What is it?
- Helping the poor to help themselves without creating dependency
- Using strategies to create accessible means for savings, small loans and insurance for emergencies
- Focusing on broader finance for life
- Implemented by Micro-finance Institutions (MFIs), Revolving Loan Funds or Cooperatives
- non-regulated non-governmental institutions
- can be created by the community, a particular group or neighborhood
- optimally are permanent and sustainable
- provide financial services at a micro-level
- group stands behind each loan = moral collateral
- non-repayment affects the whole group prohibiting continuation of the loan process
* members contribute a small savings
* small loans from the group savings account are made to members on a rotating schedule with stepped loans for successful repayment members
* repayment with small interest is made
Why do it?
- Provides community members increased income & assets
- Increased income affects better family nutrition, education & health care
- Produces a sense of empowerment especially for women
- Enables restoration of personal dignity
- Cultivates personal responsibility
- Develops discipline & a view toward future planning
- Enables the ability to help others with increased income, skills & understandings
How will we apply these strategies?
- We have formed partnerships with agencies and organizations with expertise in the field of community economic development
Chalmers Center for Economic Development
SIFAT (Southern Institute for Appropriate Technology)
- We have no intentions to create or manage an MFI. Rather, we intend to enable the community to do so by offering quality education on our premises through our partners above
What are our plans for Community Outreach?
- Educate via our partners in economic development hosting conferences & classes
- Encourage creation of community MFIs, revolving loan groups or cooperatives
- Enable follow-up by our partner organizations
What are the Potential Outcomes?
- Accessible lending and savings opportunities
- Individual & community increased well-being
- Ability to better meet life’s needs
- Ability to cope with emergencies
- No longer prey to loan & savings sharks & high interest payments
Investment opportunities - Increased personal responsibility, financial discipline, planning & charity
What is it?
- Helping the poor to help themselves without creating dependency
- Development strategy that focuses on small businesses
- Helping low-income entrepreneurs to start or expand their own businesses
- Providing financial tools to help fund a business
- Providing non-financial business development skills
* management
* accounting
* marketing
Why do it?
- To eliminate lack of business knowledge and ideas among the community
- To alleviation poverty, improved quality of life & reach higher levels of self- sustainability within the community
- To empowerment with skills and knowledge to run an profitable business
- To enable self-employment
- To connect the community with accessible loans for business start-ups or expansion
- To provide stability for community families
How will we apply these strategies?
- We have formed strategic alliances with agencies and organizations with expertise in the field of community economic development
- Empowering Lives International (Dynamic Business Start-up Program)
- Jamii Bora
- Opportunity International
- We have no intentions to create or manage a micro-loan enterprise. Rather, we intend to offering quality education in best business practices and business facilitation through loans via our partners above
What are our plans for Community Outreach?
- Encourage community participation in courses offered
- Educate via our partners in business skills, start-ups and expansions by hosting their conferences & classes
- Encourage individual & community development through entrepreneurship
- Offer training and resources that can break the cycle of poverty
- Connect community with business financing contact
- Enable strategic follow-up by our partner organizations
What are the Potential Outcomes?
- Accessible lending opportunities
- Gain of successful business principles, policies & procedures
- Increased individual & community well-being
- Increased services & products within the community
- Increased self-reliance, family strength & generosity toward others
What is it?
- Beginning Computer Skills
- A series of four training classes in the basic understanding & operation of computers
- to be held at the Center’s computer lab/business center
- Skills to be taught
- * general computer skills
- * email skills
- * processing skills
- * web skills
- Basic Computer Program Skills
- A series of 4 training classes designed to create competent users of the main Microsoft programs
- to be held at the Center’s computer lab/business center
- Programs to be taught
- * Word
- * Excel
- * PowerPoint
- * Media Player
Why do it?
- Kenya is lagging behind in information technology
- Education in technology is a key to a country’s future economic independence and prosperity
- Communication technology will enhance many aspects of life from health to education to economic growth
- increasing computer literacy to bridge the digital divide in developing countries
- making technology accessible to ordinary people
- helping improve health and education through information access
- educating females especially has enormous potential to create a virtuous circle, as the children of digitally educated mothers are more likely to receive a technical education
- empowering people by removing barriers to the access of information
- improving the individual’s earning and employment potential
- combating geographical isolation and shortage of basic instructional materials
How will we apply this technology?
- The site plan for the Center includes a business center that features a computer bank or cyber café
- to be accessible to the community
- to be used by the school that uses the facility eight weeks per year
- to be used for community IT training
- The computer bank will have wireless internet connections
- The Center has acquired an extensive digital library contained on 500 gigabyte external hard drives which will be accessible to community learners
What are our plans for Community Outreach?
- Exhibit standard IT devices (computers) and their uses
- Educate community learners in computer skills
- offering skills classes (see above)
- offering internet time
- Enable learners to progress in education & employment qualifications
What are the Possible Outcomes?
- increased individual computer skills
- increased love for and access to learning
- improved potential for individual employment
- empowered, enriched & transformed lives advanced by education