Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life but by the obstacles which she has overcome.”
–Booker T Washington.
‘So what are you doing again?’ A question that had been posed to me so many times before I left the (what I thought to be) busy streets of London for (what I now know to be) the truly busy streets of the city of Lusaka, Zambia. After being in Lusaka for a week and getting to know the in-country Zambian volunteers, I thought I knew exactly what to expect when it was finally time to leave the training location and move into my new host home to start work at the business I had been assigned to.
I had been paired with a small social enterprise called The Foundation for the Realization of Economic Empowerment (otherwise known as F.R.E.E woman). As my counterpart, Charles and I made our way from the urban area where our host families lived to F.R.E.E. I began to notice the change in surroundings. The low rise gated buildings and shopping malls began to fall away slowly being replaced with smaller hand-built houses and kantemba (small roadside shops). The number of cars around us plummeted and before we knew it we were at the heart of a community known as the N’gombe compounds. N’gombe is one of Zambia’s underdeveloped areas and the home of F.R.E.E.
As a social enterprise, F.R.E.E. woman exists to provide women from the most underprivileged communities with a way to earn income and reverse the marginalisation of said women by providing them with an opportunity to better their lives. The focus is on the creation of jewellery, from bracelets to necklaces, out of copper wire and a copper sheet with some of the more extravagant pieces incorporating semi-precious stones.
In August 2010 the project emerged from a group of young women living in Lusaka’s slums who had no previous jewellery making experience. The group was founded by Dawn Close, an American who lives in Lusaka. There are now more than 20 women that currently take part in the group although more than twice this number have been capably trained and regularly reincorporate themselves. The inclusion of all women in this project is an aim that remains at the forefront of F.R.E.E’s agenda and this can be observed in the flexibility of the work that is on offer. Many of the women that work with F.R.E.E are young mothers which may act as a barrier to attaining other forms of employment, however, through this project women are able to drop in as frequently as they desire and at any time during the working day.
After working with the organisation for almost four weeks I have been able to see the extent to which F.R.E.E’s social impact reaches. Four of the women have been able to return to school, a number of the women involved with F.R.E.E have been able to attain financial independence and all have gained skills that can aid them in future endeavours within the working world if they choose to venture into formal employment elsewhere. As a group that makes up more than half of the population in Zambia, it was somewhat surprising to find that only 28.8% of women are in formal employment. However, projects such as F.R.E.E are actively working towards raising these numbers and tackling the ‘elephant in the room’ that is the marginalisation of women in the workforce across Zambia.
This year I have also had the pleasure of celebrating International women’s day in Zambia where unlike the UK, it is a Zambian national holiday. Although somewhat contrasting the image painted by the statistics regarding the position of women in Zambia, this day was used to appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of the many Zambian women and women around the world and celebrate their achievements. In appreciating the struggles that so many women around the world do face on a daily basis we can learn from organisations like F.R.E.E and move towards addressing these issues one by one, something that I am excited to have the opportunity be a part of.
Micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) are cornerstones to the success of every economy, particularly an emerging one as Ghana’s. According to Storey (1994), SMEs have no universally accepted definition. Aryeetey et al (1994), defines MSMEs by categorising them into- Microenterprises (1–9 workers), small enterprises (10–29 workers) and medium enterprises (30–140 workers). In Ghana, most of the private sector businesses fall within the MSME bracket where they operate in markets with low barriers to entry, and with no real product differentiation. They do more than filling the black hole created by unemployment, driving macroeconomic growth, and also provide an avalanche of other opportunities. For these small businesses to thrive there needs to be the existence for an enabling ecosystem, because they are not just producers of goods and services, but they also serve as consumers. However, in Ghana it is a common practice to find central banks preferring to lend to governments, which offer less risks and higher returns, crowding out these same MSMEs (private consumers) from the financial systems. Having recently volunteered as a Business Support Associate with Challenges Worldwide (a UK Government Funded development charity that trains and manages expert volunteers to carry out short assignments for social enterprises, and prepare them towards investment readiness), I would propose certain ways in which this conducive ecosystem can be created;
1. Presence of enabling legal and regulatory environment
For these small businesses to thrive there needs to be an independent and efficient legal system to make sure contracts signed are not only enforced, but binding on all parties involved. Good policies provide a basis for an enabling environment. Some of the legal and regulatory bottlenecks that exists include;
· Inadequate regulations, insufficiency hinders the growth of these small businesses and makes it difficult for them to seek redress in the law courts, that is, the poor enforcement of contracts.
· Poor administration of regulations and lack of clarity, some of the existing regulations are complex and bureaucratic. They need to be clearly defined and certain processes (government agencies) taken out of the processes for effective delivery and to eliminate the duplication of processes among them.
· Lack of awareness, the laws and regulations need to be properly communicated and promoted to these small business owners, to give them a better understanding and appreciation of them.
2. Good microeconomic and macroeconomic policies
Sound economic policies go a long way in creating the needed desired ecosystem for MSMEs to excel on the backdrop of predictability. Economic policies need to give small businesses the room to be able to explore and exploit every economic opportunity by achieving; low budget deficits, low deficits, competitive exchange rates, etc. For instance, unlike larger enterprises who can hedge against high inflation and other unfavorable economic indicators by hedging to minimize their risk profile, small enterprises cannot afford that luxury and room to operate. It is important to say that, certain policies adopted will be political, but they should be implemented with sound analyses for the benefit of every economic agent.
3. Partnerships
Forming cooperatives and working to create community links can be beneficial both in terms of cost cutting and heightening morale for MSMEs. This is a very important way small businesses can overcome the major hurdles that confront them in areas such as; accessing affordable finance, and other economies of scale. Working collectively, and organizing workshops to learn from participants’ experience to help them gain insights into how to go about certain situation. Some of these clinics can help support members, with the support of technical assistance agencies, including voluntary non-governmental organizations such as what Challenges Worldwide does by recruiting qualified young people and training them to offer technical expertise as Business Support Associates of which I am a proud beneficiary. These partnerships through cooperatives can help them secure affordable credit at lower borrowing cost by lowering their individual risk profiles as a group due to certain formalization of their industry-related operations. It would afford them the opportunity to secure finance without having to struggle with certain stringent requirements such as collateral, enjoy economies of scale by buying at discounts, engaging in its own research and engage in sophisticated marketing.
4. Setting realistic and achievable targets
The alchemy of turning ideas into sellable, and appealing solutions to everyday problems is a mark of successful entrepreneurs. Setting realistic goals and timelines in achieving those set goals to create empires. MSMEs owners must also do well to have a succession plan to steer affairs even when they are no more. Their successors must be trained and equipped with the needed technical and entrepreneurial skills through mentorships, apprenticeships and other techniques. This preserves the original vision of the business without aberrations from their core business and internal wrangling of power. This is a major setback most small businesses in Ghana face and mostly fold-up when the brainchild is no more. This repels investors from putting their monies into such so-called “one man” business, and having a clear succession plan would appeal to investors.
5. Business Development Services (BDS)
These services includes; consultancy and advisory services, marketing assistance, technology assistance and other supporting services. MSMEs can outsource some of these technical and strategic services to experts for use on a fee-for-service basis. These would help to streamline operations leading to efficiency and increased profitability. Some of the reasons why these small enterprises are reluctant to use outside expertise are listed below;
· The use of experts/consultants may be viewed by the entrepreneur as admission of lack of competence
· The belief that only large enterprises can afford the consulting fees charged
· The fear of business interference, especially when requests are made to examine business documents such as accounts and taxes.
The use of BDS provides enormous benefits such as;
· An independent professional viewpoint and expert evaluation
· Training and development of strategic approaches
· Online marketing techniques- social media presence with targeted outcomes and may more…
6. Alternative sources of finance
Financial institutions are often reluctant to deal with MSMEs in Ghana due to high risk of default than the corporates. Also, bookkeeping skills is an issue because some do not keep any financial records (usually scant) and are mostly less transparent. There is the issue of not separating business account from personal accounts, and this indicates the poor quality of management. This hurdle can be overcome when business owners prioritize their needs and spend efficiently, and ploughing back profits into the business. Also, other alternative sources of financing that are longer-term in nature. For instance, small businesses with no product differentiation can come to a mutual understanding and merge to pool resources together. This could also afford them the opportunity to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange Alternative Market (GAX) which has more relaxed requirements as compared to the main stock exchange, to go public to secure longer term finance. However, this will still be on a high side for many MSMEs present but one thing is clear, the need for collaboration to pool resources in the form of long-term equity financing rather than short-term debt financing is the way forward.
In a nutshell, with an enabling ecosystem from the various state supporting institutions, the right collaboration amongst major stakeholders, determination from the entrepreneurs, Ghanaian businesses are going to soar higher. We should take a cue from the Asian Tigers who have used technology and their creativity to infuse themselves into the global value chain to compete with their counterparts from the West.
References:
[1] Aryeetey, E.A, Baah-Nuakoh, A., Duggleby, T., Hettige H., and Steel, W.F., (1994), Supply And Demand for Finance of Small Enterprises in Ghana, Discussion Paper № 251, Technical Department, Africa Region. Washington, D.C., World Bank.
[2] Kubr, M., (2002)…Management Consulting.4th.Geneva, Switzerland, International Labour Organisation.
[3] Storey, D., (1994), “Understanding the Small Business Sector”., Routledge, London. pg. 33–55.
Life is energy. From cells functionality and plants photosynthetic activity up to all the modern electric networks that we have nowadays. Currently, our energy use is based on fossil fuels, which have allowed us to boost our economy and improve our lifestyle. However, as any technology, its use have some consequences, which in this case are related to environment degradation and climate change.
Also, not everybody has access to this type of energy. Around 16% of the world’s populations have no access to electricity and many more have very poor access to it*. Most of these populations are rural and are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, where people have to struggle every day with issues that would never pop into our heads as a problem in our daily lives. From not having electricity in hospitals at night to not having access to entertainment or just fewer hours to be productive at work and study.
All these put us in a crossroad, where we have to play smart if we want to overcome such social, environmental and, in a very close future, economic issues. So, how can clean energy be increased in Africa? And what can we do if we are living in the UK to promote it?
It’s more and more accessible every day!
Renewable energies are becoming more affordable and easy to install at a small scale. It is an excellent solution for lighting hospitals or put irrigation systems to work in rural communities. Even though there are still some limitations, like no sunlight at night or no-wind days, these clean tech options are a powerful tool to improve people’s quality of life. Besides, new technologies are arising and, for example, solutions for storage problems are not so far from becoming reality.
Solving the problem at household level is crucial in rural areas
Millions of homes across Africa have to spend money on kerosene every day for lighting. This can be a struggle when there is not enough money to buy food and the decision between one or another has to be made, besides being extremely harmful to health. Also, in some cities, the people that have access to energy find it too expensive compared to what they get. Therefore, solar panels have been a sustainable solution for households of different economic levels. An example of this is the work that Translight Solar and Sunny Money are doing in different African communities. At the end, providing alternatives to families is a good way to start and to offer solutions, before scaling to a country level.
There is no single energy solution
Fortunately, in our planet, energy abounds. From watercourses and the wind to sun and radioactivity. All of them are energy manifestations. Therefore, there is no such thing as an only one energy solution, all of them are needed to reach a sustainable supply and to solve the energy problems that many African countries face.
Not copying the Western model
African countries have a big opportunity: follow their own energy strategy, use and access path. Not easy, that’s true, but it’s not impossible. Policymakers need to enable and facilitate the conditions for renewable energies to be competitive compared to fossil fuels options, as well as to promote competition among such companies to improve their quality and protect costumers. Also, making this new technology accessible for rural communities can be one of many solutions to increase their livelihoods levels. An example of this is Vitalite in Zambia, where they’re making solar energy accessible to people with a pay-as-you-go strategy, which adapts to Zambians needs and culture.
There is a lot of work to do
Not just in Africa, but also in the UK. As citizens, we have the right and the duty to request from our governments’ cleaner energy strategies, better political platforms to increase investment and promote its use amongst the society. At the end, it’s also our responsibility to have a more sustainable economy and reduce our carbon footprint.
Through our programme, you may have the opportunity to work with environmental friendly enterprises and make a small-scale change that will sooner than later have a bigger impact.
We still have challenges, but we need people like you to find the solutions worldwide. Apply now!
On a mission to provide solar power to rural Zambians, I find myself sat on a 7 (yes 7) hour bus journey from the town of Chipata in Eastern Province back to the capital, and the scenery around me is just breathtaking. The landscape is lush and green, covered in trees with small mountains that rise and fall along the horizon. At odds of course with my original stereotypical imagery of deserts or savannah filled with Zebras. It is such a privilege to have had the opportunity to my work here with Sunnymoney through Challenges Worldwide, to take this trip out into the countryside and get to take a peek at what Zambia is really like for the majority of its residents. To see the people whose lives we are trying to change for the better.
SunnyMoney Schools Programme
We travelled out here to start our Schools Programme where we engage the headteachers of rural schools and ask them to share information about solar energy and encourage their students and community members to purchase our solar lights. We deliver this programme at great cost to the organisation, selling lights at prices that barely cover the cost of importing them, let alone the cost of the field teams trips. We are in part funded for this by DfID but ultimately Sunnymoney aims to cover the cost themselves.
It’s been a fantastic and enlightening experience to travel to some remote areas and witness my colleagues deliver the programme. They have, it seems to me, a hugely challenging task and I have the utmost respect for the work that they do. We drove for long hours each day, getting lost once or twice (I honestly have no idea how anyone ever navigates these areas) which was absolutely exhausting. We even sadly got stuck in the mud one day after it rained! Being rescued by cows was a brilliantly ironic juxtaposition of old transport methods being far more useful and successful than modern technology out in the rural areas.
Providing solar power systems provides a means for rural Zambians to access electricity
Sunnymoney field teams aim to conduct 2 or 3 Headteacher Meetings a day and they aim to deliver a huge amount of information in only about an hour or so. The even greater challenge is that they do not pay headteachers to help them in the programme, to educate and encourage their students and communities. They are only asking. Yes there are small incentives and the Headteachers are always thrilled with their free solar light at the end, but they are asking them to do a lot of work above and beyond their jobs. So within this hour, my colleagues have to figure out how to inspire them, to prove to them that Sunnymoney is here with a social cause that is worth their effort to support. To show that they are there with the intention to improve education by helping students study at night, improve their future prospects and even further, to provide sustainable, affordable lighting for a whole family. Truthfully the responses were mixed. Some were so grateful that we would travel so far to see them and to choose their schools to work with us. It’s so challenging and expensive to reach many of these places, that most firms wouldn’t be able to reach them at an affordable price which is one of the key reasons Sunnymoney conducts this programme and allows them to help communities that truly need it. Others, unfortunately, were suspicious and had little confidence or belief in us. Whilst it’s an innovative and often successful distribution model, it’s flawed in that it’s a challenge to rely so much on individuals to support you when they have no accountability to you.
A Challenges Worldwide Business Support Associate can make observations and offer recommendations
The ethos behind the programme is wonderfully positive with a fantastic social impact. On my part observing the meetings, though, I was saddened to see that Sunnymoney has slightly fallen into the classic old trap of focusing on sales and forgetting why we were there in the first place. The wonderful part of that observation though is because of my position with Challenges Worldwide: I am in a position to help remind them. To use my role as a Business Support Associate and an outside voice, to make these observations where small changes could mean huge improvements.
Fighting poverty through business
It was incredible for me to drive past the many many villages and to be able to visit these schools. It’s given me such a small but worthwhile peek into little parts of rural life. It’s allowed me to connect more and appreciate more the people Sunnymoney are here to help, the people I am indirectly here to help. I am convinced that by helping Sunnymoney to become a more successful and efficient business, I am raising their potential to change even more lives. The ICS programme run by Challenges Worldwide is an amazing opportunity to bring in people with a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds to join together in support of worthy cause with so much potential for long-lasting impact. Fighting poverty through business in big or small ways is so much more sustainable than relying purely on donations. Sunnymoney will continue it’s operations long after I’ve returned to the UK, but I know that they have the potential to grow and change so many more lives and I hope my recommendations will help them to do that.
I graduated from the University of Manchester in 2016. I had little idea of what to do in my life. It is a feeling shared by thousands of other graduates. Most of my friends were going to embark on their corporate journeys or study a master.
As for me, I was going to Zambia to tackle poverty through developing small and medium enterprises. It was only a 12 weeks programme, but this experience in Zambia changed my perspectives on many things in life.
Learn to be adaptable
Whether you are riding on a packed bus squeezed like sardines on your way to work or compromising a price with the taxi driver, you have to do it yourself. You will begin to build on your communication, negotiation, and flexibility skills. This set of skills is invaluable at any workplaces in an ever-changing business environment. Once you are self-reliant, you become more confident and a better version of yourself. You are immersed in a new country and a different lifestyle. The culture shock can be overwhelming, so learning to become adaptable is key to overcoming any challenge.
I worked for Fruit D’Or (FDO), a fruit curer and distributor of bananas, oranges, and apples in the Copperbelt province of Zambia
A typical day consisted of going to work at 8:00am and finishing at 4:00pm. During those 8 hours, my team and I would do different tasks such as rebuilding an accounting system using excel, designing t-shirts for marketing, interviewing the street vendors to gather qualitative data.
Be a global change maker
I remember walking down to work on a bright, sunny morning. The traffic was buzzing in the background, and then one Zambian guy approaches me with an affable smile asking if I could provide him with a job. I was not in the position to give an employment contract. Though, he walked with me to work, because I had a contact that could lead to a job. I introduced him to Tom. He works at the front desk sales and also in charge of the casual workers. Tom started off being a casual worker and worked his way up. They exchanged contacts and told him to come next week to start working. I realised that we are all alike. We all want to work and be productive members of society. However, some are not as fortunate as we are. In developed countries, we all receive a compulsory education and we apply for jobs via the Internet. Whereas in developing countries, education is a privilege and employment is a scarce commodity. After coming to Zambia with Challenges Worldwide (ICS), I understood that if I can’t provide jobs, I could connect people with opportunities. Every generation gets a chance to change the world, so take action and be the change you want to see.
Discover what it is truly important for you
Adding value is a basic human instinct. Through this experience, I found out that I want to be that positive difference in the work that I do and the people that surround me.
My reasons for coming to Zambia are to give my contribution to ending poverty and providing decent work and economic growth for all.
I think the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) are every citizen’s responsibilities. Imagine if every person in the world engages with these goals, visualise the positive impacts we could have. Poverty will belong to the past and everyone will have decent work. I see life as an opportunity to leave my mark in the world. Imagine you couldn’t fail. Where would you go? What would you do?
This abstract is from a previous field research placement that saw an MSc student from Edinburgh University work with Ugandan SME Green Bio Energy during Summer 2016 to conduct field research for their MSc dissertation.
If you are interested in conducting field research for your dissertation through Challenges Worldwide, visit our Overseas Research Placements page
A case study of the improved charcoal stove sector
A number of African countries whereby people can struggle to get everyday access to basic needs, are on top of the international agenda to achieve development and eradicate extreme poverty while protecting the environment. 93% of the population in Uganda burn firewood, charcoal and crop residues in inefficient traditional stoves to meet their everyday basic needs of cooking and water heating (MEMD, 2015). In an effort to reduce deforestation and constant inhalation of smoke, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) in Uganda is embedded in a Public Private Partnerships (PPP) with international donors, to implement programmes that empower entrepreneurs to increase the production and distribution of improved charcoal stoves (ICSs), while fighting poverty. Non-governmental organisations are also committed to assisting enterprises to grow in capacity.
To try to find out if the current system of entrepreneurship empowerment is helping Uganda to escape poverty, empirical research was conducted in the country, using participatory observation and semi-structured interviews. As a result, three related situations that can challenge the overall effectiveness of the programmes were found:
Lack of legislation in the sector creates a gap between formal and informal firms. Informal firms produce inexpensive stoves that look like ICSs, making really difficult for formal firms to compete in price. Despite the poor quality of the non-ICS, people often wants to pay less as they can not afford a more expensive stove, especially if both look alike.
Grants and loans to help firms to build capacity are targeted to growth the firm’s infrastructure,
i.e. new machinery, trucks, kilns, warehouses. However, the requisites to get a grant do not
demand the assurance of good working conditions and salaries above the poverty line. Additionally, selection processes are generally based on the effectiveness of a paper proposal to address specific requirements. In many cases, proposals are made by experts that know what has to be projected, although, in reality, the firm does not have the capacity to achieve what has been proposed.
The firms get money to spend on infrastructure, however, due to informal competition, they have to sell the ICSs at a very low cost, reducing their profits almost to cero. This condition leaves the firm with low cash flow that directly affects salaries and the capacity to purchase protective equipment among other things.
The country is trapped in a vicious circle. Programmes are in place to tackle environmental and
health problems while fighting poverty. Funds are given to firms for infrastructure growth, increase production and sales. Low cash flow forces the firms to pay low salaries. People earn less that US$1.90 per day, a condition that does not allow them to escape poverty. Further research needs to be done among other sectors before generalising, however, this is an example of what is happening in the country and why people can not afford a more expensive stove. They end up buying a non-ICS, therefore, environmental and health problems are not being tackled and the country is not escaping from poverty.
Since 2014, Challenges Worldwide has provided over 80 days of onsite support to 120 enterprises in Ghana alone. Here are just a few of the products from some of the enterprises we are continuing to engage with as they grow. It is our long-term aim to connect these and future enterprises to quality opportunities for trade and finance.
Shea butter soap from Ele Agbe
Ele Agbe, meaning “God is alive”, has been led for over 20 years by founder and entrepreneur Comfort Adjahoe-Jennings. The business sells shea butter cosmetics, handmade jewellery, and locally woven baskets. Comfort sources all of her products and raw materials from women-led cooperatives in Northern and Eastern Ghana, and sells through an outlet in Accra with export to the U.S. and Canada.
Challenges has connected Ele Agbe with a London-based natural cosmetics company, PoaPoa, which has been distributing and testing several of the enterprise’s shea products in the UK market for the first time. These include shea butter creams, soaps and lip balm.
Challenges Worldwide worked with Ele Agbe in Accra, Ghana, from January to April 2016.
Coconut shell crafts from Sakoi Vision Enterprise
Samuel Akoi and his two sons, Ebenezer and Benjamin, run a workshop where local craftsmen cut, smooth and shape coconut shells into artisanal and household items such as bowls, cups, and containers. These products are sold wholesale to other artisanal businesses, as well as theatres and cosmetics companies.
Sakoi Vision trains and employs young people from the Oyibi area in Accra where it is based. Each coconut shell product is unique and gets its dark colour from being treated with Sakoi Vision’s own coconut oil.
Challenges Worldwide worked with Sakoi Vision in Accra, Ghana, from June to September 2016.
Black soap from Skin Gourmet
Skin Gourmet is a small business founded by Violet Awo Amoabeng, a young woman with a passion for raw and pure skin care from nature, an eye for simple and beautiful design, and years of banking experience to set up her business and its local supply chains.
Skin Gourmet sells cosmetics and health foods made from natural products, such as shea butter, coconut oil, moringa leaves, and baobab fruit.
Black soap, also called African Black Soap, is soap made from the ash of locally harvested plants and barks such a plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark. It is traditionally made in West Africa. Black soap has natural exfoliating qualities, is known for treating oily skin, and gently cleanses all skin types. Coconut oil and shea butter are often added for extra hydration.
Challenges Worldwide is working with Skin Gourmet in Accra, Ghana, from February to April 2017.
The New Year is always a time for reflection. Having now been back in the UK for just under three weeks, this particular New Year has inevitably provided the perfect headspace to reflect on my three months in Ghana and is a good time to think about what the UK can learn from new and rising economies around the world.
I joined the Challenges WorldwideInternational Citizen Service programme because I wanted to broaden my understanding of business, digitalisation and innovation by working in an economy that was very different to the British one I’d spent my whole adult life. So whilst I’m very much still adjusting back to the British way of doing things, I am quite clear on the ways I think the UK can learn from Ghana’s approach to innovation and entrepreneurship.
Everyone has an entrepreneurial spirit
In Ghana, being entrepreneurial is a way of life and not just a fancy term for someone with a big enough bank balance to make her good idea a reality. Graduate schemes, of the type that millennials in the UK have become used to worrying about, don’t feature much in Ghana, where it’s much more commonplace for new graduates to be already working on their own small individual business projects. So many people are driven to make a difference to themselves and the economic growth of their country and, more often than not, help to solve one of the issues facing their community too. We in the UK could benefit from the sense of determination and drive that I experienced firsthand on countless occasions whilst in Ghana.
Working with limited resources is seen as a challenge, not an obstacle to success
Ghana is a middle-income country and has already succeeded in halving the number of Ghanaians living in poverty in recent years. However, it is undeniable that Ghana has fewer financial resources and less economic buoyancy to rely on than the UK. Not only did I never anyone use this as an excuse for not starting a project they believe in, more often than not it is the very reason they’ve started the project. There’s a real sense of collective drive and ambition to continue the amazing economic growth Ghana has experienced over the course of just two generations. “We’re all in this together” actually means something to the majority of Ghanaians.
Buying local is the norm
With a wealth of SMEs within their economy, Ghanaians are never short of local producers to utilise within their supply chains. Cheap international labour is not such a driving force for outsourcing, with most enterprises valuing the speed, efficiency and long-term national benefits of using a local supplier. This approach sure has helped the Ghanaian economy grow at a far faster rate than the British ‘race to the bottom’ approach.
Recommendations come from real people and communities
Not online reviews that have been written by strangers. People still talk to each other, trust the advice of neighbours, aunties, members of the congregation, and this translates to real sales for SMEs across a huge range of sectors. Whilst digitalisation is occurring at very fast rates across the country, this hasn’t come at the detriment of communities and genuine relationships.
Mobile technology really is king
Banking doesn’t rely on holes in the wall or PIN numbers to transfer money between contacts in West Africa. No, where more than 60% of the population don’t have a bank account, mobile money has given economic independence to millions of Ghanaians. Mobile money is used for pleasure and business; with a simple instant transaction at one of the thousands of corner shops or street-level enterprises, money can be transferred from mobile credit to cash in hand. It’s a masterclass in adapting technology to meet local demands and proves that context really is key to breaking into any new market.
Self-sustaining is not just a buzzword
It is commonplace for houses to have a smallholding of home-grown veg or kept animals, not just because it’s a handy extra revenue stream but also because sustainability is empowering! Even in the trickiest of outside spaces, a flexible approach is always found. Our wonderful family I lived with in Kumasi grows amazing mushrooms, keeps a small rabbit farm and has a really smart self-made backup power supply for when the power outages occur. If Britain is going to come anywhere close to meeting our climate change targets, adopting the self-sustaining mantra practised and preached by Ghana would be a good start.
The real value is placed on international networks and regional collaboration
Ghana has been at the forefront of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since its creation in 1975 and increasing exports and imports from regional neighbours has been a large part of the government’s strategy over the last decade. Unlike the UK and the attitudes that led to Brexit, Ghana understands that supporting the economic growth and stability of the whole region will pay dividends in the future for Ghanaians as well as boosting the long-term prosperity of citizens of neighbouring states.
There’s far more that unites us than divides us
Having spent the last 7 years in London, moving to a part of Ghana that doesn’t have a huge amount of racial diversity was unsurprisingly a big culture shock for me. It became clear to me quite quickly that racial identity is often a phenomenon cultivated in racially diverse communities and not those with greater homogeneity. I think it was an important experience for me as a white woman to spend a chunk of time being the racial minority, as my racial privilege is something I’ve mostly taken for granted living in the UK. But, with the increasingly divided communities we find ourselves in the UK experiencing, learning from communities where differences are seen as opportunities to learn from one another should certainly be a goal we all work towards for 2017; fascination rather than fear. I feel incredibly proud to have been part of a consultancy project that put cross-cultural exchanges at the heart of its work and many of the contacts I’ve made in Ghana will stay firm friends for a lifetime. There’s a lot we in the UK can learn from this fabulous country and a lot we should be proud to support.
An enjoyable yet tiresome seven weeks after arrival in Zambia. Six of which were spent in Kitwe analysing our respective businesses, producing deliverables based on our findings and using these to formulate recommendations, ultimately to present to our enterprises, we finally reached our ‘Mid Programme Review’. Commonly known as MPR amongst the volunteers, the Mid Programme Review is used to refocus the mind before implementing our recommendations, to share ideas, but most importantly to relax and unwind. This was much needed after living and working at such a fast pace for half of the programme.
The MPR committee, with no help at all from the Team Building Committee, organised a long weekend away at Nsobe Game Camp, home to a vast array of activities as well as a variety of animals, as the name would suggest.
Meeting Place: Mukuba Mall (where the no.1 Shoprite is located). Time of Departure: 9am. (10am Zambian time).
Surprisingly we didn’t leave particularly late despite the overall trend of doing so for other similar activities. Perhaps this showed the eagerness of the group who admittedly all seemed very excited in anticipation. All that was left was to pick up our food/supplies and most importantly speakers whilst driving through Ndola en route.
Arriving at the game camp, we were greeted by a small herd of what I would describe as large, fluffy, grey deer. However, I’m convinced that they must have a slightly more specific name. We travelled further through the bush where we were to find a thatched lodge overlooking a picturesque reed-banked lake.
Our new home
Relaxation was underway. Deck chairs, sun, chilled drinks and music resonating from our ever important speakers were all required and gratefully received. The girls joined us for dinner along with a game of “Mr & Mrs”. Instead of marriage, a common host home decided who would pair with who. Our champions with 5/5 points were our very own team leaders, Rachel and Ethel. Congratulations yet again.
The volunteers had no ties for the weekend, able to do whatever they pleased during the day apart from swimming in the lake. The reasons for this became apparent after a 4ft giant lizard looking monster creature thing, for lack of a better Zambian term, was sighted swimming close to our back door.
Bike Safari
On Saturday, our programme coordinators Mikey and Mapenzi joined Frankie and I on a biking safari. A relaxing ride started off fantastically. Sightings of three giraffes and a herd of zebra accompanied by a rather disorientated looking donkey made the experience an unforgettable one. It became even more unforgettable after my bike managed to obtain a flat tyre with several hours of safari track still to cover. As you may have guessed it took us slightly longer than it should’ve done!
When we returned to the lodge, fatigued and dehydrated, we could think of nothing better than relaxing in the pool. Overlooking another lake, the pool was just as pleasant as the rest of the park. Monkeys swinging in the trees overhead took a particular dislike to a Jess which lead to a brutal display of fruit tossing in her general direction.
Football
Challenges United FC were challenged to a football match for the second day running after our hasty exit of the swimming facility. A slick, skilful passage of play consisting of several nutmegs reached its conclusion at the opposition’s goalmouth to wrap up the game 4-2, maintaining our unbeaten streak.
Talent Show
The talent show was now the only thing standing between us and Sunday. A fabulous K-Pop dance routine performed expertly by Jack and Joel clinched victory after surpassing other talented acts. Mikey was on course for unrivalled glory until his juggling act ended sourly, leaving an eggy mess on the floor. A cracking performance nevertheless.
The following day, Jack, Joel, Franky and I decided to try our luck at fishing. Handcrafted bamboo rods coupled with a lack of fishing knowledge made our chances look fairly bleak. Optimistic, however, we cast our lines into the shallow water. Plenty of bites came and went and after half an hour of trying to come to terms with the fact that we were terrible fishermen, our first fish took the bait. The fish was clearly a trendsetter as another seventeen of its friends were soon to follow it onshore to meet their oily, frying pan themed demise. Tasted good, though.
Snakes
A quick visit to the ‘Snake Pit’ after fishing resulted in some of the more fearless volunteers getting to grips with a huge python, only after being reminded it could dislocate its jaw to swallow us whole. A horrifying thought to have, especially when that said serpent is currently residing on the back of your neck.
Before our time at Nsobe Camp came to an end, and after a delicious BBQ, an award ceremony was to take place. The prizes, ranging from a stick to a pack of biscuits were honourably received with grace, modesty and dignity which capped off an unbelievable weekend.
The team returned refreshed and keen to implement their recommendations.
Thanks to the MPR committee for making it all possible, especially Mapenzi who I hope is not too offended by his award!
Challenges Worldwide believe that social enterprise is the most effective vehicle for poverty alleviation in developing nations. This is a complex and difficult argument to make, but yesterday our guest speaker Martin Muganzi made it thoroughly convincingly by recounting his experiences of working in development.
Martin started from humble beginnings, raised with 6 siblings by a single mother, often relying on neighbors for support. For Martin, community support has been vital to his way of life from an early age, and he quickly became involved in giving back to the community through work with the missionaries at his secondary school. This continued throughout his university education in biomedical science, as part of the scholarship programme through which he had enrolled.
A Passion for community work
After a brief career as a lecturer, Martin realised that community work was his passion, and decided to pursue it full-time. Martin’s first foray into full-time community work was through the Youth at Work Initiative. This project relied upon funding to reduce youth unemployment by skills training, mentoring and job creation.
While YAWI was a great success, reaching over 1000 young people, Martin was somewhat disillusioned by his experience working with foreign NGOs. It seemed that the availability of funding could change quickly, dependent on the current development priorities. What this meant in practice was a lack of commitment to real change, which has to be followed up and supported in the long term. Martin had similarly questioned the approach of NGOs while trying to educate people on the dangers of HIV/aids. He cites events which rely on “per diem” handouts as particularly ineffective. While it is a great way to encourage participation, when your mind is on the food which you came to eat, it is difficult to focus on the bigger picture.
Commitment issues
What Martin has realised through these experiences is the importance of true commitment. A team’s commitment to a cause is far more important than their qualifications or resources. And how is commitment commonly displayed? Money. Martin has taken this vital observation and applied it to community work. The result is social enterprise or “social entrepreneurship.”
The mentoring scheme at YAWI had been plagued by the problem of lack of commitment. Mentors would sign up with enthusiasm and promises and then fail to show up in the longer term. Martin now uses a fee-based model where both mentors and mentees pay, thus demonstrating their commitment. The resulting enterprise, All Stars Mentoring Academy(link) is a testament to the success of this approach, with 30 mentees successfully completing the comprehensive 3-month programme this year.
Look at the market
Martin’s approach to social entrepreneurship is deceptively simple:
Identify a community with a shared problem
Look at the markets they are participating in and identify exactly where the market is failing that community.
Both examples are illustrative of the power of social enterprise. The Calabash Collection sell beautiful bags and accessories made from recycled marketing materials. This came about simply through Martin’s personal investigations in the Katwe Slum. He asked how much the workers were paid to make bags, and then followed the supply chain to see how much they were sold for. He thought that a 1000% markup was extractive and simply went into competition, providing a much fairer cut to the workers.
Essential Home Services is a similarly simple model. Martin was aware of a large influx of young workers into Kampala, unemployed and eager to find work. Essential Home Services provides a platform to link domestic helpers to homes who need them. They provide security and background checks for a delayed payment and take a small cut of workers earnings.
Both of these businesses provide a fantastic service to consumers. However, of more interest to us in the creation of decent work, in contrast to the exploitative alternatives. As Martin argued, the power of decent pay and new opportunities for those living in poverty cannot be overstated. The incentives to save and work towards a better and healthier future become far more real once you have something to lose. A more convincing discussion of this can be found in the fantastic book Poor Economics.
The truth about social enterprise
For me, Martin’s argument was a very powerful one. His personal experiences seem to resonate with what I have heard during meetings with the business owners we are currently working with. The deciding factor in any venture is the commitment of the people pursuing it. And the investment of your money is a display of that commitment.
These two truths come together in a powerful way through social enterprise: be that by providing decent work, fair pay throughout a supply chain or an affordable and advantageous service. This is what we hope to support at Challenges Worldwide.