About

Up with Africa (UW/A) was formed on the premise that WITH is the best place to start. We partner “with” because the value of mutual partnership facilitates relationships of dignity. To partner “with” requires honesty in recognizing and navigating imbalances in power. It requires that we humble ourselves to be in a position of support to those with intimate knowledge of their local context.

  • We partner with local, entrepreneurial leaders to strengthen sustainable and scalable solutions at the intersection of East and Central Africa’s most intractable problems.

  • A world where global economies value the mutual prosperity of wildlife and human populations.

  • Dignity.

    We value the dignity of both human and animal life. We know that the wellbeing of one is mutually bound up within the other.

    Partnerships.

    We value mutually empowering relationships, honesty and humility in navigating complex power dynamics, and the importance of local leadership.

    Entrepreneurship.

    We value the role of markets in local change-making and the importance of creating sustainable solutions.

Up With Africa began in the summer of 2018, sparked by a series of conversations between Steve Dobo and Tamra Arp at a coffee shop in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. At the time, Tamra was working with Zero Dropouts, an education-focused organization, managing business operations, and Steve was leading Zero Dropouts as its Founder and CEO.

Those coffee shop conversations were initially rooted in Steve's curiosity about intractable global problems. East Africa drew his interest, specifically, at the intersections of three issues: access to education, mass forced migration, and the conservation of endangered species. For Tamra, the pull toward Africa was informed by a long-standing interest in great apes and conservation, extensive global travel, and prior time spent in Uganda. Together, their experiences raised early questions about how environmental, social, and economic pressures converge in local communities — and how people navigate resilience and opportunity within those conditions.

As Steve and Tamra began exploring this landscape, the scale and complexity were immediately apparent. East Africa was home to a dense ecosystem of NGOs and community-based organizations, each with clearly defined missions. Rather than replicating existing approaches, Up With Africa took shape as a learning-oriented effort, prioritizing listening, relationship-building, and understanding local context before taking action.

Over time, this way of working opened the door to broader questions about economic decision-making, education pathways, and community resilience… questions that extended beyond a single geography or initiative. As those inquiries evolved, it became clear that Up With Africa was part of a larger body of learning and experimentation.

That realization led to the creation of The Audacity Lab as the nonprofit home for Up With Africa and other emerging work. The Lab was established to hold space for ongoing inquiry, shared learning, and new ideas as they take shape.

Today, Up With Africa operates within The Audacity Lab ecosystem and remains based in Denver, Colorado, supported by a small team working across UW/A and its sister organization, Zero Dropouts. The work continues to evolve through long-term relationships, shared learning, and a commitment to responding thoughtfully to place and context.