Tapping into the social needs of the continent, many non-profits are boosting African business and economics, equipping citizens with skills and tools to increase sustainability.
These organizations use initiatives like job creation, vocational skill instruction and agribusiness tools to leave a lasting impact for communities to further develop. Non-profits like The Samburu Project, Project Mercy and The Hunger Project aim to equip African farmers, women and entrepreneurs with the skills to support themselves and their communities.
Agriculture alone accounts for almost 41 percent of Ethiopia’s GDP, according to the International Finance Cooperation, and 70 percent of the nation’s employment. Innovations, like those of Project Mercy’s in the country, work towards increasing stability and maximizing yields and profits. Project Mercy’s biggest impact is in Ethiopia’s agricultural industry.
As proximity and quality of water impacts a community’s economy, The Samburu Project’s mission is to reduce the distance Kenyans, most often women and children, need to travel for fresh, clean water. Through microfinance training, The Hunger Project empowers women and men to end their own hunger.
Tackling Child Malnutrition Through Crossbreeding
“Great strides have been made to increase the quantity of milk the new Jersey-cross cattle provide resulting in crossbred heifers now being distributed to local farmers who have helped to train in animal husbandry and forage production,” Project Mercy Chief Operations Officer Randall Dodge told AFKInsider.
Project Mercy was founded in 1977, and is creating economically independent communities in Yetebon, almost 90 miles southwest of Addis Ababa. One way it does this is through farming initiatives in cattle breeding and drip irrigation.
Ethiopian indigenous cattle yield about two quarts of milk a day. Funded through a partnership with the U.S. government, Project Mercy bred indigenous cows with a Jersey breed that yields upwards of twelve quarts of milk daily.
Last year, the first five pregnant Jersey crossbred heifers were distributed in November to five of 83 trained farmers. In January of this year, U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) traveled to the Chacha District of the Northern Shewa Zone to deliver more pregnant heifers to trained farmers. The farmers that received the bred cows were also trained in improved dairy farm management.
In a country that loses 16.5 percent of its GDP annually to the long-term effects of child malnutrition — according to the World Food Program — improved cow milk production could not only ensure meeting the nutritional needs of the community, but boost family income as the milk surplus is sold.
Other initiatives of infrastructure development include the training of farmers in drip irrigation, a process that saves water directing flow directly to plant roots.
“The drip irrigation program is being demonstrated in our compound gardens and the necessary equipment has been distributed to a sample of about 50 local farmers,” Dodge said.
“We believe that this is just the beginning of a positive ripple effect that will be life-enhancing for rural families for generations to come.”
Project Mercy also teaches vocational skills to rural women who sell their woven baskets online. Their compound in Yetebon sits on 52 acres, offering additional opportunities for the training and practice of community members in construction.
People Just Need Water
“When clean water doesn’t exist, sustainability or development or living a human life is impossible,” said Kristin Kosinki, executive director of The Samburu Project.
The nonprofit which works throughout the Samburu District, about 435 miles north of Nairobi, has drilled 63 wells since 2005, providing clean water to over 60,000 Kenyans.
When water is safe and easily accessible, school attendance increases and women can use the hours previously spent searching for water on income-generating micro enterprises.
“Women are usually tasked with the job and spend a tremendous amount of time in their day searching for water sources,” Kosinki said. “They never have time to further develop themselves or have economic empowerment.”
In the well communities initiated by the non-profit, several agricultural initiatives have also been launched.
After receiving grants from the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation and the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation to further its agricultural projects, the Samburu Project launched two agribusiness initiatives in the region.
One project provided seeds, equipment, training and technical support to the Laga Club community. Another installed a full drip-irrigation system in the Margwe community conserving the water and fostering crop retention. These initiatives increased farming yields, stimulating the local economy and community entrepreneurship.
Among technology hubs and loan nonprofits, Kosinki believes the needs of African communities are simple:
“People just need water.”
Not Just Any Microfinance Program
One of The Hunger Project’s (THP) key initiatives, The Microfinance Program, works in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda.
Within this savings and credit program, African women are provided easy access to credit and training in investment and saving. While men are able to participate in the program, over 75 percent of all loans funds are granted to women.
According to Sonia Rahal, senior microfinance program officer, 30, 222 loans were disbursed for a total of $3,590,344 in 2013. There were 63, 661 savings deposits made and 80 percent of all partners were female.
The Hunger Project’s goal is to have each community’s facility — called an epicenter — gain government recognition to operate as a licensed Rural Bank. Since 2000, 28 rural banks have been granted official recognition. These banks are owned entirely by community members, managed by a majority female board and provide the community with sustainable access to savings and credit.
The Microfinance Program doesn’t solely use money, but also its bank members to increase sustainability.
“Epicenter Loan Committees and Village Loan Committees are largely responsible for the local management of the Microfinance Program,” Marie Mintalucc, another senior microfinance program officer, told AFKInsider.
“This sets THP apart from many other organizations that implement microfinance programs and builds local capacity and ownership.”
Financial literacy, income generation and leadership training prepares community members to hold each other accountable in participation and repayment so the program can transition into a government-recognized rural bank lead mainly by and for the local women.
According to the United Nations magazine Africa Renewal, microfinance alone cannot transform African economies, “yet providing a whole range of financial services to the poor — including credit for small and micro-enterprises, savings facilities, insurance, pensions, and payment and transfer facilities can contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.”
The Microfinance Program’s interest rates are lower than other microfinance institutions, partners are required to enroll in literacy classes before receiving loans and are also required to save 10 percent of the principal before receiving a loan.