SIFE Ryerson’s Projects in Kenya

Kenyan Business Culture requires individuals to establish a relationship with their partners before talk of business can happen.

Our initial goal in Kenya was to establish a relationship with the organization here and assess the different needs of this community. However, since we have arrived we have found many ways to deliver some of our existing programs to the community members, in hopes that there will be a lasting impact.

After meeting the SIFE USIU team in Nairobi, we saw the need to offer a resource center to local business owners in the city. SIFE Ryerson is in talks with SIFE USIU to expand our StartMeUp program to their campus.

After interviewing many community leaders, we have seen the need to educate the locals on financial literacy. This coming week SIFE Ryerson plans to teach 4 $tart $mart money management seminars to 4 different local groups of Dago, Kenya.

After reviewing the proposals that the family have submitted to external aid networks, we have seen the need to help them create a marketing pitch. SIFE Ryerson is currently reviewing the proposals and creating standardized pitches for the family. We hope that this will help them receive more awareness and the support they need to continue making an impact on their community.

After hearing the stories of locals loosing their homes and lands to micro financing institutions that have hidden fees and high interest rates we saw the need to educate locals on how to manage their loans and create feasible businesses. With the management of the community leaders, SIFE Ryerson has created a program that will educate 5 local businesses on basic business concepts and offer a small micro finance loan. Using a similar process to StartMeUp, we hope to be able to educate these owners as well as give them the capital to implement their ideas. The interests on the loans will go directly to the Orphanage in Dago to help them further sustain themselves.

After seeing the Odoyo’s struggles to sustain the Village’s Orphanage, we found the need to come up with a creative way to create a source of income. SIFE Ryerson plans to implement a sewing project that will create jobs for local high school drop outs and bring a source of revenue not only to the orphanage but the village as a whole.

Our plans to help this community are not only short term but also long term. With one week left, we are working harder then ever to complete as much as we can on site.

Until next time, we only asks our families, friends and supporters to wish us the best of luck.

- The SIFE Ryerson Team in Kenya