Village Enterprise
Building Businesses to Break the Cycle of Poverty in Uganda
Location: Uganda
Sponsors: Jon Hamren and Kristi Smith-Hernandez
Village Enterprise (VE): Grantee in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014
Founded in 1987, Village Enterprise was run for many years by a husband and wife team operating out of their basement in San Carlos, California. The organization grew and US staff support in-country personnel and local business mentors operating in the extremely poor areas of Kenya and Uganda.
Their mission has always been to break the cycle of poverty in East Africa through a unique model that combines financial assistance (via grants, investments, etc.) with practical business management skill training. VE offers, in small investments, to give entrepreneurs among the very poor the means to start modest businesses and earn an income. Start-up grants and formal savings groups are available. All of this is backed up with business training ongoing coaching.
More than 23,000 microenterprises have been created. An impact evaluation study completed around 2011 showed that 88% of the businesses funded are operating after one year, and 75% are still in business after four years. One-third of the entrepreneurs go on to launch second businesses.
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GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE
2007/2008: $49,000 over two years to create sunflower production businesses in the Katine and Kamuda areas of Eastern Uganda. Sunflowers are a highly profitable and scalable agricultural crop used to produce cooking oil and healthy animal feed.
2009: $25,000 to fund 100 new businesses in the Budongo Forest; these businesses are designed to both reduce poverty and protect wildlife.
2010: $20,000 to roll out new business and finance training programs for the poor in Uganda.
2011: $25,000 to develop a ‘business-in-a-box’ concept that includes a bundle of assets, training, financial advice and mentoring resources needed to launch a successful retail, service,
2014: $20,000 to research and evaluate business options for the landless poor, and then fund and mentor about 30 pilot businesses across Kenya and Uganda. These businesses most impact at-risk youth (ages 18-25) as they are those who often lack access to land.
IMPACT
Increased number of business owners trained and successfully operating ongoing enterprises. Higher household incomes and more educational participation were realized.