Funding and opportunity unlocked
Grants, investment, contracts and seed funding secured.
Bring us a project 
Strategy & delivery · London × Kigali
We Make Champions.
Together.
Too much change is designed without the people it affects. We bring local knowledge and institutional ambition together, from East London freelancers entering paid work to young footballers training with Arsenal coaches in Kigali.
Academy players with Arsenal coaches · Kigali
Trusted across sectors
Selected clients, funders and delivery partners
Impact · 2022–2026
Four years in numbers.
People directly supported
Participants in training, mentoring and tailored support.
People reached
Wider audiences engaged through events, campaigns and community activity.
Jobs and paid opportunities
Employment, commissions and paid delivery roles generated.
Cumulative figures from programme, contract and commissioner records, 2022–2026. Direct support and wider reach are reported separately. Read our 2022–2024 impact report
Selected work
Work with evidence behind it.
Different briefs, shaped with the people closest to the work and measured by what changed.
Freelance Exchange
Research, co-design and brokerage that connected local freelance talent to employers and paid work.
121 freelancers supported · 25 paid roles secured
Training, mentoring and brokerage led to commissions and placements.Read the case study 
TRIUMPH & HEAL Academy
A capacity-strengthening academy co-designed with community leaders.
19 leaders developed · 60+ people convened
Facilitated learning, secondments and collective design shaped the model.Read the case study The CAN way of working
Collective knowledge distilled into a methodology people could understand, own and use.
1 shared methodology · 5 working principles
A practical system created from the network’s values and lived experience.Read the case study What we build
Champions. Systems. Pathways.
The same thread runs through every commission and every platform.
Develop champions
We strengthen people, teams and organisations to lead, perform and create change.
People · teams · organisationsBuild better systems
We turn local knowledge and institutional ambition into programmes, structures and tools that work.
Programmes · organisations · placesCreate global pathways
We connect talent, organisations and ideas to opportunity, markets, knowledge and networks.
Opportunity · knowledge · networksHow clients work with us
Community research & ecosystem analysis · Co-design & pathway development · Accelerators, incubators & learning · Capacity strengthening & programme mobilisation · Evaluation, learning & impact.
Explore what we doLondon × Kigali
Built between two cities. Designed to travel.
Grounded here. Not limited to here.
In London, we work alongside commissioners, institutions and local economies. In Kigali, we build teams, programmes and pathways on the ground. What travels is not a template, but a way of working: local listening, shared design and disciplined delivery shaped around each place.
Meet Local Champions
Our platforms
We build what we believe in.
Our own programmes keep us answerable to founders, players, coaches and communities—and give partners practical ways to back what works.
01Enterprise · London
Young Entrepreneurs Alliance
YEA! 5.0 · Applications openExplore
02Football development · Kigali
Local Champions Academy
Explore
03Talent pathways · Rwanda
Gicanda Invitational
Explore
04Sport for Development
Mothers & Care
ExploreCommissioner perspective
“Local Champions’ skills in design thinking and innate communication flair immediately stood out. Their work has produced remarkable outcomes for our programmes, young creatives and industry partners.”
Jo LaceySenior Relationship Manager, The Good Growth Hub
Start with the ambition
Bring us ambitious projects.
Tell us what needs to change and where you are now. You do not need a finished brief.