BongoHive, Zambia`s first innovation and entrepreneurship hub, has partnered with TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global legal pro bono service, to make free legal services accessible to social impact startups. TrustLaw connects NGOs and social enterprises creating social and environmental change around the world with leading law firms that take care of their legal needs completely free of charge. TrustLaw also produces groundbreaking legal research and offers innovative training courses worldwide.

“Our partnership with TrustLaw will extend valuable legal support services to companies with social responsibility embedded in their mission. The companies we assist at BongoHive will now be able to apply for free legal assistance in structuring their entities, employment agreements, global research on laws that may impact their businesses as they extend themselves to other markets, partnership or funding agreements, intellectual property and many more areas. We are glad that we will help companies that have an additional positive impact on our society to gain this advantage through this partnership,” said Simunza Muyangana, BongoHive Co-founder and Head of Entrepreneurship.

All organisations that apply for TrustLaw membership must have a clear mission that states who they aim to help, how they plan to do it, the impact they are trying to achieve, and how they will measure this impact. The criteria are broad to enable a variety of organisations to access the opportunity. Organizational missions are defined as follows:

• Social: Organisations that seek to have a positive impact on the social fabric of the community and well-being of individuals and families. This may include organisations that support disadvantaged populations, uphold human rights and address discrimination.
• Humanitarian: Organisations responding to humanitarian emergencies such as natural and man-made disasters with a primary objective of saving lives, alleviating suffering and maintaining human dignity.
• Environmental: Organisations that seek to protect, analyse or monitor endangered species or the environment against misuse or degradation.