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 Hand Up partner Covanya - with new computers!
- Long-Term Skills Training: Deploying culturally-tailored training programs in skills like Financial Management, Entrepreneurship, Computers, Literacy, and more (more info below).
- Commitment to Local Employment: Harnessing local talent to conduct the training programs through a ground-breaking internship program with Orphans of Rwanda International (ORI), an NGO that provides university scholarships to high-achieving orphans (READ MORE).
- Advanced Craftmaking Skills: Arranging for regular training sessions in advanced weaving and sewing skills.
- Physical Capacity-Building: Contributing to capital upgrades that allow for additional income generation opportunities, such as new sewing machines or facility maintenance.
Indego Africa’s Hand Up program has become so successful that women from our partner cooperatives have been invited to travel to other cooperatives around Rwanda and speak about what they have learned.
The Indego Africa Entrepreneurship Program (IAEP) was launched in August 2009 in response to the feedback of the cooperatives and as a follow up to Indego Africa’s Financial Management training programs. IAEP strives to diversity and increase the income of the women at Indego Africa’s cooperative partners by giving them the tools to engage the local and global markets as business-savvy, independent businesswomen.Utilizing trainings and workshops, IAEP will meet its objectives by providing:
- Increased access to information about the local market (the women’s most frequent request is for market data about their existing products and feedback on product prototypes – i.e. they want to know how the orders are being received in the United States, what products could sell better etc.)
- Increased access to the local market
- Increased access to information about the international market
- Close coordination with Indego Africa’s Adult Literacy training program (women understand and want English as a gateway language for them to reach their local and international clients—without it they will always be dependent)
- Skills trainings on entrepreneurship and business planning including (understanding markets, market research, competitor analysis, product development, unit/fixed/variable costs, pricing, budgeting, logistics, SWOT analysis, market entry, problem solving and logistics strategies, projected profit)
STRUCTURE: IAEP will include extended weekly trainings incorporating practical examples from the cooperatives’ existing businesses combined with building access to existing small business support institutions (micro finance, PSF etc) and long term support to project development and implementation. The program begins with basic discussions of the market, target customers, market research, competitor analysis and basic logistics. It then moves on to methods of calculating market entry, fixed/variable costs, unit price, profit margin, product development and marketing strategies. The third segment focuses on more in depth logistics and problem solving. The final part of the curriculum encourages the women to begin thinking beyond their current business, to how they can begin thinking about improving their businesses or seeking out new ventures. IAEP is run each week at both our cooperatives. Sessions are two-three hours long and are designed to cover increasingly complex topics building from previous trainings (for example, discussions on product pricing build from trainings on fixed/variable costs and market analysis) PHILOSOPHY: Although the overall curriculum focuses on these thematic areas, it is constantly being revised within these areas to incorporate questions from the cooperatives and feedback from the trainers on program needs. The trainings are fully participatory, encouraging the cooperative’s to use their own understanding of the market to build models and come up with strategies. Furthermore, each training exercise is specifically tailored to use the cooperative’s current products and expenses—making them directly relevant to that cooperative’s operations. The information generated from each weekly session is directly incorporated into the cooperative’s activities and reinforced through review sessions that encourage continuing learning and the actual use of models and databases. All activities are coordinated with Indego Africa’s other training components—IT and Kinyarwanda/English literacy. WORKSHOPS: IAEP includes special workshop and projects sessions to tackle particularly difficult or important topics. This includes several sessions where microfinance institutions present to the cooperatives and the cooperatives discuss the pro’s and con’s of each, as well as meetings to incorporate information on product pricing and set medium and long term business goals. IAEP will also introduce the women to the local market for their products (through crafts fairs, trade shows, vendor introductions).
Indego Africa’s management and accounting training programs – tailored specifically for handicraft cooperatives to ensure that they can sustain and scale up both their commercial and developmental operations – are conducted twice a week at Cocoki and Covanya. The curriculum includes lessons on recordkeeping, transparent payments, banking, governance, customs paperwork, government licensing and effective communication. With their newfound knowledge and confidence, the cooperatives – enthusiastically embracing meritocracy and transparent business practices – are becoming community institutions of leadership and good governance. “I like recording of finances because before we used to work in a very suspicious way with no recording, no way to know how to get money. Everything is clear now.” - Fatuma Nyiramana, 50, weaver at Covanya.
Launched in July 2009, the Indego Africa Adult Literacy Program (IAALP) is the first adult literacy program in Rwanda to focus on the functional applications of reading and writing instruction.
The IAALP draws from the Rwandan National Center for Curriculum Development’s just released National Adult Literacy Program – as well as materials provided by The Rwanda Ministry of Education – to help these remarkable women improve their Kinyarwanda reading and writing skills in the context of lessons on public health, parenting skills, human rights, and civil participation. The IAALP also guides the women through the rapid switch of Rwanda’s official language from French to English with a phonetics-based approach to English literacy.
But Indego Africa doesn’t stop there. UNESCO’s Handbook for Literacy and Non-Formal Education Facilitators in Africa acts as a philosophical framework for the IAALP, providing guidance on topics like entering a village/community in a socially conscious manner or galvanizing a sense of ownership among the students. The integration of Individualized Educational Profiles – supplied by the New York City Department of Education – allow the IAALP participants to efficiently match their literacy goals with their immediate concerns, including how to fill out a job application, open a bank account, or even write a letter to a family member. The IAALP is supervised by Indego Africa’s experienced staff and administered day-to-day by two remarkable students from the Kigali Institute of Education. Click here for Indego Africa's Literacy Launch Newsletter (September 2009). Click here for Indego Africa's Adult Literacy Program Implementation Plan (October 2009).
Thanks to the generosity of the global law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Indego Africa has proudly installed comprehensive computer centers at Covanya (July 2008) and Cocoki (April 2009). The women now enjoy computer lessons three to four hours per week. Before Indego Africa, almost none of the women had seen a computer, but they now eagerly learn to open and save documents, create text, prepare a document for printing, and undertake advanced editing. These skills are not only invaluable for future job placement opportunities, but they also promote confidence, pride, and a fellowship with the global community.
Click here to read more about the July 2008 computer center launch at Covanya! Click here to read more about the April 2009 computer center launch at Cocoki! Click here to read blog post "Confidence & Computer Exams." “I love saving files. you cannot lose those files once you save them. When you write you lose the paper, but when you save on a computer, it cannot be changed or lost.” - Olive Mukabuzizi, 56, weaver at Covanya, writing a short story at the computer center.
True success is reached when Indego Africa’s partner cooperatives are able to independently engage export markets. To further this mission, Indego Africa provides training in marketing trends and global commerce in the form of playful skits and informative seminars, all conducted by Indego Africa’s wide net of volunteers. With this knowledge, the remarkable women of Indego Africa build a strong connection with the global marketplace. Click below for the skit, “Path of the Products,” which demonstrates how Indego Africa products make their way from Cocoki's workshop into your home.
Indego Africa is committed to ensuring that its partner cooperatives operate in safe and healthy work environments. To further this mission, Indego Africa engages in conversations with the cooperatives on an ongoing basis about their safety needs. In addition, with the help of Indego Africa volunteers, Indego Africa also offers fantastic – and fun – interactive seminars like Repetitive Stress Injuries: Strategies for Prevention.Indego Africa also partners with sister organizations in Rwanda to address needs beyond our immediate expertise. Gardens of Health International (“GHI”), for example, is an innovative NGO enabling people living with HIV/AIDS to improve their nutrition, health, and treatment adherence through sustainable agriculture. GHI provides Indego Africa’s partner cooperatives with free training from skilled agronomists on utilizing bio-intensive agricultural methods and planting highly nutritious staple foods. International Justice Mission – a fantastic NGO dedicated to securing justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression – also provides the cooperatives with educational seminars about their rights and private consultation services. Click here to learn more about Indego Africa's partnership with Gardens of Health!
Indego Africa launched a ground-breaking partnership in July 2008 with Orphans of Rwanda International (“ORI”), a non-profit that funds university scholarships for high-achieving orphans in Rwanda. Seven of ORI’s top students currently administer all of Indego Africa's Hand Up training programs. This collaboration benefits all parties involved, providing these high-potential students with priceless experience that they are often not able to find locally, delighting the women, and allowing Indego Africa to run its training programs frugally yet efficiently — just $50 per month covers one intern’s expenses. READ MORE.
Indego Africa’s innovative use of back-end website forms allow the interns to easily send detailed weekly and monthly reports to Indego Africa staff about class attendance, subjects covered, exam schedules and results, challenges, goals, or just whether they experienced or saw something special or interesting during their last training session. Click here to read a great interview with the ORI interns.
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