Visa and Hand in Hand’s entrepreneur training communities boosts incomes in Nairobi’s most deprived communities
Visa and Hand in Hand’s entrepreneur training communities boosts incomes in Nairobi’s most deprived communities: Kenya Micro-Enterprise Success Programme, Endline report by 60DB
Members saw an average income uplift of USD $156 per month
Hand in Hand’s Kenya Micro-Enterprise Success Programme (KMES) project, funded by Visa Inc., has resulted in entrepreneurs typically increasing their incomes by USD $156 per month, according to a report by 60DB.
The project is the first of its kind to target existing small business owners as well as first-time entrepreneurs. Delivered in Nairobi’s informal settlements, which the UN describes as “some of the most dense, unsanitary and insecure slums in the world,” the project aimed to boost local economies, create jobs, and lift families out of poverty.
The three-year programme provided 8,200 start-up entrepreneurs (6,560 of them women) living below the poverty line with the core business training they needed to start their own micro enterprises. It also provided advanced training to 1,600 people (1,280 of them women) who already owned and operated small businesses in the area, as part of its ‘accelerator’ cohort.
The report found:
– Members are now more resilient, and report improved ability to meet financial needs, with 91% and 94% of start-up and accelerator members respectively able to come up with the funds to cover an emergency.
– Start-up members increased their profitability by an average of 15%, earning an additional USD $150 a month. Accelerator members boosted their businesses’ profits by an average of 95%, earning an additional USD $192 a month.
– Women in both cohorts are now more involved in joint decision-making with their spouses. 54% of women in the start-up cohort and 56% of women in the accelerator cohort make joint decisions with their spouse when it comes to matters regarding health, visiting friends and family and large purchases.
– Members continue to see changes in their quality of life a year after the Hand in Hand training. 97% of start-up members and 95% of accelerator members say their quality of life has improved because of the Hand in Hand training still a year later.
Visa and Hand in Hand project helps women scale up their businesses in Nairobi’s most deprived communities
Participants saw an average income uplift of USD $156 per month, despite the Covid-19 crisis, with more than 80% reporting improved financial management skills.
Hand in Hand’s Kenya Micro-Enterprise Success Programme (KMES) project, funded by Visa Inc., has delivered unprecedented results, with entrepreneurs typically increasing their incomes by USD $156 per month, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project is the first of its kind to target existing small business owners as well as first-time entrepreneurs. Delivered in Nairobi’s informal settlements, which the UN describes as “some of the most dense, unsanitary and insecure slums in the world,” the project aimed to boost local economies, create jobs, and lift families out of poverty.
The three-year programme provided 8,200 first-time entrepreneurs (6,560 of them women) living below the poverty line with the core business training they needed to start their own micro enterprises. It also provided ‘advanced’ training to 1,600 people (1,280 of them women) who wanted to scale up their businesses, as part of its ‘acceleration’ cohort.
But, just months after the project began, Kenya was hit by its first wave of coronavirus cases, and the country locked down. For Kenyans, the pandemic wasn’t just a health crisis, it was an economic crisis as well – devastating livelihoods and pushing millions of families below the poverty line.
Despite this – the programme achieved remarkable success. Across the project, more than 80% of participants reported improved financial management skills. And, both first-time entrepreneurs and existing small businesses said they were now more financially resilient. This resilience played a crucial role in helping participants to weather the economic effects of Covid-19 pandemic — which, at the height of the crisis, saw 20% of Kenyans selling assets, 24% relying on loans to get by and over 40% skipping meals (World Bank.) However, thanks to the training, 90% of participants on the KMES programme reported that they would be able to withstand a financial shock without having to sell an asset or get into debt.
Overall, over the course of the project, first-time entrepreneurs increased their profitability by an average of 15%, earning an additional USD $150 a month. When the existing small businesses owners joined the programme they were typically making a small loss on each product sold. After taking part in the programme, they boosted their businesses’ profits by an average of 95%, earning an additional USD $192 a month.
All programme members received business and financial training, with existing small business owners being given additional mentoring and support to help them scale up their businesses. This included training in social media and digital marketing, and support to help them link up with larger markets and to access credit.
As a result of the business and financial efficiency training they’d received from Hand in Hand, programme members were able to act quickly to cut their costs, with participants in the ‘acceleration’ cohort seeing an average cost reduction of 43%. It was these cost savings that enabled entrepreneurs’ small businesses to remain operational throughout the pandemic, despite lockdowns which wiped out a third of the country’s micro and small businesses (Central Bank of Kenya.)
Being able to rapidly move their businesses online also played a key part in the entrepreneurs’ success. Many began to market their products on social and digital platforms during the pandemic, and the number of businesses taking mobile payments rose from 38% to a staggering 81%.
As the entrepreneurs’ businesses grew, so too did their ability to create jobs within their communities. Existing small businesses owners in the ‘acceleration’ cohort of the programme created 0.66 jobs per business, with first-time entrepreneurs creating jobs at a rate of 0.45 per business.
The programme also increased women’s decision making power, with 60% more first-time entrepreneurs reporting that they were now able to take part in decisions that affect their lives, such as household purchases, family visits and healthcare.
Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, Country Manager, Visa Kenya, said: “We are thrilled with the impact delivered by our partnership with Hand in Hand as not only did we surpass the number of targeted beneficiaries, but we have seen the immediate impact on their businesses.
“We will continue to seek out partnerships and opportunities that reach those traditionally underserved, providing them with access to resources that can help improve their economic livelihoods, businesses and communities.”
Hand in Hand Eastern Africa CEO, Albert Wambugu said, “At a time when businesses across the country were closing in record numbers these our members from Nairobi’s informal settlements were able to reduce their costs, expand into new markets and take their businesses online.
“Additionally, this project gave our members a path to digital financial inclusion, with a majority of entrepreneurs being able to access useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, thus reducing poverty, unleashing their potential and boosting prosperity. Truly, we are grateful to Visa for their support.”
Hand in Hand International CEO, Dorothea Arndt, said: “This project equipped women with skills not only to get through the Covid-19 crisis but to create thriving enterprises. Women entrepreneurs in these extremely poor informal settlements have the odds stacked against them. Not only are they more likely to be digitally excluded, it’s often much harder for them to access credit.
“Thanks to this project with Visa Inc. these women have been able to confound expectations and succeed as entrepreneurs, even in the midst of a global pandemic. As a result of the training – which included social media marketing skills and support to access credit, they’ve been able to expand their businesses and lift their families out of poverty for good. What’s more, many of them are now employers, creating much-needed jobs in their communities.”
87% of Hand in Hand’s women entrepreneurs now have the power to make their own decisions
New data from Hand in Hand shows, after taking part in the charity’s entrepreneurship training, 87% of women participants in Kenya, Tanzania and Afghanistan said they were able to have a say about decisions that affect them, such as household purchases, family visits and healthcare. On average, just 40.3% of women in these countries reported that they were able to participate in household decision making (World Bank).
Hand in Hand provides women entrepreneurs with the skills and confidence to create businesses that lift themselves and their communities out of poverty.
Results from a sample of 9,000 most recent Hand in Hand programme graduates (from Tanzania) also showed that, on average, women entrepreneurs more than tripled their monthly profit (+322%)
The charity operates in some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities – where food insecurity is widespread. This income boost enables programme members to provide regular, nutritious meals for their families, pay for their children’s education and afford vital healthcare. In the last five years Hand in Hand International has supported the creation of 285,000 enterprises, transforming the lives of over a million people.
The data also showed that, despite an initial dip in earnings at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, (particularly in Kenya, which saw more frequent and prolonged periods of lockdown) taking part in Hand in Hand programmes enabled participants to weather the Covid-19 crisis, reporting no significant reduction in income, even as the pandemic devastated economies across the world.
Crucially, the programmes also enabled women to become more financially resilient – with 40% of participants across all programmes saying that they would be able to get through a financial shock, such as a bad harvest or unexpected medical bill, without having to sell an asset or get into debt.
Businesses were sustainable, with 88% of all micro enterprises still operational one year after launch.
Hand in Hand CEO, Dorothea Arndt, said: “In the communities we operate within, women face enormous barriers to equality – constrained by unwritten rules that restrict what they spend their time doing, and who they can see and talk to.
“Our programmes don’t just give women the skills to start their own businesses, the money they earn and the confidence they gain helps them to speak up and make decisions in the home, too.
“Increasingly, we are seeing women entrepreneurs taking up leadership roles within their communities – something that had previously been unheard of. We’re also developing a new strand of our programming to engage with men to shift their perceptions around what a woman’s role ‘should’ be.”
87% of women with the power to make their own decisions
285,000 small businesses launched
Average 322% percent increases in monthly income
Hand in Hand and The Coca Cola Foundation partner for cleaner Nairobi streets
The project will help create 525 micro recycling businesses over two years
Hand in Hand International is excited to announce The Coca-Cola Foundation has committed US $150,000 toward ‘Women in Waste’ a two-year project to help solve the plastic waste crisis and economically empower women in Nairobi, Kenya. The initiative will help create 525 micro-recycling businesses that will clear and recycle tonnes of plastic rubbish left on the streets of Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Hand in Hand will give 750 people (who, on average live on US $2 per day) the business and technical training they need to create or, in some cases, enhance their recycling businesses. With Hand in Hand’s help these waste entrepreneurs will have access to the credit they need to begin collecting, sorting as well as compressing and baling plastic waste to sell on to private and government waste contractors.
Importantly, 80 percent of those 750 people will be women. But, it’s not just about economic equality. We know that when women earn – and decide how they spend it – it reduces poverty for everyone. More children in school, and more families with access to healthcare.
Dorothea Arndt, Hand in Hand International CEO, said, “Programs that improve the world we live in and empower wonderful and inspiring women are the lifeblood of what we do. Like The Coca-Cola Foundation, we hold empowering women at our core.”
The Coca-Cola Foundation’s partnership with Hand in Hand is just one of the ways the Foundation is working to empower women across the globe. By the time the project completes in September 2024, the 525 waste enterprises will support hundreds of jobs which, based on similar programs operated by Hand in Hand in Nairobi, could increase daily incomes by 30 percent.
Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation, said, “We are proud to use our resources to fund these types of programs. Since 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has committed itself to supporting sustainable community programs. With this particular program, 80% of the beneficiaries of this grant will be women, who will have a better chance at improving their livelihoods. As such, we will not only have a cleaner Nairobi, but we will also have a more economically empowered one, with more women actively making a positive difference in their settlements and communities.”
Nairobi’s informal settlements are home to some 2.5 million people (60% of the city’s population). Because these are informal settlements there is no infrastructure and rubbish from all over the city is dumped on their streets.
Nicole, Hand in Hand graduate and plastic recycling entrepreneur, Nairobi, said: “We realized there was no garbage holding site…and the garbage collectors were not doing their work. We decided to do something (about the garbage) that will also benefit the community.”
Hand in Hand Afghanistan appoints new Executive Director
After 10 years as Executive Director of Hand in Hand Afghanistan, Abdul Rahim Nasry will be stepping down from the role, with Dr. Kamran Hekmati being appointed as his successor.
Dr Kamran Hekmati has served as Programme Manager, Program Director and, since January, as Deputy Executive Director of Hand in Hand Afghanistan. Abdul Rahim Nasry will continue to work closely with Hand in Hand Afghanistan in an advisory role.
Abdul Rahim Nasry said: “It’s been an enormous privilege to serve as Executive Director at Hand in Hand Afghanistan and play my part in supporting so many people to lift themselves and their families above the poverty line through entrepreneurship and hard work.
“I’d like to thank my colleagues at Hand in Hand and our generous donors and funders – together we have transformed thousands of lives for the better. I am delighted that our own Dr Kamran Hekmati has been appointed to lead Hand in Hand Afghanistan as Executive Director and am confident that under his leadership the organisation will continue to go from strength-to-strength.”
Dr Kamran Hekmati said: “Since its inception Hand in Hand Afghanistan has supported over 50,000 people to set up sustainable, profitable microenterprises – changing 390,000 lives in the process. I’m excited to lead Hand in Hand Afghanistan in this next stage of its journey, and, working with our donors and stakeholders, look forward to reaching more communities, creating more jobs and helping to build better futures for even more families.”
Dorothea Arndt, Hand in Hand International CEO, said: “Hand in Hand Afghanistan’s success is testament to Nasry’s skillful leadership and his commitment to helping people beat the odds and find their own route out of poverty. We wish him all the best for the future. I’d also like to congratulate Dr Kamran Hekmati on his new role – to which he will bring many years of expertise.”
Increasing resilience in the face of skyrocketing costs
In the last few years Kenya has seen a 70 percent drop in crop production, with an estimated 3.1m people in acute hunger, now in need of aid. As a result of the conflict in Ukraine, the situation has worsened, with disruption to global supply chains causing the price of grains, oil, gas, and fertiliser to skyrocket.
Hand in Hand Eastern Africa CEO, Albert Wambugu, explains how the country’s poorest are bearing the brunt of the crisis – and how Hand in Hand is supporting its members on the ground.
Poor yields and food insecurity
“There are a number of reasons why crop production is falling overall in Kenya,” Albert explains. “Growing conditions here are extremely variable. You might have pockets where the land is fertile – and then areas where the soil quality is degraded, and rainfall is low.”
Maize is the country’s staple crop – but soil degradation and drought is affecting the ‘breadbasket’ regions where it is grown. Some of the commercial fertilisers used here are extremely acidic, and have damaged the soil. Albert says: “When the crops fail, people become reliant on food aid. Some families survive on as little as 2kg of maize a week,” Albert says.
Ukraine war causes price rises for staple goods
Because of the crisis in Ukraine, Kenyans are seeing price rises across the board. “The increasing price of fuel is very noticeable,” says Albert. “There’s been a 30% increase in less than one year.”
People in poverty spend a greater percentage of their income on food. For the very poorest, food price increases will result in adults skipping meals, or subsisting only on staples. “Cooking oil has doubled in price. When costs go up like this, the only thing people can focus on is putting food on the table. You would not be able to afford a balanced diet,” says Albert. “Protein from fish, for example, would be inconceivable.”
Cost of living increases can impact members’ enterprises too. Albert explains it’s almost impossible for people to prioritize saving when times are tough, or to spare the funds to invest money back into their businesses.
Strengthening resilience
To combat the hunger crisis, Albert’s team provide training on a range of sustainable farming techniques that improve soil quality as well as increasing yields.
“We tell our members there will always be things outside your sphere of influence, like supply chain volatility and weather changes. But there are things you can do to offset these – like crop diversification, or by using fertiliser that improves the soil instead of harming it. When you don’t know when the next rainfall will be, even something as simple as a water storage butt makes a difference. We teach people to adapt to their environment. Root crops like arrowroot contain more starch than maize and are easier to grow, so it might be a question of changing your dietary habits.”
They also focus on improving members’ financial resilience.
“We train people to set aside some of their income where possible, because savings are an important way of mitigating the impact of financial shocks. As we’ve seen during the pandemic, and now with the Ukraine crisis, this is vital. More recently, we have introduced our members to insurance. Only 3% of Kenyans have insurance,” Albert explains. “So we are working with providers to create new financial products that meet our members’ specific needs”
The team also encourage people to save in self-help groups. “When self-help groups are strong they can lend when things aren’t going well and, unlike some banks, don’t charge exorbitant rates of interest.”
Despite the challenging circumstances, Albert believes that the team at Hand in Hand Eastern Africa will continue to make a difference to the women they work with – and alleviate food insecurity.
“By giving women the tools they need to lift themselves and their families out of extreme poverty, we are able to strengthen their resilience so they can weather this global crisis.”
“The farmers we train will also have an important role to play in safeguarding food security within their communities, as well as restoring the soil so it remains productive for future generations.”
The Hand in Hand online auction is here!
That’s right, folks.
Starting today, you, your friends, your family, your friends’ families and your families’ friends – and your enemies – can bid on a huge range of super-cool items, from wine and original art to designer bags and wine to holidays, e-bikes and wine.
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Boom.
And that’s not all. Every time you bid or buy a raffle ticket, you’ll be helping women in some of the most challenging places on Earth beat the odds and succeed as entrepreneurs, which is literally impossible to argue with.
So go ahead. Finish Start your Christmas shopping or treat yourself to a presumably well-earned gift. Then forward our auction site to every single person in your address book, twice.
Happy bidding!
Let’s do thisResearch: poverty rate doubles as coronavirus grips Kenya
When Kenya recorded its first case of coronavirus on 12 March, the government wasted no time in acting: within 72 hours strict lockdown measures were in effect, and inter-county travel bans, the closure of open-air markets and a countrywide 9pm to 4am curfew soon followed.
Now, original new research from Hand in Hand is providing perhaps the most detailed look yet at how the smallholder farmers and microenterprise owners that power Kenya’s informal economy, in particular women, are struggling to cope.
The findings, which come as the government of Kenya yesterday extended its curfew by 30 days even while loosening some travel restrictions, paint a bleak picture of shuttered businesses, dwindling savings, and a country with a long road to recovery.
But they also sketch a roadmap to recovery, capturing the areas where our members – and the 11.8 million Kenyans who work in the country’s informal economy – most need support.
The results
In late-May, Hand in Hand staff surveyed 579 Self-Help Group members and 197 borrowers from our Enterprise Incubation Fund, almost 80 percent of them women, to find out they’d been affected by the lockdown. Respondents were randomly selected from 21 branches spread out across the central and southern portions of the country.
How were their businesses coping? Their savings and debt levels? What steps were they taking to adapt? What assistance did they need, financial and otherwise?
Here’s what they said.
83% living in poverty
Poverty
Before coronavirus forced Kenya into lockdown, 44 percent of sampled members lived below the poverty line of US $1.90 per person per day (Countrywide, the poverty rate is 36 percent.) Eight weeks into lockdown, that number had almost doubled, reaching 83 percent.
25% of businesses closed
Business closures
A full quarter of respondents’ had been forced to close their businesses. In some areas, that figure was as high as 40 percent. Transport and manufacturing were the hardest-hit sectors, with just 55 percent and 67 percent of Kenyan microenterprise owners still managing respectively. Agriculture, where 78 percent respondents of still had work, and retail, where 75 percent did, were faring best.
67% drop in income
Business income
Even when businesses managed to stay open, the picture was bleak: regardless of sector, location or gender, the average drop in business income was 67 percent. Not surprisingly, then, respondents identified low business incomes, a lack of customers due to market closures, and low demand as their most pressing challenges. Rising prices for farm inputs and a lack of affordable transport were other common themes.
69% drop in savings
Savings
Before the lockdown, 5 percent of respondents had no savings. Eight weeks later, that figure had shot to 39 percent. Just over half of all respondents, 54 percent, said they’d spent at least some of their savings on household needs including food. An almost equal number, 52 percent, had put at least some towards keeping their businesses running. Five percent were using their savings to pay off loans.
For almost all of them, time was running out. Five weeks ago when the survey was conducted, only 14 percent had a rainy day fund that would last more than a month.
54% plan to take out a loan to restart their business
Financing
Forty-two percent of members had no outstanding loans. Among the 58 percent who did, Self-Help Group savings funds and Hand in Hand’s Enterprise Incubation Fund were the two most common sources of credit. Both groups said financing to restart their businesses was their most important requirement, citing an average loan size of KES 27,200 (US $260). Zero-collateral loans, grants and even food donations were requested with no prompting.
Other ways we can help
Financing was our members’ number one requirement – but it wasn’t their only one. Eighty-four percent said they need personal protective equipment including face masks, gloves and soap to reopen. Farm inputs such as new seeds, training to help businesses survive during lockdown, and help accessing markets were also requested.
And then there were members who needed no help at all. Nine percent of respondents said they’d made strategic adaptations to their businesses, ranging from sourcing inputs locally to circumvent transport restrictions to more directly marketing their products door-to-door. In one case, a woman in Nairobi said she was working to make her handmade goods available on an e-commerce platform.
To learn more about this report and how Hand in Hand is adapting our programmes to help our members recover, please contact Hand in Hand International Head of Programmes Amalia Johnsson.
Hand in Hand reaches thousands in Kenya with coronavirus advice
Last month, as lockdown measures, curfews and strict social distancing laws brought Kenya to a halt, Hand in Hand traded Self-Help Groups for SMS’, motorbikes for mobile phones, setting out to reach more than 85,000 members with handwashing guidelines and other health messages, signpost to vital health services, and counter fake news.
At the same time, we were determined to empower our members to lead the fight against the coronavirus in their communities, providing advice on how to produce soap and masks, boosting food security by pointing rural members to alternative sources of seedlings and crops, and making sure far-flung communities get their messages to distant government officials.
One month later, as outreach ramps up across 21 counties, we’re able to report our progress for the very first time. From 13 April to 10 May, the latest period for which data are available, our trainers reached:
45,417 members with handwashing guidelines and other health messages
14,666 members providing links to new sources of seedlings and crops
11,104 members with advice on adapting businesses, selling face masks and soap
Face masks made and sold by the Uwezo Wema Self-Help Group.
Uwezo Wema, a Self-Help Group based in Babadogo, Nairobi County was one of the first to be contacted by trainers.
“The usual products we used to sell the pre-Corona period – shopping bags, playing balls and sandals – are no longer in high demand,” says Rhoda, the group’s Chair. “In order to survive we were forced to be creative and come up with a different business idea. Now we’re selling masks and sanitiser, which Hand in Hand taught us how to make. Our income is down from what is used to be, but we are thankful that at least we can make something during such a difficult time.”
Why women and girls are vulnerable to coronavirus
Although the risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 is greater among men and the elderly, women in the developing world face unique challenges that shouldn’t be ignored. In this article, Hand in Hand Programme Development Manager Isabel Creixell explains how women are being affected – and what Hand in Hand is doing to help them.
Livelihoods
Women are traditional caregivers: when a family member gets sick, it’s their job to step in. First and foremost, this puts them at greater risk of infection. But even in cases when they don’t fall ill, the burden of household work can increase exponentially, particularly at a time when children are home from school. Parents all over the world have been struggling with a version of this, and in many cases feeling completely overwhelmed. Now imagine if you also had to walk miles every day to fetch water, plus do the chores and shopping yourself, all while tending to the smallholding that’s keeping your family from starving and, in many cases, trying to run a small business on the side. Something’s got to give, and when a family member or members fall ill that thing is almost always the business – and in many cases the farm.
Hunger
Women working as unpaid nurses don’t have time to be unpaid farmers. In households where men don’t share the burden (most of them, in rural settings) and virtually 100 percent of female-headed households, health crises can turn to hunger crises, quick.
Across our operating countries – right now – there are women who don’t have the time to grow food because of coronavirus and don’t have the savings to buy it. Those who do have savings will be running out soon. At the same time, women are more likely than men to work in the informal economy, meaning they lack social protections like insurance or sick paid leave. Their capacity to absorb shocks, in other words, can be effectively non-existent.
Finally, and maybe most starkly, when economic pressures and food shortages visit rural households, tradition often dictates that women and girls eat least and last.
Gender-based violence
Increases in gender-based violence during lockdown have rightly caught our attention here in the developed world. The developing world, where rates of violence against women are significantly higher, deserves our attention too.
Let’s not forget that things could get worse, not better, as the lockdown lifts and the true extent of our economic crisis begins to dawn. If isolation is one cause of gender-based violence, stress and financial difficulties are two more. At a time when every spare penny will have gone to buying food, escaping violent relationships will be more difficult than ever.
Health
Health services can be universally lacking in the countries where we work. But even when they’re available women face unique challenges in accessing them. In some communities, restrictive norms keep women from travelling alone. In others’, doctors won’t see them unless their husband – who could well be ill with Covid-19 – is present at the appointment.
How Hand in Hand is helping
Long-term plans to help women weather the coming economic storm are being developed by our programmes teams now.
In the more immediate term, we’ve already taken measures to protect our women members. These include:
- Reaching women that official health guidance hasn’t, typically via their Self-Help Group leaders, to spread information about social distancing, handwashing and other virus prevention measures.
- Providing opportunities to talk about domestic abuse. Although they’re stuck in their homes, some women find that simply having a space to talk about their situation can benefit their mental health. When the lockdown is over, we can more actively direct them to support services.
- Providing information about keeping their businesses running, from how to produce items such as soap and masks to boosting food security by pointing rural members to alternative sources of seedlings and crops.
- Working with men, who make up roughly 20 percent of our members, to share information about the benefits of sharing household tasks.
- Reaching men with targeted messages about coping mechanisms, and providing someone to talk to, in order to reduce the incidence of domestic abuse.