To address this systemic issue, the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance is funding the Nawiri Project, a Development Food Security Activity. The first of its kind in Kenya, Nawiri is designed to sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition through a multi-sectoral approach in four counties in Northern Kenya. In partnership with Catholic Relief Services, Village Enterprise adapted our poverty graduation program for nutrition by layering it with additional components of cash transfers for consumption, health and nutrition education, counseling, and social behavior change.

The adapted nutrition-friendly graduation approach focuses on helping the poorest and most vulnerable households develop sustainable livelihoods, increase incomes, improve access to nutritious foods, address nutrition-sensitive interventions that contribute to a reduction in acute malnutrition among children under the age of five, and lift themselves out of poverty.

Over the past year, Village Enterprise focused on piloting–and assessing the effectiveness of–the adapted poverty graduation program to combat malnutrition in the Isiolo County of Kenya. The county is very remote and suffers from floods, drought, animal diseases, resource-based conflicts, and gender discrimination. The pilot targeted 600 households, launching 204 sustainable businesses and 20 business savings groups.

The early success of this program has been tremendous, with the proportion of participating households’ that met the Acceptable Food Consumption Score increasing from 51.3% to 83.8% over three and a half months. Even more significant, the percentage of children between the ages of six months to 23 months who met the minimum acceptable diet measurement rose from 6.38% to 31.65%. The business savings groups saved, in just four months, over two million Kenyan shillings (close to $18,000 USD) to use for accumulating assets, investing in business ventures, or saving for emergencies. Testimonials from entrepreneurs showed increased resilience to the ongoing climate shocks, particularly for entrepreneurs rearing livestock, who were able to diversify their businesses to cushion themselves from the negative effects of market price fluctuation, drought, and livestock disease.

The success of this pilot has already led to additional funding to scale the project to launch 1,400 small businesses this coming year, that will impact the lives of over 25,200 people including 10,920 children under the age of five, providing a positive outlook on the otherwise troubling state of global persistent acute malnutrition.

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A recent article in the Nation, a leading Kenyan newspaper, demonstrated how our graduation approach has been adapted in the Nawiri project to tackle challenges in multiple sectors (poverty, environmental degradation, malnutrition, and health).

In November of 2021, members from USAID visited the project, holding a series of meetings and calls with project stakeholders to discuss progress and implementation. To read the activity briefs, click here.

Photo Credits: Anthony Nyandiek, CRS USAID Nawiri, and Michael Ekeno, Village Enterprise

The post Nawiri: To Thrive appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Elizabeth Auma lives in Migori County and is the chairperson of the Nyang’au Village Enterprise business savings group. Each of our savings groups consists of 30 new entrepreneurs who meet weekly to save money together and serve as a vital network for support and encouragement. Living with HIV, Elizabeth personally relates to the challenges the virus brings. Instead of losing hope, she rose to a leadership role, and her group became a symbol of resilience. 

This is the Nyang’au business savings group’s story, as shared by Elizabeth.

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HIV is a lonely disease. Nobody wants to be associated with someone from the HIV/AIDs community, nor do they expect us to survive from this virus. Most people don’t understand how important food is when you depend on manual labor to provide for your family, and it is even more critical when taking medicine for HIV. 

The only organizations that targeted individuals living with HIV were health support groups or government programs. Their focus was solely on community access to antiretroviral drugs yet disregarding the importance of sustainable solutions that further empower HIV-positive groups. In particular, many of these organizations fail to look at how lack of food, a byproduct of living in poverty, increases severe antiretroviral medication side effects. It was only when we were introduced to Village Enterprise that we saw an organization that looked beyond survival, focusing on long-term quality of life for HIV-positive individuals and their families.

I joined the Village Enterprise program in January 2018. We were trained on nine modules covering topics such as saving with a purpose, financial literacy, business diversification, among others. During training, the business mentors emphasized that each business should consist of three people to minimize risk. We were encouraged to pick co-business owners whose skill sets would add the most value to our enterprises. For example, I am a natural leader, so I took on the role of chairperson, whereas one of my co-business owners is exceptional with numbers, so she keeps track of our business finances. We were then grouped with ten other business groups to form a business savings group that serves as a space for support, encouragement, and informal banking.

In February 2018, I joined the Nyang’au business savings group along with 29 first-time entrepreneurs. In the beginning, we started by saving only a few hundred shillings each week. As time went on, each enterprise became more profitable, enabling us to contribute increased savings to our savings group cash reserve. Although we ‘graduated’ from the Village Enterprise program in 2019, our group continues to thrive. By the end of January 2021, our cumulative savings plus interest totaled 410,000 shillings (USD 3,600).

Today, our group is highly respected. Known for our disciplined method of savings and loan assistance, other community members notice our success and ask for our advice. Even Village Enterprise business mentors have commended our success, frequently calling on our group to attend training sessions for newly formed business savings groups in our county to share lessons on best practices.

From my business profits, I was able to buy a female sheep —a sign of wealth in our community that typically only men can afford. I never thought I would be able to provide for my family, let alone own livestock. Owning livestock is an investment in the future, as sheep usually give birth twice per year. Just that one sheep changed my family’s life. Whenever there is an emergency in my family, I know that I can financially address the situation by selling one lamb. I feel calm knowing that none of my children will lack clothes or school fees.

I am proud to belong to the Nyang’au business savings group. We have demonstrated that living with HIV is not a death sentence and that you can start a successful business despite living with an HIV-positive diagnosis. Without this group, we would not have this much community respect, dream this big, nor could we provide so many things for our families.

Elizabeth’s story was initially told in the language of Luo. We have translated the story into English with minor grammatical edits.

Donate to our International Women’s Day campaign to support more women like Elizabeth!

The post Increased Savings, Sustainable Businesses —Four Years After Exiting Village Enterprise appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Over the past year our staff from different functional teams (finance, programs, etc.) of both country offices, began the process of redesigning our disbursements to ensure the safety of our staff and business owners and maintain the integrity of our disbursement process. Using insights gained from field observation and focus group discussions, the team used Human Centered Design to synthesize learnings from the field as well as from other organizations (lessons learned from the BOMA Project, GiveDirectly, etc.) to design a solution for disbursements using mobile money.

As we approach our first destination, tension builds. Aneno has been in extensive conversation with MTN Mobipay, the mobile company assisting us with this process. Mobipay is a technology solutions company that provides customizable bulk payment systems. They were able to develop a custom system tailored to our financial reporting and operational needs in less than three weeks. The system is easy to use, low cost, and can be further developed and customized to accommodate our systems as needed (e.g. work with Taroworks and new accounting software,  NetSuite). The biggest concern we have with this new process is whether or not our business owners will be able to access cell service. The first group we meet moved a few kilometers from their usual meeting point in order to connect to a strong network. Without that network, the business owners will not be able to receive their grant money through our mobile payment.

How do mobile money disbursements work?

All business groups have to register a new line to ensure group ownership. Lines are registered in the names of one business owner (who has a national ID) and all members need to know the pins. SIM cards are left in the savings box and checked out when needed. When confirming registration with mobile carriers, Village Enterprise uses in-country partners (Safaricom and Mobipay in Kenya and Uganda respectively) and confirms that the list of new phone lines are registered to the correct names and have enrolled in mobile money. Any inconsistencies are addressed. When sending money to approved lines on the day of disbursements, the list of lines is approved again and then the money is disbursed (two-level approval process in line with the approval matrix). Any groups unprepared to receive their money are removed from the list for disbursement at a later date. Once business owners receive an SMS confirming the money has been deposited in their accounts, they sign the hard copy receipts. At disbursements, business owners can withdraw their cash through a mobile money agent, who is present with cash. Groups can withdraw what they need to start the business at the disbursement location.

The first group is gathered under the shade of a large, protective tree. Aneno, Zita, and business mentor Otim Norbert stand in front of our business owners. Aneno begins explaining the process of our mobile money grant disbursements. We soon learn that there are some problems. Some of the business owner’s pins aren’t working, which means they won’t be able to receive the money. We scramble to fix the issue. We’re on the phone with our team in the Gulu office. Someone’s contacting MTN. Another is manually resetting pin numbers. We need this experiment to work.

After two hours, we are ready and we tell Cissy, our Finance and Administration associate in the Gulu office, to initiate the disbursements. We are all waiting in great anticipation. Cissy logs into her account and selects the business owners she needs to grant money to, and then submits the request. A few moments later, we hear the welcome sound of phones ringing. We all begin cheering and singing and dancing. It worked!

This moment was monumental for Village Enterprise. With this new process, we will be able to disburse grant money in a safer, more efficient fashion. We are excited to see how this process will continue to develop and scale in the coming months.

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As I turn the corner at the bottom of a hilly dirt road, I see a white tent on the right-hand side. It stands tall and sturdy and is ready to welcome members of the community. I imagine a wedding party with hundreds of guests dancing and celebrating the newlywed couple — there would be music playing and people circulating in and out of the tent. As I approach it, I see plastic chairs arranged in rows under the tent. A few people sit waiting. As I walk in, I take a seat amongst the dozen people who own the tent and we begin to converse.

I travel all over Uganda and Kenya meeting with our business owners. I ask them about their progress and challenges, and we discuss the impact Village Enterprise has had upon their lives; their kids are in school, families are eating three meals a day, and they now have time to think about more than where to find money for food. I often hear about the way the program creates stronger communities, namely because the three-person businesses require people to work together and share their varying skills. But, I had never seen a business group of thirty people (!) working on a group project until I met two outside of Kitale, Kenya that were: Hunter’s Business Savings Group and Liondo Business Savings Group.

The Village Enterprise Graduation program is recognized as successful because it addresses the needs of people living in extreme poverty. One way we do this is by creating a culture of saving. Village Enterprise works with our participants to form self-managed Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) that we call Business Savings Groups (BSGs). Saving as a group is vital, because once Village Enterprise completes our 1-year program, the savings groups remain. BSGs continue to meet at their regular time and pool savings for future business expenditures as well as for loans to other BSG group members for medical care, school fees, etc.. In case of an emergency, the group is there, prepared to help anyone in a dire position so that unplanned expenses do not plunge them back into extreme poverty.

In January 2018, the aforementioned business saving groups decided to begin putting away money in order to purchase tents and chairs. They knew that their neighbors were traveling great distances to rent tents for weddings, funerals, and other functions, so they wanted to provide a local service. The local market was there and they knew this tent business would be a profitable venture. The BSG members saw this as a great way to make some extra money, in addition to running their original businesses started with Village Enterprise.

The group knew it would take a while to accumulate the large sum of money required to make the purchase. Hunter’s Business Savings Group needed to save $925 to purchase a large tent and Liondo Business Savings Group needed to save $650 for a small tent and chairs. In February 2018, the sixty group members began contributing 100ksh ($1.00) each week, which totaled $30 per group per week.

By September 2018, the Hunter’s and Liondo Business BSGs had saved enough money to purchase the tents and chairs. They now rent the big tent for $30 per event and the smaller one for $20. They plan on expanding this unique business by creating a catering service to go along with the venue.

What is the benefit of having a group business? “It brings us together. If someone wants to quit the BSG, this will bring her back because she has interest,” the chairman of the Hunter’s Business Savings Group mentioned. It has also motivated people in the community who aren’t already in a BSG to join one because they see the benefit of working together. These BSGs have helped eliminate tribalism between members of the groups; it’s bonded them together and created less divide.

In addition, the members of Hunter’s Business Savings Group and Liondo Business Savings Group feel as though they have built up their names and are more respected because of this project. People in the community now see them as an inspiration rather than the low, poor people they were before Village Enterprise.

As I sit under the large white tent, it’s hard to believe that something seemingly so simple could change a community so drastically. But it has and listening to the business owners discuss their dedication to the project is truly exciting. It made me wonder what would happen if more BSGs around Kenya and Uganda came together and started similar projects. This type of creative endeavor starts from someone realizing that there is something missing in their community and takes the initiative to find a solution. This is one reason why the Village Enterprise program is so impactful. By providing the extremely poor with a way to escape the cycle of poverty, the participants are able to think about more than where their next meal will come from or how to pay school fees. They have the capacity to start noteworthy projects, such as this tent business. And that tent business will carry on for many, many years and continue to positively impact the community for a great deal of time.

The post How A Party Tent Changed a Kenyan Village  appeared first on Village Enterprise.

I spent a recent Friday afternoon in Ajeluk village with a savings group of women who participated in our program in 2013. The tremendous tangible livelihood changes that these women described paled in comparison to the community and friendship that has formed among them. This group takes care of its own. Regardless of how little or how much money each member saved each week, the group pooled their savings to ensure that each woman has her own set of dishes upon which she can feed her family, a mattress to lay her head on at night, and a dress in which she can feel presentable. In grief and celebration they are there for one another, mobilizing funds and support for weddings and funerals alike. The way that they sat shoulder to shoulder, carefully scribing the week’s savings into their record book, completely immersed in the task, served as a beautiful illustration of their dedication to one another.

When I joined Village Enterprise three months ago, I wrote that I wanted to use my fellowship to understand and highlight the gap between the industry and the individual experience, to link theory and practice, and to reconcile big questions with daily challenges. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week. On Tuesday, the World Bank published its first Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report. The report focuses on Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 10, ending extreme poverty and reducing inequality. The first of an annual series, this year’s report focuses on the complementarity between these two goals. Extreme poverty will not be eradicated without a dedication to reducing inequality and inequality cannot be reduced without mobilizing interventions that target the extreme poor. I spent the better part of this week putting off writing my weekly post because I wanted to write about this report. It is important, filled with important lessons and data. But I didn’t know what to write. Between the ups and downs of what it means to work daily to end extreme poverty, one household at a time, it is hard to find a connection to a report that includes decades worth of data, addresses multiple continents, and approaches poverty alleviation in terms of millions of dollars and billions of people. A comprehension gap exists between institutions like the World Bank and the reality of life in rural Uganda because it is difficult to straddle these two worlds — one in which global trends in poverty reduction are discussed using complex macroeconomic models and another in which weekly savings of a few dollars are carefully recorded in a recycled notebook.

According to the World Bank report, 1.1 billion people have moved out of extreme poverty since 1990. Margaret is one of them. Amina is one of them. And so is every one of their fellow savings group members in Ajeluk. At the end of every data point is a human life transformed. This is the connection I was searching for. While reports, like this one offer critical quantitative implications for poverty reduction, they can’t capture the human side of ending extreme poverty, one household at a time. We’ve provided over 400,000 individuals with business training and grants to lift themselves out of poverty. We know each of their names and have visited each of their homes. Our business mentors know their children and have watched them grow up. Personal connection is important. Relationships are important. These are our program successes that won’t be captured in an exit survey or appear in a World Bank report.

A higher gross domestic product is important. So is joy. Improved consumption expenditure is critical. So is friendship. An increase in productive assets is valuable. So is love. A group of women gathering every Friday afternoon, shelling groundnuts, soaking in the warm late afternoon light, laughing easily, chatting simply, embody the success of our program that can’t be measured. We can’t measure what it means for a group of women to buy a set of plates for each and every group member, for a savings group to commit to each member owning a proper dress, for a community to come together in the face of an individual’s loss or bliss.

As an organization and as a global community we have an obligation and necessity to measure our impact and progress. Without these measures, we would fail to comprehend the outcomes of our interventions, we would falter to separate the good solutions from the outstanding solutions, and we would be incognizant of the work left to be done. Village Enterprise demonstrates that it is possible to expect rigorous quantitative measurement while valuing the lived experience of our business owners. We know that when we say that we transform lives, there are data points that prove it, and behind each data point, a human story.

The post Behind every data point is a human story appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Coming in just shy of five feet tall, Joyce Kyalisiima is a powerhouse of positive energy — and now due to her dedication to “Saving with a Purpose,” so is her business.

As a Village Enterprise business owner, Joyce runs a small retail kiosk where people make small everyday purchases. Through receiving business training, guidance on saving, and seed capital from Village Enterprise, Joyce worked to grow her kiosk business. Business improved, but Joyce felt that one thing was missing-–music!  Joyce imagined that music would draw customers to her kiosk. She imagined that as customers conversed and shopped, her kiosk could be a place of gathering. Armed with a vision, Joyce turned her efforts toward execution.

The solution came in the form of our “Saving with a Purpose” (SWAP) program. SWAP is designed to allow business owners to reap the benefits of saving early in the program. Joyce set a goal of saving for a sound system and a solar panel to power it. Next, she calculated the cost and estimated how much she could save per week. Upon relaying this information to her Business Savings Group (BSG), they calculated how many weeks Joyce would need to save in order to reach her goal. The cost of the sound system and solar panel was over 140,000 shillings ($40 USD). Joyce carefully saved 9,000 shillings per week and faithfully delivered it at her weekly BSG meeting. After just four months, she reached her goal and purchased her music system. Now, you’ll find Joyce’s business bustling! With the volume up, feet tapping, and hands clapping, Joyce is living the transformation that comes with saving with a purpose!

Building on her recent success, Joyce now has a SWAP plan to purchase a plot of land, valued at 1.2M shillings ($350 USD) in approximately one year.

“Thank you for coming to this community!  I am very happy and excited about the program! Village Enterprise has done a tremendous job in terms of development for our village. Thank you to the donors – we are now all friends, no matter the distance!” – Joyce Kyalisiima

Joyce Kyalisiima and author, Christine Rose

The post Joyce Kyalisiima and Her Sound System SWAP appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Do people living in extreme poverty think of protecting the environment? Even if they do, do they have the resources and knowledge to positively contribute to the environment? The Business Savings Group (BSG) named Meza in Gidea village sheds light on the answer to these important global questions. It all started when Business Mentor Naomi Kolil trained participants of Meza BSG on protecting the environment.

A key aspect of Village Enterprise’s business training is protecting the environment. Eco-friendly business practices are woven into each training session. Conservation is also it’s own stand-alone module that was designed with the help of the Jane Goodall Institute. In this module, we train participants on businesses that benefit the environment, eco-friendly agricultural practices, and most importantly, show participants how poverty alleviation and conservation are linked—after all, 98% of our businesses rely upon the environment for profit.

After Kolil’s conservation training, everyone had something on their minds: they wanted to plant trees to support their environment. However, they wondered how they could afford to plant trees—normally considered an expensive, long-term investment.

The solution was innovative—exemplifying the entrepreneurial spirit that Village Enterprise hopes to ignite in its participants. They decided to create their own nursery. Members of the BSG banded together and contributed what little money they could on a voluntary basis. Then, they found local tree seeds at a reasonable price and selected cyprus, Tasmanian blue gum (eucalyptus globulus), water berry (syzgium cordatum), and passion fruit tree seeds. Their BSG Secretary, John Mbita Smiyu, offered a patch of his half-acre land to serve as the nursery. They grew the seeds for three months until seedlings were ready to be transplanted. Each business owner in the group paid 10 shillings (10 cents) per seedling. Most bought around twenty blue gum trees, which are known to be fast growing and yield high profits.

Still, the highlights of this initiative was not Kolil’s training, but the knowledge sharing and innovation that came straight from our business owners. In individual meetings with each business owner, it transpired that there were members of the BSG who had very little knowledge on tree planting and maintenance. However, two of the members, John Kutukhulu and Musa Wafula, had been trained in nursery maintenance and tree planting 15 years back by a local agro-forestry program. These two business owners not only retained this knowledge 15 years later, but were also eager to share it with the group. They set up the nursery and trained the BSG members on proper tree planting, watering, and organic fertilizer techniques. The rest of the group, mostly women, now feel confident that they can train others in their community.

As the rainy season commences this week in Kitale, Kenya, the nursery will again start to flourish. The BSG Secretary, John Mbita Smiyu, who looks after the nursery, says there is still high demand among the BSG for more trees and word has spread to other people in the village who have been eager to purchase trees as well.

Business Savings Group member Douglas Omoa plants a tree in Gidea, Kenya. Business Savings Group Secretary John Mbita Smiyu offered a patch of his land to serve as the tree nursery.

The post Planting the Seeds of Eco-Friendly Behavior Change appeared first on Village Enterprise.

Both of my shoulders slumped forward to make room for the extra person squished in the back of the car that carried us on the dusty, rollercoaster of a road that leads to Kiposomba. After the hour-long drive, we walked another 30 minutes away from the main road and into the countryside along a narrow dirt path. When we reached a clearing that overlooked an astounding view, the only word that came to mind was “wow.” Tucked in the foliage off a bend in the path was the church where we were greeted by business mentor, Marlene Naomi, and the 30 business owners that live in this village and compose the Kazi Kwa Kazi Business Savings Group (BSG). Sitting on the wooden bench in the dimly lit church, I found myself completely taken aback by the stories of hardship repeatedly shared by the business owners present.

“The area was very insecure. Men would come with guns and take all that we have.” Dipson Mateche, the Chairman of the BSG, shared that it was difficult for him to raise any livestock due to armed raids by cattle rustlers. Other business owners told stories of how they would not sleep in their homes, but rather in neighboring fields, out of fear of the raids. The extreme distance from market centers causes produce to perish and climate change has created unpredictable rain patterns, impacting the health of crops. “Kitale is the hub for food but the people experience famine,” said Dipson. Amidst the daily insecurities, many of these business owners turned to home brewing local spirits. They explained that the local reliance upon liquor only contributed to the insecurity of the village. Luke Wanyonyi confessed “before I didn’t have time for my family. I only had time for liquor.”

Initially, members of the BSG expressed their hesitation at participating in the Village Enterprise program. “When the business mentor would come, we would run away,” Renos Wanyonyi laughed. “We feared that it was a loan and that the iron sheets of our houses would be taken,” he continued. This is a common challenge faced across many of the villages we operate in. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the area offer loans with interest rates reaching as high as forty percent and with expected repayments beginning within a month. When individuals fail to repay their loans, MFI’s generally seek collateral, including livestock or even the roofs over their heads. So, when Village Enterprise enters a village, the business mentor is essential to deterring such fears and creating trust that business owners will not have to repay grant funds.

“She kept coming, day after day. “Even after trainings she didn’t get tired of visiting individual projects,” Luke says. As each business owner spoke, their stories shared a common theme: the remarkable dedication of their business mentor, Marlene. The villages we operate in are usually not condensed, but instead business owners’ compounds are significant distances apart, spread throughout the countryside. Marlene and I visited four separate business owners following the meeting and I found myself out of breath after trekking through maize fields and clambering uphill on unsteady ground to reach their homes. Through her mentorship and support, Marlene has played a central role in helping spur the economic growth that Kiposomba has recently experienced.

“We used to be separate but through the training we learned how to work together to achieve a goal” says Susan Watima. In only six months, the 30 members of this business savings group have saved over 37,000 shillings (roughly USD $370), have an emergency fund of 4,700 shillings (USD $47), own 27 sheep and 23 hens, and have purchased six sea beds for agricultural use. Recently, this group acquired their certificate of registration through the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services which will allow them to seek additional monetary support from the government. And it doesn’t stop there. The group already has its sights set on purchasing a dairy cow as well as to acquire plastic chairs and a tent to rent out for community events.

As these business owners told their stories, it became clear that change was not only occurring on an individual basis, but throughout the entire village. “Before, there were only groups for the rich. Now, even the poor have a place,” Ruth Naliaka Masika contributed. Through both government assistance and Village Enterprise trainings, stability has returned to the region. The formation of 10 member community watch groups, which patrol the countryside, has significantly reduced the issues caused by cattle rustling. Susan explained “I now know when I visit friends and family, I will find them safe and sound in their homes.”

Kiposomba has also seen a significant decrease in the production and reliance upon liquor, and an increase in alternative business options. Chairman Dipson explained that “Village Enterprise saved us from brewing and getting drunk. Before we had nothing. Now our businesses can stand on their own.” He continues, “The churches are so happy because they have many more members.” Luke stands up and adds, “Village Enterprise helped families come together. I used to drink heavily and there was no peace in the households. I now spend time with my family and it is much better.”

Walking the dirt path back to the main road, I looked over the landscape with new eyes. From the comforts of a car, I often acknowledged the beauty of the wide agricultural lands but failed to realize how the same land creates a barrier for many of the villages we operate in from market centers, information, and services. A barrier from opportunities. One of the elements that makes Village Enterprise unique is simply that we operate in many rural areas that other NGO’s refuse to travel to. As a result, the impact of the program is not only felt on individuals, but throughout the entire village.

Two business owners lead the way to their compounds through drying maize fields.

Agnes Naliaka stands proudly with the BSG’s certificate of registration from the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services.

Members of the Kazi Kwa Kazi Business Savings Group in Kiposomba, Kenya.

Rose Naliaka Masika stands in front of her vegetable crops with banana trees in the background.

The post Through Heidi’s Lens: Changing Communities through Business and Savings appeared first on Village Enterprise.

From the moment I walked into the dimly lit space in Kewa, it was clear who was running the show. Seated in the corner of the room was a man wearing a bright orange shirt and speaking in a charismatic manner that commanded attention. Zablon Migwe, also known as the Chairman. Business savings groups revolve around a democratic process through which members create a constitution and elect leadership amongst their members. Besides the chairman sat a woman with Kenyan shillings piled on her lap, Madam Treasurer, Hellen Mureithi. Rounding out the leadership team was a younger gentleman, pen in hand, Secretary David Wafula. The leadership team is essential to conducting effective meetings, holding members accountable, and empowering members of their community. Yet, ultimately, all decisions are made by the group as a whole. Florence Mangela explained, “before we take any steps forward, we sit together and discuss. We don’t discuss to disagree, we discuss to agree. If we don’t agree we will discuss until we find common ground.”

Every Thursday, this group of 30 business owners take their seats in the cool confines of a simple mud structure and get down to business. The chairman calls a name and a business owner approaches the leadership team, handing a few shillings to the treasurer. One of the key elements of a business savings group is the ability for its members to access credit. Prior to receiving the first grant from Village Enterprise, each business owner must participate in four months of business skills training, which includes modules on record keeping, as well as savings and group loan training. As business owners save and contribute to the BSG, they also have the ability to take out loans which are repaid with minimal interest. At this particular meeting, the transactions happening before my eyes were repayments on the loans business owners had previously withdrawn from the BSG. Zablon, the Chairman, emphasized the importance of this component of the BSG when he told me, “now we understand how to save and the loans we can take from our BSG help us to improve our businesses.”

Still, life happens- drought and disease impact crops harvests, family members fall ill, and school fees must be paid- and at times this means a member of the BSG cannot repay his or her loan on schedule. The chairman unfolded a piece of paper and began reading to the group. Jacky Wasilwa, the business mentor in Kewa, pulled me aside and explained “he is reading a letter because a man defaulted his loan. It is his warning.” The Chairman explained that this business owner must prove his trustworthiness and repay the original loan in order to receive a future loan.

At the end of the meeting, one of the business owners grabbed my hand and asked “please take a snap of the chairs.” I flipped my camera on and took a few pictures of the lines of blue and green plastic chairs that filled the room. Members of the BSG grabbed chairs and posed with glowing smiles. Clearly I was missing something. I looked at Jacky for clarification and she informed me that the BSG had saved enough to purchase a large set of plastic chairs. The BSG not only used these chairs for their meetings, but actually turned it into a business by which they earned a sizable profit by renting them to members of the community for events. That, in my mind, is the definition of the entrepreneurial spirit of Village Enterprise business owners.

It didn’t stop there. I followed the group as they meandered away from the main road and headed into the agricultural fields. We crossed narrow bridges built out of tree branches and carefully tip-toed through puddles of mud that are characteristic of this swampy area. We finally approached a plot of land with Mt. Elgon, an extinct volcano on the border of Kenya and Uganda, looming in the distance. Little bushels of green sprouted from the ground. This business savings group had teamed up to plant cabbage, kale, and bell peppers.

The business ventures of this BSG are without a doubt impressive. But it became clear the second we left the meeting that relationships in this group delved much deeper than just business. One business owner grabbed the hand of an older member to help her cross a stream. Elizabeth Adisa leaned in close to Elijah Gigeru  to inspect the green peppers they had recently harvested and she pat him playfully on the back. Although I could not understand the back-and-forth banter in Kiswahili, it was evident that this group had become close friends. Jacky shared that a family member of one of the business owners recently passed away and that the BSG would be using a portion of their funds to pay for the funeral. This aside served as evidence of the remarkable support network the BSG provides.

As I strolled back to the main road with a sack full of green peppers from my new friends, I pulled my notebook out to record final details from my day. I asked Jacky if the BSG had a name, and she shouted back at one of the business owners that we had just bid our farewells to. The business owner shouted back “Tujiinue.” Jackie smiled and translated “let’s pull each other up.”

The Tujiinue business savings group stand proudly over their newly planted cabbage fields.

The leadership team collects loan repayments from their business savings group members. [from left: David Wafula, Hellen Mureithi, Zablon Migwe].

Lydya Nanjala shows off one of the plastic chairs her business savings group rents out for events in their community.

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The Business Savings Program is a key component of Village Enterprise’s microenterprise development program targeting the rural poor. Village Enterprise empowers its business owners by giving them the tools to start successful and sustainable businesses so that they can generate income and become self-sufficient. The four aspects of our program are, business and financial literacy training, seed capital, mentoring, and savings circles. The Business Savings Program helps business owners form self-directed Business Savings Groups (BSGs) known commonly in the industry as Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). These groups teach business owners the habit of saving on a monthly basis.

Savings are a powerful means to not only maintain their current businesses, but also to diversify into new businesses or recover from setbacks such as unsuccessful harvests, theft, a medical emergency, or even a failed venture. The structure of the BSG is created during the first months of the program and participants continue to receive savings training and on-going mentoring throughout the year. After the completion of the program the BSGs continue to function, thus serving as Village Enterprise’s exit strategy.

Village Enterprise trains and empowers people living in extreme poverty to increase their savings and create sustainable incomes. In turn, this income will enable business owners to invest in education, health and nutrition, housing, and their small business. Over the long term, investments in these key areas will result in significant additional economic and social benefits. Savings is a key part of a business owner’s long-term success.

Caroline Bernadi
Foundation Director

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