Tropical Diseases, commonly known as NTDs. These diseases are caused by a wide diversity of pathogens that have a devastating impact on a country’s health, economy, and society at large. NTDs are prevalent in impoverished countries and regions which make it challenging for public health policies and control.
The WHO estimates that around 1.6 billion people need to be targeted for treatment as well as prevention measures for NTDs. The End Fund was established in 2012 and, since then, has provided over a billion treatments to help eliminate NTDs from across the world.
Challenge
NTDs are most prevalent in impoverished rural countries which frequently have difficult terrain and limited access. To provide preventative measures, as well as diagnose and treat these diseases, The End Fund needed to have feet on the ground far away from its New York headquarters. The organization had to physically meet these local communities to be able to educate and advise them on NTDs.
“Without Atlas, we would not be able to hire in the countries that we are actually in. They helped with payroll, our onboarding, our benefits. And at The End Fund, I don't think we would have been where we are today.”
– Jennifer Wright, Senior Director of Finance at The End Fund
Due to the lack of a global people operation, The End Fund needed a reliable Employer of Record (EOR) partner to manage an international team across Africa, which became even more complex amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization chose Atlas to overcome international hiring challenges and reach other countries in their fight against NTDs.
Working with Atlas
The End Fund was able to hire dozens of people mainly scattered across the African continent, while Atlas took care of payroll, benefits and compliance with local employment and HR laws.
But what truly set this collaboration apart was Atlas’ human touch and personalized support. Dedicated account managers provided support around the clock, and local experts were able to help the organization’s team on the ground, allowing The End Fund to focus on its core mission.
“Within the partnership with Atlas, Sofi and Angel are wonderful people to work with. Working with Atlas has been a wonderful experience. Their support is around the clock. I can never basically go unheard of.”
– Jennifer Wright, Senior Director of Finance at The End Fund
Impact
Atlas helped The End Fund reach new countries affected by Neglected Tropical Diseases deploying people directly within the communities in need. By providing personalized support and expert local assistance, Atlas enabled the organization to build an international team of dozens of members spread across countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, as well as a few in Europe.
“Working with Atlas has given The End Fund the benefit of being able to reach different countries and have employees in different countries. We have employees in Kenya, in Ethiopia, in Zimbabwe, in Malawi, just to name a few, even France and the Netherlands. Without having Atlas as our global EOR, we would not be able to have all of these employees to assist us in eradicating Neglected Tropical Diseases.”
– Jennifer Wright, Senior Director of Finance at The End Fund
The End Fund is now better equipped to sustain its global people operations, addressing impoverished regions affected by these diseases and supplying much needed healthcare. In addition, the organization has a trusted partner it can rely on that can bridge the gap between diverse international teams, no matter what their needs are.