Finding Economic Independence
Imagine working long hours every day and still not having enough to buy the necessities, much less to provide your children with a higher education or to realize your dreams. Or imagine your hard-earned education doesn’t meet the demands of the job market, making it impossible to find a proper job. This is the reality for many people in East Africa.
Economic Empowerment is about enabling people in need to become economically independent, so they can lead self-determined lives. Despite economic growth in Eastern Africa, poverty rates remain very high, with rural populations and the younger generation in major cities particularly affected. Our work in this focus area is based on two initiatives: enterprise development and vocational training.
Enterprise development in East Africa
Since 2018, Basic Entrepreneur Training (BET), a powerful educational program, has proven to be a successful way to fight extreme poverty in rural East Africa. Facilitated by the Hilti Foundation and led by the NGO Hand in Hand International, the program is designed to teach members of self-help groups how to start a micro-business and generate a sustainable income above the poverty line, which is defined as 1.9 USD per day. In addition to basic entrepreneurial skills and financial literacy, the curriculum includes technical know-how in farming and training in group table banking. Here, individuals can draw microloans to start a business in the region’s most attractive value chains, such as dairy, poultry, and other products. By the end of 2022, the project had trained 31,000 farmers and created 27,000 businesses. About 60% of them were able to earn an income above the poverty line in less than one year after entering the program. The goal is to create 40,000 micro-enterprises by 2025, helping around 300,000 people.
In a next phase, the Hilti Foundation supports those microentrepreneurs who want to further expand their business with a scale-up program based on three pillars: Business planning & coaching, working capital financing and organizing in cooperatives. Currently, 3,000 entrepreneurs are being trained as part of a pilot cohort. By 2025, the program aims to have developed 20,000 formal, small/medium enterprises with net incomes of 8-10 USD. This corresponds to a rural middle-class level and will create economic activity in rural East Africa.
Vocational education system in East Africa
Our second initiative in Economic Empowerment focuses on vocational training in nursing and construction. Over the past six years, the Hilti Foundation’s partner SolidarMed has implemented a decentralized vocational training model for nurses and midwives in three colleges. The project has reached a capacity of 1,500 students, graduating more than 500 nurses and midwives annually. Due to the great need for nurses in the country and the good project results, the Zambian Ministry of Health has decided to roll out this innovative nurse training program nationwide. Initially, SolidarMed will take the lead on the project, which gradually will be transferred to the provincial government.
In 2022, the Hilti Foundation has launched a dual vocational training program for electricians and plumbers in Kenya based on the Swiss model. In early November 2022, the first cohort of 120 apprentices, recruited from 24 electrical and plumbing companies, began their vocational training. After two years of education at participating companies (70%) and vocational schools (30%), they will graduate with a nationally recognized diploma. Our goal with this project is to create a lighthouse that can be further expanded and replicated in other construction trades, and hopefully in other professions as well.
Through these initiatives, many people in East Africa are getting the chance to escape poverty and become part of an emerging middle-class all by themselves.
Enterprise Development
Together with partners, the Hilti Foundation runs professional training and coaching models for people in rural areas of Eastern Africa to establish profitable and sustainable farming businesses. The program initially teaches basic skills for running a small business, but also organizes farms into larger cooperative structures to achieve greater economic benefits. The initiative also advocates for infrastructure investment by local governments and public investment in agricultural education.
Decentralized Nurse Training
To improve access to healthcare for the rural population, the Hilti Foundation, together with its partner SolidarMed, is implementing a practical and decentralized education system for nurses. The decentralized model works by partnering a large hospital with several rural hospitals for education purposes. This increases the annual intake of students and ensures high-quality training. In addition to education, adequate housing is crucial to retain healthcare workers in rural areas. Therefore, the Hilti Foundation is working with SolidarInvest which builds affordable and safe houses for nursing personnel in rural areas. By combining education and housing, the program has become a real success.
Dual Vocational Training
The Hilti Foundation is developing a vocational training system for construction-related professions that equips the younger generation with the skills needed for the market. Through new public-private partnerships between local companies and their associations, as well as training institutions and their regulators, the foundation is providing the practical education required in the construction industry. This should lead to projects that have a ‘lighthouse effect’ and bring about systemic educational change in East African countries.