ICEP-ISBI project-outline.pdf

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Empowerment ofMicro-Entrepreneurs inthe Slums of Nairobi

A Cooperation for Development between

ICEP and Valartis Bank

March 2012

www.icep.at


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www.icep.at

Empowerment for Micro-Entrepreneurs

in the Slums of Nairobi

A Cooperation for Development between ICEP and Valartis Bank

2010 Valartis Bank decided to organise not only a splendid Polo tournament but also to support a project in a

developing country in cooperation with ICEP. As a socially responsible company, Valartis Bank is concerned to

make an effective contribution to global poverty alleviation. By means of the Charity-Tombola Valartis Bank

gives the guests of the Valartis Bank Snow Arena Polo World Cup the opportunity to do something good. The

glamorous event has been taking place for ten years every January, in Kitzbhl/Austria. The proceeds of ticket

sales are dedicated to the ICEP project: Empowerment of Micro-Entreprenerus in the Slums of Nairobi.

Background InformationAround 60 percent of the 3 million inhabitants of Nairobi

live in slums. There, people lack almost everything. But

poverty does not mean that people dont have skills, en-trepreneurial spirit or ideas. They are lacking vocational

training, business know-how and access to capital.

In order to foster the development of entrepreneurial

potential of slum inhabitants, the Informal Sector Busi-

ness Institute (ISBI) was founded in 2004 with support

of ICEP. ISBI, which was recognised as the Social Entre-

preneur of the Year by Microsoft in 2007, is focussed

toward capacity building in the informal sector.

Within the framework of its Youth Empowerment

Programme, ISBI offers potential young entrepreneurs

a technical and commercial education and accompanies

alumni and interested youth with individual business-

coaches from the idea to the formation and the establish-

ment of a business.

Project Outline 2011Thanks to the proceeds of the tombola 2011 an overall budget of 30.000 euro got dedicated to the intended project

in the slum areas of Nairobi. In February/March 2011 ICEP and ISBI started to developed the cornerstones of

project activities, whereby ISBI began with the implementation in April 2011. The rst project cycle was de-

signed for a duration of 12 month and will be completed by the 31st of March 2012. The project report for the

rst year will be handed over to Valartis beginning by June 2012 and will include an external audit report. Thefollowing goals and activities were dened in a contract between ICEP and ISBI to be completed within a year:

A show-room with a joined business centre and virtual ofce or up to 50 micro-entrepreneurs will be

set up near the slum areas.

30 micro-entrepreneurs will receive individual coaching and supervision by setting up their business.

230 young Nairobians will take part in the Vocational and Business Training Program o ISBI.

Getting the chance to expand the existing program for young entrepreneurs by setting up a show-room and

business centre near the slum is a fantastic opportunity for ISBI to break new ground to help people to earn their

living and therefore to ght poverty.

The concrete outcome of the project activities 2011 will be subject of the 1st year report - even tough the follow-

ing outline for 2012 are already designed to built upon these activities.

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The ISBI business centre and show-room is located on the

ringe o Nairobis slum area.


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Outline 2012

Continued Micro-Entrepreneur Empowerment through

the ISBI-Business Centre

With the help of the Valartis Charity Tombola 2012 the innovative model of a show-room and business centre

for mirco-entrepreneurs in the slums of Nairobi can be developed further and the vocational and business

training for young people can be continued.

3 www.icep.at

SummaryThe concept of offering not only training, but also a

real show-room and a business centre to micro-entre-

preneurs living in the slums of Nairobi is a very new

and innovative approach to ght poverty.The project partner ISBI has been working for years

in the slum areas of Nairobi training young entrepre-

neurs through the ISBI Youth Empowerment Program

and ISBI Business Coaching Program for micro-entre-

preneurs.

Thanks to the Valartis sponsoring 2011 ISBI could

establish a show-room and a small business centre

in the rst project year (Duration: April 2011 to

March 2012). In the long run the business centre is

designed to give 50 micro-entrepreneurs space to

share the infrastructure etc. during their stay. In the

business centre they also receive personal coaching.

ISBI developed a plan to run the centre nancially

self sustaining after ve years. This plan includes 50

micro-entrepreneurs who share the costs of the centre

as well as further income generation through services

like internet access, printing etc.

Multi-stage Training and SupportThe project is designed as a multi-stage training and

support program to:

Empower the youth of Nairobi slums to obtainemployment or initiate a micro-business

Support existing micro entrepreneurs and assist

them to scale up and improve their businesses

In addition to offering training to both the youth and

the micro entrepreneurs, the project will provide ex-

tended business facilities to the beneciaries through

its business centre.

Youth-Empowerment Programm

80 young people will receive training in 2012 thanks

to the Valartis sponsoring. Most of the beneciaries

will have nished secondary school and are young

men between 18 and 35 years, living in the Nairobi

slums. Most of them lack motivation and self-esteem.

The tough economic conditions in the country have

left them jobless and without any prospects of earning

a decent income. The training offered by institutions

of higher learning is too expensive for them. These

issues lead to a low morale among the youth and the

result is often a feeling of worthlessness, boredomand engaging in irresponsible behaviour to break the

monotony of life.

The project will start by offering the beneciaries life

skills to raise their condence levels and assure them

that they have the ability to take charge of their lives.

The young people will also be offered business skills,

ICT and a technical skill that will empower them to

steer their lives in a positive direction. It is expected

that the personal and technical development of these

young people will be a starting point of a positive

ripple effect in their families and immediate environ-

ment.ISBI give ambitious people coming rom the slum areas o

Nairobi a chance to earn their living and to fght poverty.


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4 www.icep.at

The concrete training topics are:

Life skills

Basic IT

Business education

Specialization in either: ofce management, sales-

manship or electronics

The training consists of 300 hours, which will be

divided into two parts. The rst part will have en-

trepreneurship, ICT skills and life skills. These will

take 150 hours. In the second part of the training the

students will specialize in electronics, salesmanship

or ofce management. This part will also take 150

hours.

The training offered to the young people aims at

making them employable or preparing them to start

a business. For this reason the class training will beas practice oriented as possible to ensure that the

students get a feeling for the jobs they get prepared

for. The theory lessons will be intertwined with prac-

tical sessions and a one-month internship. ISBI will

arrange these practical sessions to be given by people

from various industries.

Business Coaching for Micro-Entrepreneurs

The project will also reach out to existing and aspir-

ing micro entrepreneurs and offer them customized

business courses for their sector. 20 micro-entrepre-

neurs from the informal settlements of Nairobi will

benet directly from the program, not counting the

people that they will employ.

Most of the traders in the informal sector have a par-

ticular skill to make goods or offer services to people.

But they hardly have any business skills to turn their

technical know-how into protable ventures. The

courses that will be offered to this group have been

well adapted to suit their particular needs and to openthem up to the many possibilities of the potential of

their trades. The courses are delivered in the form of

seminars, the syllabi have already been prepared and

manuals will be handed out to the participants.

The micro entrepreneurs will be trained in basic busi-

ness management, which covers the following topics:

Marketing

Accounting

Business plan development

Business ethics

Business communication

ISBI Business Centre & Business Mentorship

The business centre with its show-room, which hasbeen running for almost a year now, offers a joint

infrastructure for micro entrepreneurs to access

business support facilities like a decent meeting

space and internet services. The business centre also

provides an avenue for the micro entrepreneurs to

display and market their wares.

The business centre has proven to be a success in

bringing together micro entrepreneurs from the

informal settlements. Guest speakers shall be invited

periodically to address micro entrepreneurs on vari-

ous relevant business topics. The focus in 2012 lies

on the further promotion of the centre to attract more

micro-entrepreneurs to participate. Within ve years

the ISBI business centre is designed to run on a nan-

cially self-sustaining basis.

New in 2012 is that after the training in entrepreneur-

ship, both the youth and the micro entrepreneurs will

have the chance of receiving business mentorship if

they wish. The project will provide business mentors

who will meet with the traders on a regular basis andadvise them on issues affecting their businesses.

Through multi-stage training and support, especially young

people receive also a vocational ormation they could other-

wise not aord.

Outline 2012Milestones:

80 young people will receive a vocational

and business training

20 micro-entrepreneurs will be trained

Through urther marketing and promotion

20 micro-entrepreneurs will cooperate in

the business centre

Overall Budget: EUR 20.000,-

Documents

ICEP-ISBI project-outline.pdf