When Lotorupe joined Village Enterprise, she was 45 years old, a widow, and the primary caretaker for eight children all living together in a small mud house. Having never been to school or owned a business, she struggled to feed her children and pay for their school fees.

But through Village Enterprise, Lotorupe launched a business buying and selling goats alongside two other widows. In a region where women are traditionally not permitted to own animals—nor even allowed near livestock markets—they were collectively challenging what was possible for women in their community. And it worked. Because of the skills and training they learned through Village Enterprise, their business took off. Using the increasing profits from their business, Lotorupe was able to diversify her income by launching an additional business on the side of selling groceries, as well as keeping chickens to earn and save even more.

As a part of the Village Enterprise poverty graduation model, Lotorupe also joined a business savings group—a group of 30 entrepreneurs working together and meeting weekly to build savings, assets, and save for emergencies. Traditionally, the group records are kept in paper books, but as part of our DreamSave pilot program, Lotorupe’s business savings group began keeping all their records on the DreamSave app on a smartphone. This not only helped them maintain more accurate records, but the app sent notifications reminding Lotorupe of her savings targets and even sent celebratory alerts when she reached her goals.

Created by DreamStart Labs, the DreamSave app was piloted by Village Enterprise in 12 communities in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Lotorupe loved the app so much that she eventually exceeded her savings targets. Having originally set a target of putting aside $275 USD, she ended up saving $350 USD and was able to build her family a brand new tin-roofed house. She was also able to use her profits to purchase a donkey, which she uses to fetch water and reduce her fatigue, and she has plans to sell the donkey’s offspring to further her return on investment.

Utilizing DreamSave not only encouraged and motivated Lotorupe on her business progress, but it helped her savings group become much more efficient. Their meetings grew shorter, allowing more time for the women to return to operate their businesses or run errands. DreamSave also helped the women increase their literacy skills, and they became more resilient to climate change as a result of their success. Having saved money for emergencies, digitized their records, and purchased household assets, they’re more prepared to handle unprecedented situations.

It’s been over a year since Lotorupe joined Village Enterprise, and she’s tremendously happy with her business and how much money she’s been able to save because of DreamSave. She’s been able to provide consistent, healthy meals for her children, and is now confident about what the future holds for her family.

Village Enterprise is continuing to expand the DreamSave pilot, with the goal of having all business savings groups on the app by 2025.

The post Lotorupe’s Story: Building savings, resilience, and a brighter future with DreamSave appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Over the past two decades, Linnet has brought passion to every role she has taken on at Village Enterprise, and she has witnessed the organization grow from a small nonprofit to an international NGO with a team of over 500 staff members.

To celebrate her anniversary, we asked Linnet to share some of her story, along with a few of her favorite memories from the past 20 years. Join us in celebrating our stunning colleague Linnet!

Q: You’ve worked at Village Enterprise for 20 years—how incredible! Can you tell us the story of how you first got involved with Village Enterprise?

A: Thank you, that’s a good question. I cannot believe it is now two decades since I joined Village Enterprise. When I started as an intern, I assisted the prior Country Director to organize her receipts for US reporting and assist with other office work like making errands, paying bills, and keeping the office clean. It has been a long journey, though very memorable.

Q: What’s your current position, and what do you enjoy most about it?

A: Currently, I am the Finance and Administration Manager for Kenya and I am very passionate about what Village Enterprise does as an organization. As the Finance and Administration Manager, I may not directly interact with the entrepreneurs we work with, but just ensuring these entrepreneurs are supported and receive the seed capital to start their businesses to change their lives is so fulfilling.

Q: How have you seen Village Enterprise change over the past 20 years?

A: I have witnessed Village Enterprise grow all along the way. This is by having different strategic plans that led to its growth. When I joined Village Enterprise we were only three staff in Kenya (Country Director, Assistant Country Director, and myself). During that time we used to have volunteer business mentors who were engaged when funds were available. Now we have over 300 employed staff just in Kenya, multiple departments, and digital technology that has made Village Enterprise stand out. Village Enterprise started operating in a small office, but now we have three offices across Kenya located in different regions to reach those who live in extreme poverty and make their lives better.

Q: You’ve experienced and accomplished so much over the past 20 years, but do you have a favorite memory from work that stands out? Or an experience that was particularly meaningful?

A: One day we went for grant disbursement, and we had a female entrepreneur who shared her story that really touched me. She was a widow and after her husband passed on, nobody in the community wanted to associate with her—they perceived her to be a beggar. But she was lonely, and she had lost hope in life. Village Enterprise went to work in that community and through Village Enterprise’s program, she made friends and they worked together to run their business so that they could earn a living. She was able to sustain herself and her children, no longer needing to beg. The community that had isolated her now embraced her. Her story really touched me and motivated me to continue working with Village Enterprise and ensure that if there is another woman out there experiencing the same, then we can give her hope again.

Another experience that has also been fulfilling was shifting from cash disbursement to mobile money disbursement when providing business grants to our entrepreneurs. Initially during disbursement, we had to go to the bank to withdraw cash and carry it to the field which was risky. But after embracing mobile technology, this has made our disbursement process to be much more efficient and secure, and we can disburse grants to different regions at the same time, even in very remote areas.

Q: How has working at Village Enterprise impacted your life?

A: Village Enterprise has really impacted my life. Professionally, I have grown and developed so many skills. I got the chance to pursue my degree while at Village Enterprise and I was able to pay for my university fees which my parents could not afford. Through Village Enterprise, I have been able to learn and interact with two accounting packages, QuickBooks and NetSuite, which has been so amazing. Also, managing Village Enterprise funds and supporting our team in achieving Village Enterprise’s mission and vision feels really rewarding. Interacting with stunning colleagues from different countries and learning from each other has also made me grow professionally.

Congratulations, Linnet, and thank you for everything you’ve done for Village Enterprise and the entrepreneurs we serve!

The post Linnet ​​Ayuma: Celebrating 20 years at Village Enterprise appeared first on Village Enterprise.

On top of everything listed below, Village Enterprise also received its ninth consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator and earned a perfect, 100% score—an honor achieved by less than one-tenth of one percent of all charities. We were also a finalist for Charity Navigator’s first-ever Community Choice Award.

Thank you for making 2023 our most impactful year to date! If you would like to learn more about all that was accomplished, check out our recently published Annual Report.

1. Transformed more lives in one year than ever before—over 252,000.

By equipping women, refugees, and youth to become entrepreneurs, we’re breaking generational cycles of extreme poverty and creating economic opportunities for communities all across rural Africa. It’s hard to overstate the transformative impact this has for the families we serve. As our entrepreneurs now have the means to generate sustainable income and build their savings, they can invest in things that really matter—housing, education, nutrition, healthcare, their family’s future, and pursuing their dreams.

2. Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for strategic new projects

Near the end of 2023, Village Enterprise received a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This funding will support our collaborative work with the Makueni, Taita Taveta, and West Pokot county governments in Kenya to lay the foundation for them to independently manage poverty graduation programs. It will also support the implementation of Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program as part of a DREAMS pilot in Garissa County, which will be our first time implementing DREAMS in Kenya.

3. DREAMS to expand to Tanzania and the Ethiopian Highlands

Late in the year, Village Enterprise and Mercy Corps learned that DREAMS received funding to expand to Tanzania and the highlands of Ethiopia starting early 2024. In Tanzania, DREAMS will serve naturalized refugees. In the highlands of Ethiopia, the program will work with communities living in extreme poverty. In both countries, Village Enterprise will provide technical assistance to local organizations to implement our poverty graduation model.

Pictured above is the Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda where DREAMS was first launched. Photo credit: Ezra Millstein for Mercy Corps.

4. Partnered with the Government of Rwanda to scale poverty graduation

In November, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) awarded $6.5 million to Village Enterprise, which was DIV’s largest grant in the past decade and their second largest ever. With this funding, Village Enterprise will work with the Government of Rwanda to adopt, implement, and scale our poverty graduation program across Rwanda. This will support one million Rwandans to move out of extreme poverty by 2027, with the ultimate goal of ending extreme poverty in Rwanda by 2030.

5. Launched DREAMS for Refugees in Ethiopia

In partnership with Mercy Corps and with funding from the IKEA Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Village Enterprise officially launched DREAMS for Refugees in the Dollo Ado region of Ethiopia. The first cohort of 1,200 entrepreneurs from the Kobe, Hilaweyn, and Melkadida refugee settlements launched their businesses in December and are projected to graduate from our program in the spring of 2024. The launch of DREAMS in Ethiopia builds off the program’s success in refugee settlements in Uganda. 

Photo credit: Ezra Millstein for Mercy Corps

6. Revolutionized microbusiness development in rural Africa through digital solutions

In partnership with DreamStart Labs, Village Enterprise piloted the DreamSave app within 12 communities across Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda this past year. DreamSave assists business savings groups in securely and accurately storing their savings records on mobile phones instead of in paper books. This pilot has been so effective and exciting for participants—saving them time and encouraging them to increase their savings—that we are planning to implement it in every Village Enterprise business savings group by 2025!

7. MacKenzie Scott’s transformational gift

In March, philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott donated $7 million to Village Enterprise—the largest single unrestricted gift in our organization’s history. Her gift is not only a testament to our mission and vision, but it will be a cornerstone of our efforts to end extreme poverty and build climate resilience for 20 million people by 2030.

8. Won Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award for building refugee self-reliance

In May, DREAMS for Refugees won Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Award for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This innovative approach to poverty alleviation combines Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program with Mercy Corps’ expertise in market systems development. By combining these two proven approaches, DREAMS supports refugees to build economic self-reliance as they graduate out of extreme poverty and rebuild their lives. Since May, DREAMS has also been featured in Fortune and BBC Business Matters (starting at 27:16).

Photo credit: Jjumba Martin for Mercy Corps

9. Increased proximate leadership on our Board of Directors

Village Enterprise welcomed four dynamic African leaders to our Board of Directors in 2023: Ermias Eshetu, Michael Mithika, Evelyn Namara, and Alexis Rwabizambuga. All four members, along with Serah Kimani who joined our board during the summer of 2022, live in our countries of operation. As a result, 44% of our board is African, emphasizing Village Enterprise’s commitment to having proximate leadership at all levels of our organization.

10. Village Enterprise’s transformative work recognized by Stanford University

In June, Village Enterprise CEO and President Dianne Calvi was awarded the President’s Award for the Advancement of the Common Good from Stanford University. This honor recognizes Stanford alumni who have positively and sustainably changed the trajectory of people’s lives in their communities and around the world, and it is a testament to the transformative impact Village Enterprise has had on ending extreme poverty in Africa.

We’re thrilled at all that we accomplished in 2023 thanks to your steadfast support and the hard work of our stunning team. We can’t wait to go even further together in 2024!

The post Ten of Our Greatest Accomplishments from 2023 appeared first on Village Enterprise.

“As Village Enterprise continues to scale our impact to end extreme poverty in rural Africa, it’s critical that we have African voices leading the way on our Board of Directors and at the helm of our decision-making,” said Dianne Calvi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Village Enterprise. “I am thrilled that Alexis, Ermias, Evelyn, Michael, and Serah have all joined our Board of Directors. They all have a passion for ending extreme poverty and creating a sustainable, prosperous future in rural Africa.”

Ermias Eshetu is the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Ethiopia, an agency that aims to support the development of accessible, inclusive, and sustainable financial markets for economic growth and human development in Ethiopia. Previously, Ermias served as Advisory Partner at Grant Thornton Ethiopia from 2018 to 2021 and the Chief Executive Officer at the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange from 2014 to 2017. He received a Master of Science in International Business from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Serah Kimani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ascend Group, which assists investors from across the globe in making investments in Kenya and the wider East Africa Community region. From 2020 to 2022, Serah served as Technical Advisor to the Cabinet Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development. She received a Master of Laws degree from American University Washington College of Law and also from the University of Pretoria. Serah also holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi.

Michael Mithika is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mizizi Partners, an innovation and growth strategy firm committed to broadening access to opportunity, capital, well-being, and knowledge for the majority in Africa through market-creating innovations. From 2017 to 2022, Michael was President and Chief Executive of VisionFund International, the economic development and financial inclusion subsidiary of World Vision. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from the United States International University – Africa.

Evelyn Namara is the Senior Partnerships Manager and Researcher at the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, as well as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vouch, where she has worked with the World Food Programme, Mercy Corps, and others to disburse food, farming equipment, and household items to people in need. Among her past roles, Evelyn was Country Director of Solar Sister in Uganda, setting up Solar Sister’s first operations in the country. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Makerere University and a Diploma in Sustainable Business and Responsible Leadership from the Swedish Institute.

Dr. Alexis Rwabizambuga is the Managing Director at TestandCare Medical Technologies Ltd, where he leads the firm’s initiative to ensure access to decent healthcare for all by reducing the gap in accessing diagnostic medical technologies. From 2012 to 2022, he was Chief Country Economist at the African Development Bank. A Harvard Fellow, Alexis received a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Geography from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Master of Science in Management from the Norwegian School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts from Oslo University.

“Our new board members are joining our world-class, locally-led team of over 500 changemakers at Village Enterprise,” said Dianne Calvi. “More than 97% of our team is from Africa, with most of our staff working directly in the communities and villages that they call home. As Alexis, Ermias, Evelyn, Michael, and Serah join our board, we’re proud to have leaders from Africa at every level of our organization, from our field teams to our c-suite to our Board of Directors.”

Learn more about Village Enterprise’s Board of Directors here.

The post Five African Leaders Join Village Enterprise’s Board of Directors appeared first on Village Enterprise.

In Kenya, agriculture is considered the most important segment of the economy—especially in West Pokot County, where it accounts for 84% of household income. However, 69% of the population in West Pokot already live below the poverty line. Women and girls living in extreme poverty in arid and semi-arid regions that depend on agriculture such as West Pokot are some of the most vulnerable populations facing threats from climate change.

Above: The Suam River, located in Western Kenya along the Ugandan border, is a major resource for local communities. Year after year, these communities have seen significant decreases in water-levels, impacting their day to day life and ability to earn a living.

“If climate change isn’t addressed, individuals in the agricultural sector will lose their livelihoods, and in an effort to ensure their children are taken care of and well fed, many of them will pressure their girls into child marriage,” explains Nelly Munge, Technical Advisor Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion at Village Enterprise. “There are other risks as well. Often in regions like West Pokot, girls are forced to drop out of school to find water, and women and girls who are forced to migrate because of climate change will face an increased risk of violence.”

Kenyan women account for 75% of the labor force in small-scale agriculture, yet they have access to less than 10% of available credit and less than 1% of agricultural credit. “The majority of women farmers have been left out of both grassroots and national-level climate adaptation discussions,” says Nelly Munge. “Women farmers experience critical barriers to climate adaptation such as lack of credit and savings, as well as a lack of knowledge and training about climate-smart adaptations.”

Because of culturally-derived gender inequality in the region, the majority of men find less labor intensive work as security guards or supervisors. Although lesser in numbers, male farmers are better positioned than female farmers to adapt climate-friendly practices as they have greater access to appropriate information, training, and resources. In times of drought, men can more easily leave their homes to find alternative sources of income while women typically have more household responsibilities such as raising children and tending to the home.

This was the case for Roserlyne, Faith, and Eliza, of Parasenta village in West Pokot until March of 2021 when they were selected for an adapted version of the Village Enterprise graduation program, called the Women Economic Empowerment through Climate-Smart Agriculture Project. Funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and in partnership with UNWomen and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the project aims to enhance the capacity of West Pokot county officials to develop gender-sensitive and climate-smart policies and to increase household income for women in the agricultural value chain using modern farming technologies that are climate-smart.

Pictured above: Faith Chepochongil, Eliza Cherop Gabriel, and Roserlyne Chepochemuma Lorengei in Parasenta village (left to right).

Eliza, Faith, and Roserlyne were three of more than 800 people living in extreme poverty in West Pokot who were identified by Village Enterprise to start sustainable agribusinesses. Of these 809 entrepreneurs, 80% of them were women. On top of receiving training from Village Enterprise to start their businesses and $180 as a seed investment, entrepreneurs received training on climate-smart agriculture from FAO. Entrepreneurs learned about techniques to improve agricultural outputs in a changing farming environment such as proper irrigation, planting drought tolerant crops, and moisture retention practices. For Roserlyne, Faith, and Eliza, these trainings meant they now knew how to implement climate-smart techniques throughout the entire agricultural value chain, and they shared that these methods have also increased the quality of their produce.

To approach the topic of climate-change adaptations with a holistic lens, Village Enterprise is also working to address gender, youth, and social dynamics. As part of our poverty graduation model, each business is part of a business savings group of 10 businesses that gives the entrepreneurs access to growth capital and a safe place for their savings. The business savings groups also serve as safe spaces for women to share any issues, learn from one another, and find support, demonstrating increased confidence and leadership skills. Faith shared that through this group they are “now able to lift each other’s lives.”

Above: Adaptations in agricultural practices are becoming increasingly vital for West Pokot farmers to cope with changing climate conditions. The photo on the left shows the difficult conditions farmers are attempting to grow crops in. The photo on the right shows the crops of Village Enterprise entrepreneurs. Through trainings provided by FAO, entrepreneurs are learning techniques to improve their crops in a changing farming environment.  

While women and youth participants are becoming more aware of the different opportunities for them to participate in climate-smart agriculture, male spouses are increasing support over their newfound household income. Eliza spoke of how her relationship with her spouse has greatly improved because she can now afford to put food on the table for the entire family, noting “it feels good to have your own money as a woman.” Through financial literacy and gender empowerment training, entrepreneurs have reported a decrease in household gender-based violence.

Within a year, Roserlyne, Faith, and Eliza have collectively saved over 80,000 Kenyan shillings ($691 USD), purchased goats and chickens for their home, sent all of their children to school, and Faith even purchased a mattress so she no longer has to sleep on the floor. In total, this project is estimated to directly impact the lives of 2,400 people. And with support from Village Enterprise, the West Pokot County Government has formulated two policies to address issues of climate mitigation and financing of climate change interventions. These policies, acting as catalysts of cultural and behavioral changes, will change the course of history for West Pokot women, girls, and climate for generations to come.

The post How Female Farmers in West Pokot are Building Resilience to Climate Change appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Like many other single mothers in rural Kenya, Lucy faced the daunting task of fending for herself and her two young children while unemployed and living in extreme poverty. As a result, she struggled to find food, medicine, and other basic necessities critical for the health, well-being, and survival of her family.

The mortality rate for children under five in Kenya stands at 43.2 children per 1,000 live births. Additionally, one out of three children under the age of five is physically stunted, a sign of chronic malnutrition. Socio-economic status is a crucial determinant of survival; children in the lowest wealth quintile are 44% more likely to die before the age of five than those in the highest quintile.

More than four million women in Kenya live in extreme poverty—nearly 8% of the country’s population. Lucy represents the one in three women aged 18 to 60 in Sub-Saharan Africa who are single mothers.

This is her story.

+++

My name is Lucy Musimbi.

Before Village Enterprise came to my village in Ndalu, I was pregnant and living a life without hope. Every day was a struggle. I had no means of income after my husband abandoned me during my pregnancy. When it was time for delivery, I sent word to him, hoping that he would be touched to change. But when he saw that I was having twins, he told me that all I know is how to give birth but not how to pay school fees. He left, and I never saw or heard him again.

Life became so hard. My neighbor was a big help as she let me leave the babies with her while I set out early in the day looking for work. I worked as a farmhand and sometimes washed people’s clothes, but it was never enough. Food was the biggest challenge – even as I breastfed, sometimes all I had to eat for days was boiled water without sugar.

Village Enterprise picked me up from the garbage. When I joined the program, I felt like I witnessed a miracle. Not only were they teaching us how to use our talents for business, but they were also giving us the money to start, and it was not a loan we had to pay back. I did not believe that my simple skill of sewing and making beads would change my life and the lives of my children forever, but it did.

Through the training, I was able to teach other women how to do bead-making. I learned about saving with a purpose. It is from those savings that I bought chairs and cooking utensils for my house, items I never previously owned. Through the program and my business, my babies are healthy and eating. I no longer stay up at night wondering how I will pay for their school fees.

Village Enterprise did not just save me, they also saved my children and gave them a chance for a better future. I am forever grateful to them.

The post A Future for the Next Generation appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Christine is among 86,000 Ugandans who are diagnosed with tuberculosis annually. Uganda is one of the 30 World Health Organization designated countries with a high burden of tuberculosis infection. Although nearly all public hospitals in Uganda offer tuberculosis medication for free, individuals living with this disease cite the associated non-medical costs as catastrophic.

The combined cost of transportation, food, nutritional supplements, and other non-medical expenditures accounted for the largest share of total disease related costs at 60%. Christine, like many Ugandans living with tuberculosis, struggled to afford the costs associated with hiring a caretaker and the cost of transportation to retrieve her medicine.

This is her story.

+++

My name is Arach Christine.

My husband died at the hands of Karamojong Cattle Rustlers a long time ago. I have five children. As a single mother with no means to fend for my own life let alone my kids, I decided to go back to the home of my parents. However, my family instead sent me back to my marital home that was inherited by my brother-in-law and whom I was now expected to marry.

After we got married, I gave birth to another child. My new husband battered me. I tried to run away with my children and move back in with my parents, but they had passed away. I reached out to my uncle who refused to take me in saying that since I was married, my duty was to tend to my husband. Disappointed and frustrated, with nowhere to go, I went back to him. 

It was then when my luck worsened.

In 1998, I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Pregnant with my third child, I was taken to the nearest hospital where I stayed for three months. Nearly 20 years passed and I had two more children with my husband. In January 2019 I was re-diagnosed with tuberculosis and, this time, spent six months at the hospital while my five children were in the care of my mother-in-law. I had no family members to visit and care for me, only surviving on the goodwill of other patient’s caretakers. 

When I was discharged from the hospital, I returned to my village and sought help from the village leaders. The leaders provided me with a compound of land where I could build a hut to live apart from my husband and recover from my disease. My luck was improving, however, I was still unable to earn a sustainable living. I spent every shilling I had on materials to build my hut and to pay any expenses for my children. I could not afford the transportation cost to refill my tuberculosis medication from the hospital in town and often missed pills when the bottle became empty.

My story would remain the same until last year when I enrolled in the Village Enterprise program. This program was the beginning of the end of my troubles. For the first time, I developed friendships with other women where I felt comfortable sharing stories of my life. In return, I heard many touching stories from women whose experiences were similar to mine. I was trained on different business skills and ideas. Most importantly, I learned how to save with a purpose.

With the grant money provided by Village Enterprise, I was able to start a retail business with two other women. Together, we sell produce like bananas, jackfruit and maize meal.  I saved enough money to buy three bags of cement to build the structure of my hut, where I now live with my children. I am now saving up money to buy goats and cows. I hope to make enough money from these animals to provide even more for my children.I no longer had to skip my tuberculosis medication as I was able to borrow money from my business savings group to transport myself to the hospital when my medication ran out. With the money I made from my business, I was able to afford nutritious food which helped in my journey to full recovery. In August of 2020, my doctors told me that I had recovered from tuberculosis and advised me to return in six months to get tested for symptoms of relapse. If not for the grace of my Village Enterprise business savings group, I don’t think I would’ve recovered from this disease. 

I thank Village Enterprise for providing me with the resources to improve my life and help me rewrite my story. 

The post The Hidden Cost of Illness appeared first on Village Enterprise.

What technology in the field looks like for Village Enterprise.

How good is the internet connectivity in Kenya and Uganda?

Great question! Uganda was one of the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain full Internet connectivity. Kenya saw the construction of its first undersea fiber-optic cable in 2009 and now the country boasts four nationwide cables providing increased 4g and 3g across the country. Both countries have been able to provide access to data in all counties, although connectivity is inconsistent and is particularly spotty in the more rural communities.

How does your staff access the internet? Aren’t they working in remote villages? 

Norbert Otim, a Village Enterprise business mentor, described how he and millions of other East Africans go about purchasing phone and tablet data. He told us that first, you must travel to a nearby town where you will find kiosks that are sponsored by different phone service providers. The next step is to enter your phone number into the machine, decide how much data you would like to buy, and feed cash into the machine. The machine will dispense a receipt with a code that you enter into your phone to activate your data. You are able to activate your data for a day, week, month, or year and although pricing options range, affordable options exist. Since very few areas have Wi-Fi or broadband connections in East Africa, the ability to use data allows rural communities to otherwise connect online. Our field staff use this process to purchase data for their tablets which they use to record and upload data through TaroWorks.

Wait, so what is TaroWorks?

TaroWorks is an offline mobile data collection app that enables users to collect data in areas with low or no network coverage and later sync and send that data to a designated online server. We use TaroWorks to collect programmatic, monitoring, and evaluation data. Business mentors and enumerators collect data offline in the field and later sync the data to an online database, Salesforce, where our monitoring and evaluation team manages, analyzes, and interprets this data. The integration of TaroWorks and Salesforce allows our team to create digital data collection forms and share case management records with everyone on our team.

Can grant funds be disbursed digitally?

Yes! Over the past few years, our team has mastered the mobile money transfer system. Mobile money is a digital banking system that provides transaction services through mobile phones. The service allows users to deposit money at any mobile money kiosk—located across the country—into an account linked to their SIM card. Users can securely transfer funds to other users, including sellers of goods and services, and redeem digital deposits for physical cash.

The digital disbursement process starts when eligible business groups fill out a grant application. The entrepreneurs then register a single mobile money number, a process that is facilitated by the business mentors and confirmed by field associates. Then the regional managers develop and share a disbursement schedule, which outlines when and where grants will be disbursed. The field associate does a second verification of the registered numbers and then enters all relevant data into a template. On the day of disbursement, the field associate submits the template to be approved by the finance manager. Money is then sent to the registered mobile money numbers in real-time. Entrepreneurs receive an SMS confirmation of the deposit, sign a hard copy receipt for their records, and walk to a mobile money agent. After the recipients prove their identity by providing a secret code, the agent initiates the cash withdrawal. In most cases, Village Enterprise works with the cell service providers, who conducted the registration of SIM cards for entrepreneurs’ phones, to complete the withdrawal process for them. 

Why is the use of technology in the field so important?

This matters for a lot of reasons! By providing our business mentors with tablets, we are now able to rapidly change our training materials. Previously, we had to reprint 100-page manuals for each mentor which was not only wasteful but also fairly expensive. Now, every tablet has a digital training manual already embedded within it. The tablets give our mentors the ability to access data continually in the field and view dashboards that reflect business health, training attendance, and savings of our entrepreneurs.  It also shows videos to entrepreneurs that better demonstrate concepts. 

The implementation of the mobile money system has increased financial inclusion, an initiative that seeks to include individuals who have no access to banks or who can’t afford the required minimum deposits into the digital banking realm. There is also the matter of safety. We are not only able to avoid risks associated with the physical transportation of cash but also increase the traceability and accountability of our grant disbursements!  Mobile money transfers take significantly less time and result in relatively lower operating costs for our team. Because our team has these previously established technological systems in place we are able to continue our work remotely, even under social distancing regulations, and react to Covid-19 restrictions in real-time.

Most importantly, the use of technology enables us to supplement our in-person training and mentoring while keeping the quality of program delivery and increasing our efficiency and therefore our cost-effectiveness.

The post Technology in the Field appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Mary Dosunmu, Ph.D., is a Nigerian scientific manager at Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie company where she has worked for three years. Before Pharmacyclics, she was a clinical data specialist at Stryker Neurovascular. Mary founded a diaspora organization called Northern California Nigerians in the Bay area to foster a social and community network. She is also the vice president of the Board for the Cheza Nami Foundation, an organization geared toward promoting diversity and social education within the community. Mary obtained her Bachelor’s degree (BSc) in Pharmacology and Physiology from University College London and her Ph. D. in Neuroscience from Georgetown University. Mary plans to leverage her background in research and scientific communication as part of the Village Enterprise board. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two boys. 

Lisa Guerra, Ph.D., brings technical leadership experience from her prior work as co-founder and vice president of engineering at several software startups. Her current focus is on advising and supporting social impact leaders in creating a better world through education, entrepreneurship, improving economic opportunity, and protecting our environment. We are excited about Lisa’s focus because it aligns perfectly with our mission to end poverty by creating entrepreneurship opportunities in East Africa. Lisa is especially interested in how technology can scale social impact, which is timely as we embark on the journey to digitize our business training program. Lisa also serves on the Board of Silicon Valley Social Venture Partners and is a UC Berkeley Foundation Board Trustee. Lisa has a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Stanford University. Lisa lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two boys.

To see a full list of all of our fantastic Board Members, please check out the website here. 

The post Introducing Two New Board Members appeared first on Village Enterprise.

After the webinar concluded, we received a handful of great questions submitted by viewers. We have gone through each one and provided answers, which can be found below. Additionally, if you would like to watch a recording of the webinar you can do so here. We have also provided minute by minute timestamps of the various topics covered during the webinar which can also be found below. 

COVID-19 has upended the world, but Village Enterprise is committed to adapting and overcoming challenges we are faced with head-on.

Webinar Breakdown

• 4:04 – Welcome from CEO and moderator, Dianne Calvi
• 4:50 – “On the Front Line” video
• 6:37 – Dianne: The economic forecast for the extreme poor in Africa and some highlights of Village Enterprise’s efforts so far to aid our business owners and protect our staff.
• 9:06 – Introduction of senior field leadership, Winnie Auma, Uganda Country Director, Taddeo Muriuki, VP of Africa Operations, and Zach Hoins, COO
• 9:46 – Winnie: The current COVID-19 situation in rural Uganda, and the outlook for the future.
• 13:50 – Taddeo: The current COVID-19 situation in Kenya, how it differs from Uganda, and the outlook for the future.
• 16:45 – Winnie: COVID-19’s impact on Village Enterprise’s small business owners, the challenges they face, and the opportunities they seize.
• 22:00 – Taddeo: Effect of Kenya advancements in technology and infrastructure The effect on the implementation of Village Enterprise’s program adaptations due to the COVID-19 crisis.
• 29:25 – Winnie: Village Enterprise’s response to the crisis and to help our business owners overcome their challenges.
• 34:35 – Taddeo: New methods of building capacity and supporting Village Enterprise field staff
• 40:15 – Zach: Village Enterprise’s plans to ensure our organization’s resilience through the crisis.
• 46:50 – Winnie: The specific effect on women from the pandemic.
• 50:30 – Taddeo: The immediate and long-term economic consequences.
• 54:10 – Zach: COVID-19’s impact on business savings groups.
• 56:50 – Winnie: How businesses are adapting to bridge new gaps.
• 59:30 – Taddeo: More of Village Enterprise’s methods to support business owners in crisis, and the introduction of stimulus grants.

Viewer Questions and Answers

Is it likely that restrictions will be lifted more quickly in rural areas since people are more outside there and the virus does not spread so easily outside and the prevalence is mostly in the bigger urban areas, as you said?

Most of the COVID-19 cases in Kenya are domiciled within the major urban areas and border points. Initially, the government decided to take extra precautions and impose countrywide travel restrictions and curfew hours. We have started to see the gradual easing of restrictions in areas with low COVID-19 prevalence, but travel embargoes are still in place for Nairobi/Mombasa and border towns with Uganda.

I did not really understand the importance of mobile fund disbursement. Could you explain that again, please?

There are many reasons mobile fund disbursements are important. The most significant benefit is that it reduces overall risk. Typically disbursements involve staff members withdrawing money from the bank, counting it, packaging it into envelopes and bags, carrying the bag in a vehicle to the field, and then disbursing the money to our entrepreneurs. By adopting mobile cash transfers, we can increase accountability, traceability, and scalability of the cash transfer process. At the same time, we are able to safeguard our staff. Mobile disbursements are also much faster, which saves time and energy for everyone involved. However, there are still challenges that we are trying to address, poor network, registering and confirming new SIM cards and lines, and getting liquid cash to the last mile through a network company. The ability to do mobile cash disbursement has never been more critical as gatherings have been banned and in-person disbursements have not been feasible due to COVID-19.

Are Village Enterprise field staff able to continue the training of new business owners and start new businesses at the same rate as before the COVID crisis?

We have currently suspended our in-person operations since large gatherings are banned and transportation is very limited. Additionally, we are not starting any new businesses, but instead providing remote mentoring to existing business owners to help them adapt during the lockdown. However, our goal is to begin training new business owners in July — pending countries are reopening in mid-June as expected.

Tell us more about this ‘design challenge’. What problem are you trying to address? How does the Design Challenge work? 

Over the past month, the Impact Creation team has collaborated with Village Enterprise staff to launch a Digitization Design Challenge. This Design Challenge team is led by Meshack Mbinda, director of technology solutions, and includes seven field staff members. Celeste Brubaker, vice president of impact, serves as the Impact Creation point of contact responsible for the facilitation of the process. The team is currently involved in 120 different research tasks, from business mentor interviews, analyzing Nike ads, and speaking with representatives at One Acre Fund. They are currently in the inspiration phase of the Human-Centered Design process and will move to ideation (including lean testing) and implementation phases in the months to come. The goal of the Digitization Design Challenge is to identify how we might significantly scale our reach through digitally programming while maintaining impact. The other goal is to include as many voices as possible in this process, from business mentors to country directors.

One of the main problems we are trying to address is how to effectively communicate with our business owners during a time when we can’t go to the field. We are working on implementing a text message system that will send our business owners valuable information about health and safety, tips regarding agriculture, and other helpful advice.

The team is also currently in the ideation phase and is carrying out three lean tests, including a micro-pilot aimed at testing whether a stimulus grant is likely to be productively invested by Business Groups in the current economic environment. The goal of the Pandemic Capital Design Challenge is to identify how we might ensure our business owners have the necessary capital to effectively run their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the US there is an increase in domestic violence, has Village Enterprise seen this in their business owners’ situations?

Although Uganda is reporting a rise in cases of domestic violence, we have not received any specific case reports from our business owners. We have a component of family support integrated into our program. Although there is one member representing a household at the business group or program, the whole household is educated on the role they play in helping the representing business owner succeed in the business. The whole household knows what the benefit is. The business benefits when everyone is living in harmony and it’s in their best interest for the business to succeed. Since the beginning of COVID, we have stayed connected with our business owners and have provided both emotional and business support which we believe is going a long way to help families stay united.

Are you worried about a larger (than usual) number of businesses going out of business? Are you considering making additional grants to existing businesses to help them weather a downturn rather than focusing on the formation of new business groups? 

In early May, Village Enterprise’s monitoring and evaluation team conducted phone interviews with over 1,000 small business owners in order to learn the most significant issues they are facing right now. The results show that the countrywide shutdowns of transportation and markets in Kenya and Uganda have severely affected our business owners, with many of them unable to sell their goods without a market. 71% of business owners in Uganda and 84% of business owners in Kenya report that their revenues have decreased either significantly or somewhat. Many businesses may not be able to overcome this crisis.

In order to mitigate this risk, the team is currently in the ideation phase and is carrying out three lean tests, including a micro-pilot aimed at testing whether a stimulus grant is likely to be productively invested by business groups in the current economic environment. The goal of the Pandemic Capital Design Challenge is to identify how we might ensure our business owners have the necessary capital to effectively run their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A related challenge at this time in East Africa: how is the locust problem impacting our business owners? 

This is a great question. John Francis Omusolo, our business and savings lead based in Soroti, Uganda, wrote a great blog post about this matter which you can read here.

Village Enterprise has done a good job educating business owners about environmental sustainability when choosing/running their businesses. How will this crisis affect this focus?

It’s a known fact that most vulnerable communities when hit by shocks ultimately turn to the environment, especially forest resources, to supplement their incomes. COVID-19 has basically curtailed and disrupted most demand and supply chains. Uganda imposed a nationwide lockdown for over a month and during this time the business owners were engaged in garden work which was not disruptive to the environment. The biggest threat to the environment in the areas we work is charcoal burning. During this period, however, the demand for charcoal fell due to lack of transport leaving some space for the environment to rejuvenate.

Although the COVID-19 disruptions are happening, it has also presented an opportunity for Village Enterprise to speed up the pivot towards digitizing most processes including training. We will continue to test and refine a number of innovations tailored towards making sure that environmental sustainability is preserved. Such innovations will include testing new types of businesses that are not heavily reliant on the environment like poultry and pig rearing, encouraging the production of value chains that enhance soil productivity. This is and will be done through linkages with key private sector players within our areas of operation.

Does Village Enterprise see only micro-enterprise continuing to run a solution to the crisis we are facing? Are you thinking about providing anything else (masks, soap, etc)? 

Although we believe micro-enterprise will be an integral part of resilience for our business owners, it certainly won’t be the only area where intervention is necessary for success.  It is the primary area though where expertise can be integral. With that being said, we will continue to go above and beyond the health guidelines given by country governments and public health officials in our areas of operation to ensure people have masks and access to handwashing facilities.  As we see gaps, whether it be a lack of supplies or adoption of protocols, we will seek ways to close them through our program as well as linking with partners who have expertise.

The post On the Front Line: A conversation with our field leadership on Village Enterprise’s response to COVID-19 appeared first on Village Enterprise.