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TechnoServe Headquarters
1120 19th St., NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202 785 4515
Fax: +1 202 785 4544
Email: technoserve@tns.org
Prepared by:
Edited by:
All photos: TechnoServe, YWE Program
The YWE program was implemented with funding from the Nike Foundation to
promote the Girl Effect.
Alice Waweru
Senior Business Manager
P.O Box 14821-00800, Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 3754333/4/5/7
Cell: +254 0725 548742
Fax: 254 20 375 1028
Email: awaweru@tns.org
Pauline Mwangi
Entrepreneurship Manager; TechnoServe Kenya
PO Box 14821 (00800) Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 3754333/4/5/7
Cell: +254 722 740322
Fax: +254 20 3751028
Email: pmwangi@tns.org
irl Effect
Executive Summary
There are a large number of girls in developing countries who
are stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. They have a low level of
education, live in congested housing, and are often forced into early
marriage. They are isolated socially and lack the self-confidence to be
Y
active members of society. They become pregnant before 18 years
oung Women in Enterprise (YWE) is an economic capacity on use of tools to plan, implement, and manage a small business old and are at high risk of HIV/AIDS.
building program for girls living in difficult conditions in urban with links to financing, an emphasis on the importance of savings, and
slum areas. In partnership with Nike’s “Girl Effect Organization,” mentorship by a leading woman entrepreneur from the community; The “Girl Effect Organization”, founded by Nike gives opportunities
TechnoServe, a leading business-focused NGO, developed and and Aftercare support with business plan competitions where they to girls in poverty to break the cycle and start their own lives. So
implemented a signature economic empowerment model to prepare identify promising ideas, girls receive support for business start up girls become able to get educated, stay longer in school and marry
a diverse group of girls with a range of skill sets, needs, and career and growth, training in ICT, Skills building ,employment and financial according to their choices at the right age. They have a higher chance
plans for safe and productive opportunities including entrepreneurship linkages.. to raise a healthy family and in turn pass their values on to the next
and wage employment.
generation.
This signature economic empowerment model prepares a diverse
Girls living in Nairobi’s slums are faced with social and economic group of girls with a range of skill sets, needs and career plans for Three years ago, the Girl Effect sprang into being for one purpose: To
instability and vulnerability. Experiencing some of the lowest school safe and productive opportunities including entrepreneurship and get powerful people to talk about girls. The Girl Effect is a movement;
enrollment rates in Kenya, girls are at an increased risk for early wage employment.YWE is about realizing girls’ potential to change it’s about the unique and indisputable potential of adolescent girls
pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and are exposed to violence and insecurity in
themselves, their families, and their communities. Adapted to meet to end poverty for themselves and the world. It engaged people,
their everyday lives. Opportunities for these girls to lift themselves out
the needs and circumstances of underprivileged girls, the YWE model inspired people, made them cry, and made them mad. It inspired
of the vicious cycle of poverty are few and far between.
has the potential to be replicated in other slums across Africa and the them and touched them to donate funds or to do something like write
rest of the world. books or sock ignorance in the mouth.
YWE targets these girls to offer a program comprising of four
phases: Recruitment through information sharing meetings in the
The YWE program in Kenya has only reached 1% of girls living in Right now, there are 250 million adolescent girls living under poverty.
community, Enterprise club formation- in groups of 30 -40, girls
Nairobi’s slums. We are determined to reach more. With increased The Girl Effect has a bright target to bring 50 million of them out of
forms an enterprise that is easily accessible to each of them. The
financial resources, Technoserve has the capacity to expand the YWE poverty by 2030; 50 million girl effects.
clubs meets in safe places for the girls and venues that are owned
by the community. Training: Girls receive training in Entrepreneurship, program and create opportunities for thousands more girls to realize
their potential, sparking the magnification of the Girl Effect in Kenya. www.girleffect.org
financial literacy, Employabilitty and lifeskills. They recieve knowledge
N
early 60% of Nairobi’s 3 million inhabitants reside in slums, a increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS – girls aged
number that is growing.1 Slum life is characterized by poor 15–19 are three times more likely, and those
sanitation, crime and insecurity, lack of access to basic aged 20-24 are 5.5 times more likely to be HIV-
resources, low levels of education, and high unemployment rates. Graph 1: Girls’ potential to boost Kenyan GDP Figure 1: The Poverty Trap
positive than their male counterparts.5 Some
Many people live on less than US$1 per day, making it difficult to girls are chased away from home because of
cover school-related costs.2 these factors, making their lives less secure, they
often become the victims of rape, abuse, and
Out of the 7 million adolescent girls in Kenya – who comprise 20% harassment.7
of Kenya’s population – more than 1.6 million have dropped out of
school.3,4 If these girls had completed primary school, the Kenyan For uneducated youth, economic opportunities
economy would be boosted US$27 billion over their lifetimes (Graph are very rare, and many resort to drug use, crime,
1).5,3 or prostitution. Over three-quarters of youth in
Only 22% of female students aged 14-17 attend school in slums, Kenya’s slums are unemployed – 57% of which
while the national attendance rate is 68%. 6 Young girls often engage are females.8 The poverty trap can ensnare a
in early sex or prostitution in exchange for money and gifts to support family in this way: the older generation cannot
themselves and their families. Consequently they are at great risk prepare their children with enough assets and
of dropping out of school from early pregnancy and experience education and the younger generation is ill-
prepared to escape from poverty (Figure 1).
Program model overview skills and networking), and negotiation. During business skills
training, girls form groups to work on experiential businesses
where they are able to apply what they have learned through
The Young Women in Enterprise (YWE) program, developed and a small ($4 per girl) grant. Girls also identify potential individual
implemented by TechnoServe, seeks to economically empower business enterprises and write startup and operational plans for
disadvantaged adolescent girls and young women by facilitating Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 business proposals. These business plans are entered in the
their entry into safe and productive economic opportunities. The business plan competition at the end of training.
program introduces girls 14-24 years of age to the concepts of
entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and employability. • Recruitment and group formation Girls are recruited and organized • Aftercare support phase to guide girls to start business enterprise,
into enterprise clubs of 30-40 members to be trained once per link them to employment for those who prefer employment. Girls
The program is working with secondary school girls and community week for 6-months (1 hr/week for school girls and 4 hrs/week for are supported to identify mentors who help them develop and
girls (not enrolled in school). Over the 4-year program life, YWE has community girls). translate skills into business enterprises or transition to wage
worked with over 4,000 girls, in two schools and in two slums in employment. They are also linked to financial services institutions
Nairobi and their environs: Mathare and Kawangware. • Training phase starts by teaching girls about group formation, to open bank accounts and save.
group dynamics and life skills (such as problem-solving, decision-
The program supports girls in three phases making, and self-confidence). Thereafter, girls learn about financial YWE was designed in collaboration with targeted girls, community
(illustrated in Figure 2): literacy, saving, business skills, record keeping, employability members, and stakeholders in girls programming with the aim to
(including self-presentation, opportunity awareness, interviewing generate a scalable, efficient and replicable program.
Celestine’s sales are around $600 monthly and she has an average profit of $300 per month. Her business
employs her mother and two other people. She has also created a good market for several farmers who sell
milk to her. Celestine explains, “I want to work hard and impact on the lives of many other people in my society.”
In the future, she hopes to open a milk processing and packaging cottage where she can make a variety of
products, such as cheese and butter, in larger quantities.
Community girls: Before joining YWE 15% of community girls had Unmeasured results
Results some experience in businesses and 13% had worked as domestic Girls participating in YWE have become powerful agents of change in
Girls were empowered through the training program and access to workers. Since joining YWE, 36% (n=531) of community girls who their schools and communities. This is a result of the skills they gained
economic opportunities provided by YWE. Overall, 87% (n=3579) of completed all trainings have started businesses. An additional 26% in YWE. Though not formerly measured, there were substantial
girls enrolled in YWE completed the training course. Among trained (n=390) have been found employment through YWE job placement increases in girls’ confidence, communication and negotiation
girls, 81% (n=2906) wrote a business plan, and 81% (n=2882) support. These results are considerable given the fact that nearly all
skills, access to a network of business mentors, and strengthened
practiced starting and managing a business through the experiential of the girls come from extremely vulnerable backgrounds with virtually
community support.
business exercise (Graph 2). no savings, work, or business experience.
However, she did not forget about the girls in her own neighborhood. Determined to break the cycle of poverty
Rose began training girls from her community in tailoring, giving them an opportunity for financial independence.
Due to a high demand for Rose’s exceptional services, she employed a young woman, who she has inspired
to join YWE.
As a current YWE mentor, Rose’s success story continues to motivate girls in the YWE program to follow their
dreams. Now she earns about $100 per month, and vows to continue to expand her business and encourage
others to do the same.
Analysis - The YWE promise, which all girls sign to join the program
Before YWE 13% of out-of-school girls (193 girls) were in wage employment-
most as household laborers and seasonal sellers
Bank account & savings 749 girls have bank accounts $31,248 girls’ total saving per 6-month period on average
Before YWE 23% of all girls (n=342) had bank accounts, 14% of community girls (n=243) girls
saved in bank accounts
Empowered girls are more likely to help others in their communities as
they understand the hardships their friends and classmates face and National ID 885 girls received their National Identification
tend to make the most opportunities to assist them. The results of the Safe physical space to meet 1489 community girls gather in safe spaces to learn and exchange their experiences with
empowerment analysis are presented in Table 1: mentors and each other
Before YWE No girls had safe spaces outside of home to meet
She makes between ksh1000-2000 per day and makes profit of ksh3000 per month. She does not rely on her
husband and this has helped the husband to respect her a lot. She also has offered employment to two girls and
also teaches one of them at a small fee. She has bought a blowdrier, drier, tongs, and seats for customers since
joining YE programme.She is also paying fee for her sister who is doing hairdressing. She wants to expand her
salon by opening a school of hairdressing in future and soon wants to open a clothing shop in mathare.She also
has helped recruited more girls because they see her success. She is a great role model to her peers and a great
example of young girls empowered through the Young Women in Enterprise program.
2. Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project (KSCYP). Retrieved from: http://www.leeonenessfoundation.com/projects/kawangware.
3. Chaaban, J. and Cunningham, W. “Measuring the Economic Gain of Investing in Girls: The Girl Effect Dividend.” Working Paper from the World Bank Human
Development Network and Children and Youth Unit and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Gender Unit. August 2011.
6. The State of the World’s Children 2012. UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/sowc/files/SOWC_2012-Main_Report_EN_21Dec2011.pdf.
7. Gómez, M., Gomez, S. Kabajuni, A. Kaur, P. & King, W. (2008). Women, slums and organization: examining the causes and consequences.
Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Women and Housing Rights program, PP105-118. Retrieved from:
http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/cohre-womenslumsandurbanisationexaminingthecausesandconsequences.pdf.
8. Githu, A., “Urban Slums Youth Economic and Social Empowerment Project” PowerPoint Presentation (2007).