Field Report Akina Mama

Field Report
Field Report
Spring Quarter 2014
Phone
(650) 802-8891
(800) 785-1775
Email
[email protected]
Online
villageenterprise.org
facebook.com/villageenterprise.org
PROGRAM INNOVATIONS
FUNDER HIGHLIGHT
Akina Mama
Women Entrepreneurs Supporting Women Out Of Poverty
Five Acres Or Less Workshop
— When a woman is hungry, she says: “Roast something for the children that they might eat.” – African Proverb
Field Practice Informs Theory And Research
By Doug Bove, SMART Program Fellow
Local San Mateo, CA entrepreneur Jenn Jory was
inspired to action when she heard about Helen, a
Ugandan woman who lifted herself and her family
out of extreme poverty via a tailoring business
started through a Village Enterprise grant.
“Inspiration often comes from watching someone
achieve a dream against all odds,” offers Jenn.
“When I learned that a grant of $150—the price
of just one of my handbags—could start a small
business and alleviate hunger for a whole family, I
knew I needed to do something.”
On February 10th and 11th, 2014, Village
Enterprise hosted the “Five Acres or Less:
Agricultural Planning for Small-Scale Farmers
in East Africa” workshop in Kampala, Uganda.
This event, which brought together over 60
agricultural professionals from organizations
such as USAID, Makerere University, Kenyatta
University, the University of Nairobi, IPA,
Simlow Seed Company, and the Kenya
Agricultural Research Institute along with
our own ‘best practices’ farmers, discussed
the nuances of the various factors limiting
the productivity of rural agriculture.
Perhaps the most unique quality of the workshop was the inclusion of the rural farmer in the
debate. Agricultural development and
practices conferences are regularly held
in Washington, London and Paris, but in
very few cases have rural farmers directly
participated, bringing their practical
expertise and knowledge of field issues.
The workshop blended formal presentations
on the current status of micro-farming with
focused, intensive work groups. Groups were
formed around specific crop families and
contained a mix of academic and industry
experts and our farmer-practitioners. Each
was tasked with finding consensus on the
appropriate combination of agricultural
inputs, land management techniques, and
risk mitigation strategies to ideally suit the
Kenyan and Uganda micro-climates. Topics
were debated through the lens of the Village
Enterprise SMART Tool, which was then
updated in real-time.
It was rewarding to watch Village Enterpriseaffiliated farmers—most of whom graduated
from our program—not just go to toe-to-toe
with academics and deans from prestigious
research organizations and schools of
agriculture about the right balance of
fertilizers, but to prevail!
Attendees praised the conference for its
accomplishments: “It is innovative and rare
to see the Dean of the University of Nairobi
School of Agriculture and a Village Enterprise
farmer at the same table, discussing how to
improve agricultural practices,” commented
one attendee. “The skills I gained will
make my home people benefit from my
experience” offered another.
Village Enterprise – 800.785.1775
USAID Community
Connector Project:
First USAID Grant Recognizes
Unique Poverty Reduction Model
Working alongside a group of highly respected
international NGOs including Grameen
Foundation, BRAC Uganda, and Self Help
Africa, Village Enterprise is helping to deliver
the USAID Uganda Community Connector (CC)
Project in five districts in northeastern and
western Uganda.
Led by FHI 360, the CC Project employs a
comprehensive and multi-faceted approach
to reducing poverty, food insecurity, and
malnutrition in ultra-poor Ugandan
communities.
Jenn, an environmentally-conscious business
owner whose company EcoGirl Handbags
refashions discarded upholstery into designer
purses, has pledged a percentage of her profits
to Village Enterprise to support business owners
like Helen. But she didn’t stop there. Jenn then
recruited Gina Barron, owner of the Burlingame,
CA skin salon Rituals Aesthetic Skincare, to do
the same. Gina, who recently returned from a
trip to Kenya, shares: “Starting my own business
was so empowering for me. I want to empower
other women to support their families too.”
Thus, the Akina Mama giving initiative was born.
In Swahili, Akina Mama roughly translates
as “a sisterhood of individuals who work
together to provide for the needs of the
whole.” Jenn and Gina are uniting women
entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area
to support their Akina Mama counterparts in
East Africa. Their initiative—connecting local
and African women entrepreneurs—dovetails
perfectly with Village Enterprise’s mission
of ending poverty through sustainable
businesses. Jenn and Gina are looking to
grow the Akina Mama initiative to include
more local businesses owners with a passion
for helping others.
Seven out of ten of the world’s hungry are
women and girls. In East Africa, women are
more likely to be illiterate, do unpaid work,
and eat less in lean times than men. In
addition, women are less likely to have
access to clean water, own their own land,
and control their own money.
Women’s economic empowerment is crucial
for poverty alleviation, and is an important
means through which we can end extreme
poverty. Two-thirds of Village Enterprise’s
small business owners are women. Studies
show that when a woman generates her
own income, she reinvests 90 percent of it
in her family and community, thus raising
the tide of prosperity and with it future
hope for all. Outcomes for each Village
Enterprise business owner and their family
include better nutrition, improved health,
increased education for children, higherquality housing, individual empowerment,
greater social and economic status, and
an enhanced sense of hope now and for
their futures.
Jenn and Gina invite other local women
entrepreneurs to join their Akina Mama
giving initiative. For more information,
please contact Jenn at [email protected]
or [email protected].
A one-year, $238,000 grant will fund 360
businesses, assist 1,080 households and start
36 Business Saving Groups. In total, a minimum
of 5,400 men, women, and children will benefit
from the program.
Grace Kemirembe, Deputy Chief of Party for
the USAID CC Project at FHI 360, explains why
Village Enterprise was selected to participate
in the Project: “Their cost-effective, innovative,
and high-impact poverty reduction model
ensures that the most vulnerable individuals (in
particular, those living in remote, hard-to-reach,
rural areas) will benefit from project interventions.
Their hands-on approach with local leadership
enables participants to develop essential
business skills, and supports the scale-up of
CC activities in these communities.”
Village Enterprise – www.villageenterprise.org
Field Report
Field Report
FROM THE CEO
BUSINESS OWNER PROFILE
BUSINESS MENTOR PROFILE
STAFF PROFILE
Together We Are Making A Difference
Stella Ikim Atim
Eunice Kiombe
Linnet Ayuma
You + VE + Hard-Working Women = Transformed Families
Ainapaina “Peace” Group
“Role Model Mama”
Senior Operations Manager
Aliakamer, Katawki District, Uganda
Mois Bridge, Eldoret, Kenya
A Decade of Dedication
Most families in Aliakamer are subsistence
farmers, growing small amounts of millet,
cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts and
maize in their garden plots, and raising a few
When asked what she enjoys most about her
work as a business mentor, Eunice Kiombe
points to the lasting impact of her efforts.
“After completing our program, our business
When she started at Village Enterprise in
2004, Linnet Ayuma was told that operations
responsibilities could “keep her busy.”
Linnet was surprised, since at that point the
Kakamega office consisted of only two staff
positions and a handful of volunteer business
mentors. Little did she know that, nearly ten
years later, she would become Senior
Operations Manager overseeing all East
African accounting and office operations,
supporting a staff of nearly 80!
A vegetable kiosk started with two friends
through the Village Enterprise program has
given Maureen a steady income, the ability to
clothe, feed and educate her extended family,
and confidence for the future.
In many rural areas of East Africa—where
each day is often a struggle to survive—
women bear the heaviest burden. Lacking
opportunities to improve their lives, women
too-often feel a sense of hopelessness for
themselves and for their children.
African women know firsthand the significance
of the proverb, “If you want to go far, go
together.” With a small grant, extensive
training, and mentoring from Village Enterprise,
women are able to start businesses in groups
of three and form thirty-person savings
groups. Working together, they launch
successful enterprises, save for their futures,
build stronger communities, and begin to feel
a sense of purpose and hope.
In a small Kenyan village south of our new
Kitale office, I was overwhelmed with emotion
when I heard Maureen’s story. Just 24 years old,
Maureen had three children of her own. When
her sister and brother-in-law passed away, she
also took on the care of her four small nieces
and nephews. Pause for a minute and consider
her situation: Maureen has a fourth-grade
education, responsibility for seven children, and
(until recently) no way to earn money. Each
day was a struggle for survival.
Maureen’s story of determination is inspiring.
As I helped bring the group’s kale to market,
I could see first-hand how we truly make a
difference in the lives of others.
Her experience is not unique. Through the
resources Village Enterprise provides—and
the hard work on the part of our business
owners—over 75% of our businesses are
still in operation after four years. Incomes
increase by 76% and food consumption
increases by 67%.
We have been so successful in reducing
poverty in the villages where we work that
last year we set an ambitious goal to expand
our operations through a $5,000,000
Campaign to Scale Impact and Transform Lives.
This Campaign is allowing us to start over
8,000 businesses in three years, train and
mentor over 25,000 East Africans, expand to
two additional countries through partnerships,
conduct an independent randomized control
evaluation, and implement new mobile
technologies to increase our impact.
Your support provides the Maureens of East
Africa with the opportunity to start a new
business and care for their families. Thank you!
— Dianne Calvi, CEO of Village Enterprise
chickens and a goat or sheep. The nearest
grinding mill is a several-kilometer walk.
When Stella Atim joined the Village Enterprise
program, she quickly recognized the profitability
potential of the “business-in-a-box” grain/nut
grinders from Compatible Technology International.
These small hand-operated mills produce flour
from grains and a paste from roasted nuts.
Stella and her two partners opened their
grinding business on a make-shift table by
the main village path in July 2012. Within six
months they amassed profits sufficient to
purchase three goats, followed by two sheep
a few months later. In July 2013 they sold their
livestock and rented two acres, one for rice
and one for cassava. They have since harvested
their rice, turning a nice profit of $110 while
retaining one bag for their own consumption.
They will soon sell the cassava and double their
land rental to four acres. Another woman in
their village now oversees the grinder operation.
Stella speaks with pride about the changes her
income has made. “My four children now eat
chicken or fish two days a week, and because I can
pay fees for uniforms, books, and pens, they attend
school. I can afford sugar for my tea. I have new
saucepans and plates for my kitchen. Best of all, I
have confidence that I can escape poverty.”
Village Enterprise – www.villageenterprise.org
owners can feed their children, pay health care
and school fees, and ensure that life is good
and pleasing to others in their communities.
A business gives hope and an opportunity to
those trapped in the poverty cycle.”
She cites Petronila Musavi, who has grown his
two-year-old sheep business to the point that
he recently began construction on a new home
for his family. Previously, Petronila worked as a
stone-carver making under $1/day.
Growing up in Kakamega with five siblings,
Linnet learned at a young age how to work
hard. Upon completing secondary school, she
entered a certificate program in accounting.
Why accounting? She loved mathematics, so
it was an easy choice. Linnet continued her
education and recently received a Bachelor’s
degree in Business Management with a
Finance Option from Masinde Muliro
University of Science and Technology in
Kakamega. Starting to giggle, she continues,
A mentor since November 2011, Eunice has
started 140 businesses and 14 business savings
groups. She proudly notes that her most
successful savings group has accumulated
$1000 and is actively making small loans to
members to help them expand their businesses.
Eunice’s own hard work has allowed her to
send her two daughters to private school.
Older daughter Njeri recently completed
secondary school with high marks, and is
hoping to find work in a law firm in Kakamega.
Younger daughter Lupita will enter secondary
school this fall. A neighbor recently asked her
younger daughter “where is your mama?”
Lupita proudly responded, “My role model
mama has gone to the field to train the mamas!”
Why work for Village Enterprise? “Improving my
community is my passion. . .I want to see my people
live free from extreme poverty and chronic hunger.
Village Enterprise provides the avenue for escape.”
Village Enterprise – 800.785.1775
“I love doing all the bookkeeping for Village
Enterprise. Really, I just love it!”
She enjoys mentoring staff in three field
offices. “I want to make Village Enterprise
a place where people love their jobs and
where they work with integrity and pride.”
She marvels at the program improvements
that have come from our bi-annual Innovation
Summits. An example is the use of Google’s
Open Database Kit to record data collected
in the field, which staff can now compile and
is upload directly from their smart phones, a
process previously entered by hand.
When asked to comment on the many changes
in her ten years at Village Enterprise, she
cites the shift from volunteer to employed
business mentors. “In the field, employed
business mentors are granted a different
status. The extra training they receive also
translates into higher quality mentoring and
businesses.”
Field Report
Field Report
Spring Quarter 2014
Phone
(650) 802-8891
(800) 785-1775
Email
[email protected]
Online
villageenterprise.org
facebook.com/villageenterprise.org
PROGRAM INNOVATIONS
FUNDER HIGHLIGHT
Akina Mama
Women Entrepreneurs Supporting Women Out Of Poverty
Five Acres Or Less Workshop
— When a woman is hungry, she says: “Roast something for the children that they might eat.” – African Proverb
Field Practice Informs Theory And Research
By Doug Bove, SMART Program Fellow
Local San Mateo, CA entrepreneur Jenn Jory was
inspired to action when she heard about Helen, a
Ugandan woman who lifted herself and her family
out of extreme poverty via a tailoring business
started through a Village Enterprise grant.
“Inspiration often comes from watching someone
achieve a dream against all odds,” offers Jenn.
“When I learned that a grant of $150—the price
of just one of my handbags—could start a small
business and alleviate hunger for a whole family, I
knew I needed to do something.”
On February 10th and 11th, 2014, Village
Enterprise hosted the “Five Acres or Less:
Agricultural Planning for Small-Scale Farmers
in East Africa” workshop in Kampala, Uganda.
This event, which brought together over 60
agricultural professionals from organizations
such as USAID, Makerere University, Kenyatta
University, the University of Nairobi, IPA,
Simlow Seed Company, and the Kenya
Agricultural Research Institute along with
our own ‘best practices’ farmers, discussed
the nuances of the various factors limiting
the productivity of rural agriculture.
Perhaps the most unique quality of the workshop was the inclusion of the rural farmer in the
debate. Agricultural development and
practices conferences are regularly held
in Washington, London and Paris, but in
very few cases have rural farmers directly
participated, bringing their practical
expertise and knowledge of field issues.
The workshop blended formal presentations
on the current status of micro-farming with
focused, intensive work groups. Groups were
formed around specific crop families and
contained a mix of academic and industry
experts and our farmer-practitioners. Each
was tasked with finding consensus on the
appropriate combination of agricultural
inputs, land management techniques, and
risk mitigation strategies to ideally suit the
Kenyan and Uganda micro-climates. Topics
were debated through the lens of the Village
Enterprise SMART Tool, which was then
updated in real-time.
It was rewarding to watch Village Enterpriseaffiliated farmers—most of whom graduated
from our program—not just go to toe-to-toe
with academics and deans from prestigious
research organizations and schools of
agriculture about the right balance of
fertilizers, but to prevail!
Attendees praised the conference for its
accomplishments: “It is innovative and rare
to see the Dean of the University of Nairobi
School of Agriculture and a Village Enterprise
farmer at the same table, discussing how to
improve agricultural practices,” commented
one attendee. “The skills I gained will
make my home people benefit from my
experience” offered another.
Village Enterprise – 800.785.1775
USAID Community
Connector Project:
First USAID Grant Recognizes
Unique Poverty Reduction Model
Working alongside a group of highly respected
international NGOs including Grameen
Foundation, BRAC Uganda, and Self Help
Africa, Village Enterprise is helping to deliver
the USAID Uganda Community Connector (CC)
Project in five districts in northeastern and
western Uganda.
Led by FHI 360, the CC Project employs a
comprehensive and multi-faceted approach
to reducing poverty, food insecurity, and
malnutrition in ultra-poor Ugandan
communities.
Jenn, an environmentally-conscious business
owner whose company EcoGirl Handbags
refashions discarded upholstery into designer
purses, has pledged a percentage of her profits
to Village Enterprise to support business owners
like Helen. But she didn’t stop there. Jenn then
recruited Gina Barron, owner of the Burlingame,
CA skin salon Rituals Aesthetic Skincare, to do
the same. Gina, who recently returned from a
trip to Kenya, shares: “Starting my own business
was so empowering for me. I want to empower
other women to support their families too.”
Thus, the Akina Mama giving initiative was born.
In Swahili, Akina Mama roughly translates
as “a sisterhood of individuals who work
together to provide for the needs of the
whole.” Jenn and Gina are uniting women
entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area
to support their Akina Mama counterparts in
East Africa. Their initiative—connecting local
and African women entrepreneurs—dovetails
perfectly with Village Enterprise’s mission
of ending poverty through sustainable
businesses. Jenn and Gina are looking to
grow the Akina Mama initiative to include
more local businesses owners with a passion
for helping others.
Seven out of ten of the world’s hungry are
women and girls. In East Africa, women are
more likely to be illiterate, do unpaid work,
and eat less in lean times than men. In
addition, women are less likely to have
access to clean water, own their own land,
and control their own money.
Women’s economic empowerment is crucial
for poverty alleviation, and is an important
means through which we can end extreme
poverty. Two-thirds of Village Enterprise’s
small business owners are women. Studies
show that when a woman generates her
own income, she reinvests 90 percent of it
in her family and community, thus raising
the tide of prosperity and with it future
hope for all. Outcomes for each Village
Enterprise business owner and their family
include better nutrition, improved health,
increased education for children, higherquality housing, individual empowerment,
greater social and economic status, and
an enhanced sense of hope now and for
their futures.
Jenn and Gina invite other local women
entrepreneurs to join their Akina Mama
giving initiative. For more information,
please contact Jenn at [email protected]
or [email protected].
A one-year, $238,000 grant will fund 360
businesses, assist 1,080 households and start
36 Business Saving Groups. In total, a minimum
of 5,400 men, women, and children will benefit
from the program.
Grace Kemirembe, Deputy Chief of Party for
the USAID CC Project at FHI 360, explains why
Village Enterprise was selected to participate
in the Project: “Their cost-effective, innovative,
and high-impact poverty reduction model
ensures that the most vulnerable individuals (in
particular, those living in remote, hard-to-reach,
rural areas) will benefit from project interventions.
Their hands-on approach with local leadership
enables participants to develop essential
business skills, and supports the scale-up of
CC activities in these communities.”
Village Enterprise – www.villageenterprise.org
Field Report
Field Report
FROM THE CEO
BUSINESS OWNER PROFILE
BUSINESS MENTOR PROFILE
STAFF PROFILE
Together We Are Making A Difference
Stella Ikim Atim
Eunice Kiombe
Linnet Ayuma
You + VE + Hard-Working Women = Transformed Families
Ainapaina “Peace” Group
“Role Model Mama”
Senior Operations Manager
Aliakamer, Katawki District, Uganda
Mois Bridge, Eldoret, Kenya
A Decade of Dedication
Most families in Aliakamer are subsistence
farmers, growing small amounts of millet,
cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts and
maize in their garden plots, and raising a few
When asked what she enjoys most about her
work as a business mentor, Eunice Kiombe
points to the lasting impact of her efforts.
“After completing our program, our business
When she started at Village Enterprise in
2004, Linnet Ayuma was told that operations
responsibilities could “keep her busy.”
Linnet was surprised, since at that point the
Kakamega office consisted of only two staff
positions and a handful of volunteer business
mentors. Little did she know that, nearly ten
years later, she would become Senior
Operations Manager overseeing all East
African accounting and office operations,
supporting a staff of nearly 80!
A vegetable kiosk started with two friends
through the Village Enterprise program has
given Maureen a steady income, the ability to
clothe, feed and educate her extended family,
and confidence for the future.
In many rural areas of East Africa—where
each day is often a struggle to survive—
women bear the heaviest burden. Lacking
opportunities to improve their lives, women
too-often feel a sense of hopelessness for
themselves and for their children.
African women know firsthand the significance
of the proverb, “If you want to go far, go
together.” With a small grant, extensive
training, and mentoring from Village Enterprise,
women are able to start businesses in groups
of three and form thirty-person savings
groups. Working together, they launch
successful enterprises, save for their futures,
build stronger communities, and begin to feel
a sense of purpose and hope.
In a small Kenyan village south of our new
Kitale office, I was overwhelmed with emotion
when I heard Maureen’s story. Just 24 years old,
Maureen had three children of her own. When
her sister and brother-in-law passed away, she
also took on the care of her four small nieces
and nephews. Pause for a minute and consider
her situation: Maureen has a fourth-grade
education, responsibility for seven children, and
(until recently) no way to earn money. Each
day was a struggle for survival.
Maureen’s story of determination is inspiring.
As I helped bring the group’s kale to market,
I could see first-hand how we truly make a
difference in the lives of others.
Her experience is not unique. Through the
resources Village Enterprise provides—and
the hard work on the part of our business
owners—over 75% of our businesses are
still in operation after four years. Incomes
increase by 76% and food consumption
increases by 67%.
We have been so successful in reducing
poverty in the villages where we work that
last year we set an ambitious goal to expand
our operations through a $5,000,000
Campaign to Scale Impact and Transform Lives.
This Campaign is allowing us to start over
8,000 businesses in three years, train and
mentor over 25,000 East Africans, expand to
two additional countries through partnerships,
conduct an independent randomized control
evaluation, and implement new mobile
technologies to increase our impact.
Your support provides the Maureens of East
Africa with the opportunity to start a new
business and care for their families. Thank you!
— Dianne Calvi, CEO of Village Enterprise
chickens and a goat or sheep. The nearest
grinding mill is a several-kilometer walk.
When Stella Atim joined the Village Enterprise
program, she quickly recognized the profitability
potential of the “business-in-a-box” grain/nut
grinders from Compatible Technology International.
These small hand-operated mills produce flour
from grains and a paste from roasted nuts.
Stella and her two partners opened their
grinding business on a make-shift table by
the main village path in July 2012. Within six
months they amassed profits sufficient to
purchase three goats, followed by two sheep
a few months later. In July 2013 they sold their
livestock and rented two acres, one for rice
and one for cassava. They have since harvested
their rice, turning a nice profit of $110 while
retaining one bag for their own consumption.
They will soon sell the cassava and double their
land rental to four acres. Another woman in
their village now oversees the grinder operation.
Stella speaks with pride about the changes her
income has made. “My four children now eat
chicken or fish two days a week, and because I can
pay fees for uniforms, books, and pens, they attend
school. I can afford sugar for my tea. I have new
saucepans and plates for my kitchen. Best of all, I
have confidence that I can escape poverty.”
Village Enterprise – www.villageenterprise.org
owners can feed their children, pay health care
and school fees, and ensure that life is good
and pleasing to others in their communities.
A business gives hope and an opportunity to
those trapped in the poverty cycle.”
She cites Petronila Musavi, who has grown his
two-year-old sheep business to the point that
he recently began construction on a new home
for his family. Previously, Petronila worked as a
stone-carver making under $1/day.
Growing up in Kakamega with five siblings,
Linnet learned at a young age how to work
hard. Upon completing secondary school, she
entered a certificate program in accounting.
Why accounting? She loved mathematics, so
it was an easy choice. Linnet continued her
education and recently received a Bachelor’s
degree in Business Management with a
Finance Option from Masinde Muliro
University of Science and Technology in
Kakamega. Starting to giggle, she continues,
A mentor since November 2011, Eunice has
started 140 businesses and 14 business savings
groups. She proudly notes that her most
successful savings group has accumulated
$1000 and is actively making small loans to
members to help them expand their businesses.
Eunice’s own hard work has allowed her to
send her two daughters to private school.
Older daughter Njeri recently completed
secondary school with high marks, and is
hoping to find work in a law firm in Kakamega.
Younger daughter Lupita will enter secondary
school this fall. A neighbor recently asked her
younger daughter “where is your mama?”
Lupita proudly responded, “My role model
mama has gone to the field to train the mamas!”
Why work for Village Enterprise? “Improving my
community is my passion. . .I want to see my people
live free from extreme poverty and chronic hunger.
Village Enterprise provides the avenue for escape.”
Village Enterprise – 800.785.1775
“I love doing all the bookkeeping for Village
Enterprise. Really, I just love it!”
She enjoys mentoring staff in three field
offices. “I want to make Village Enterprise
a place where people love their jobs and
where they work with integrity and pride.”
She marvels at the program improvements
that have come from our bi-annual Innovation
Summits. An example is the use of Google’s
Open Database Kit to record data collected
in the field, which staff can now compile and
is upload directly from their smart phones, a
process previously entered by hand.
When asked to comment on the many changes
in her ten years at Village Enterprise, she
cites the shift from volunteer to employed
business mentors. “In the field, employed
business mentors are granted a different
status. The extra training they receive also
translates into higher quality mentoring and
businesses.”