Women Lift Economies- Our Business Development Work in Kenya!
One of the most amazing parts of working 
with HEART-Africa is their determination toward the empowerment of women through “income generating activities.” Without question, the quest to help these mothers with skills and then business activities will give them independence once thought unimaginable.
Health Education Africa Resources Team (HEART) operates their Women Equality Empowerment Project (WEEP) throughout Kenya in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi and in remote towns and villages in the northern areas including Kisumu, Kisii and remote Massai villages. Programs focus on HIV positive single mothers and their children to help them rebound, gain health then work towards vitality in their lives to make them strong and independent.
WEEP is a strong focus in stabilizing the lives of these mothers. Through instruction, support and spiritual means, the program takes the sometimes destitute mothers and their children on a journey of empowerment, gaining access to critical medicines, then on a supportive course which includes vocational skill training. Programs for children includes helping them with scholarships to continue education and the “freedom for girls” which helps board impacted young girls into safe environments and schooling.
A main hurdle to be overcome for these mothers is being ostracized from their families following the death of husbands from AIDS. The women are often blamed for the circumstances in the death of the men and cast out of the families, with their children and into the streets. Sick and without support, these mothers hit life lows beyond comprehension with death sometimes being a logical and easy next step. HEART has a focus to support them so the children do not become orphaned into what would be a catastrophic existence.
In my talks with many women, the story of the sickness of their husbands leading to death, then the stark reality that they themselves are infected with HIV is constantly repeated. Medical realities in Africa are often learned only in the extremes and for these mothers, it is in the AIDS death followed by their own diagnosis. Healthcare is available in only limited ways throughout Africa, especially in the more rural communities. Death then diagnosis is common!
Through WEEP, the rebirth of these women is powerful! A reality is that women sit at the center of the African home, raising the children, running the household and in many cases supporting the family through generated income. By re-establishing their strength, these African women become powerful, taking learned skills to a much brighter future. Through HEART, we are now developing advanced programs to support these new “businesswomen” with business development and micro credit programs.
Women are the Answer!
African women sitting at the core of the family represent a foundational powerhouse for the local and regional economies. Our business development focuses on business to business transactions instead of actual retail. This brings a keen focus for the women on production versus sales.
WEEP mothers become stabilized then trained to bring home incomes once unimaginable. The combination of education then empowerment makes these women resourceful in producing outcomes for themselves. HEART is working with both the mothers and their children as the root of the future for Africa.
Program Development:
The current focus is on taking the income generating activities to a new level which includes teaching actual business skills, material and product costing, wholesaling and profit to the mothers. The program then includes an extension of business lines of credit for the purchase of materials, employment of workers, development of cash flow for the future and debt repayment.
A reality of living in remote communities and in places like the Kibera Slum are the low income levels, especially for the unskilled. “Casual labor” (unskilled) often means earning about 100 Kenyan Shillings a day, which is the equivalent to 78 cents in US dollars. Poverty wages in places which are often expensive to live paralyzes these budding entrepreneurs. Living in Kibera is expensive with many expenses absorbing the casual incomes. Rent, cell phone, food, water and basic sanitation are expensive and leaves the mothers with practically nothing for any form of savings or cash to advance enterprises.
Through HEART, we are working on the advancement of business development and micro credit for these mothers. The business education, helping them position themselves for an enterprise, teaching them how determine actual product costs, then the provision of working capital to help them generate products and build a business nest egg. The provision of the working capital through business lines of credit become the final part of launching the business and eventually leading to the operation of the business based on a verifiable plan. The program is incrementally launching in test cases which are finding success.
The results for these mothers is life changing from an income standpoint with the ability to make many multiples of current income.
In Africa, electronic commerce is predominantly done versus hard currency. The transaction program is done through “MPESA” which is the African equivalent of Venmo in the United States.
Mosquito Nets are a good business!!!:
Here is the concept in a nutshell…….
A great example are women in the program who are making mosquito nets (yes, those are an important business in Africa). The typical mosquito net requires about $1,200 ($9 USD) Kenyen Shillings (KES) in materials and labor to make and can be sold to a wholesaler for $2,500 KES ($19 USD). The mothers can conservatively make 4-5 nets a day generating a need for approximately $28 USD per day or approximately a credit line for working capital of approximately $400 over a 30 day period.
Through a designated MPESA account, a business line of credit is established in a separate account for the mother. Funds are incrementally released (by a program manager) as requested with an agreed upon interest rate for the business loan. The mothers are coached on the development of incrementally building their own “cash flow” account which will eventually replace the need for the credit line system.
The potential income difference for the mothers goes from a casual labor income of less than a dollar a day to monthly income in the hundreds of dollars. Wow!!!
Our program is in development at this time and we are working on refinement on both education and process for the program to insure a solid framework for both administration, investment and application within the economy.
It is the power of these African women who will lift their economies, empower other women and create a sustainable life for themselves and their families. We are glad to be a part of this journey!
For more information, contact John W. Donlevy, Jr., at johnwdonlevyjr@gmail.com or check out my website at www.jdonlevy.com for more information on our projects around the world.