Soft-Spoken but Never Silent - UWEAL's Lillian Kabazeyo

Follow Networking Tips on Netsheila

I am Lin McDevitt-Pugh and I worked with women entrepreneurs in East Africa in 2010-2011. I was inspired by the way the intermediary organisations for women entrepreneurs created links to resources for the members and stakeholders of their organisations.
The contract is complete now, but that is no reason to think the communication will not continue.
On the Netsheila blog you can keep up to date and develop your knowledge of networking. I look forward to seeing you there,

Mobilize Networks!

The Most Valuable People in Your Network

The Most Valuable People in Your Network
I came across this Harvard Business Review posting on the value of networks.
I like the two illustrations. The most effective network is Susan's network. Richard spends more time than economically necessary talking with people who know each other.

 copyright HBR 2011.

Practically, this means we need to think about where our electronic links are taking us. If we are circulating too much with people we have known forever or people who themselves are all spending time in the same meetings and interactions, then we are not getting the performance impact we can from social-media tools. Bigger is not better. The magic lies in the new ideas and perspectives that can come from connections into different networks.

Hainault BID

UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON Business Incubation Centre

From patronage to incubation

Rather than mentoring, the Business Incubation Centre at the Knowledge Dock at the University of East London (UEL) matches patrons to starting women entrepreneurs. I there a difference? We think so, after visiting UEL today. Patrons bring a presence into the room, having a patron lets you know that they think what you are doing is worthwhile = worth spending their time on. Patrons are people who have experienced the roller-coast of being in business and can listen to you from their wealth of experience.

But perhaps my idea of patron is coloured by my experience at UWEAL in Kampala. When UWEAL’s patron enters the room, we expect brilliance and we know that we are at an event that is worth attending. So imagine my confusion when I was trying to park my car at a rural Australian railway station, and the sign said “For Railway Patrons Only”.  Was I a patron? Did I have to pay a special fee to be a patron? It finally dawned on me that patrons in Australia are simply people that give you their business. Patronizing a cafe has nothing to do with making the cafe small. Patronizing a woman does make her small.

In the end, the value of a word is the value you give it. And at UEL they choose to imbue the word Patron with a sense of dignity and value.

We met with Danielle Sheerin, a very engaged and passionate woman from Employability and Enterprise, who introduced us to her colleagues Thorsten Klein and Jackie Chandler. I was struck first by their passion for the work they do, then by the clever way they utilize EU funding. To start with the latter: they don’t bother with applying for EU funding – usually funding for 4 years – if they can’t turn it within 8 years of commencement into a viable, self-financing activity. This approach is in stark contrast to a different institute we visited, whose funding strategy is based on “let’s see where the money is”.  No, the BIC develops a concept, finds EU financing to develop it basically as a start up, asks the University to support to program for the 4 years after subsidy ends and expects to have a business arm at the end of the process.

Their concept is a three-tiered  business incubation and support service. 60 new business entrepreneurs – students - use the BIC’s hatchery, a room with partitioned cubicles and desk top facilities that entrepreneurs can access 24/7.  They can ask for advise, talk with each other, or just get on with developing their business.

When the business takes off they can move into a shared office space, where one or two desks are separated by partitions from other businesses in the room. The companies get their chair, desk, chest of draws, filing cabinet, printer and desk top computer. They have the advantage of being able to bounce ideas off other people in the room, a receptionist, and meeting space for client contact.

Then there is a third level, and we saw the company Yoomi. John Lewis is an engineer who invented a way of heating babies milk without dunking the bottle in hot water or a microwave. The bottle is fitted with an element you can switch on. Mothers who express milk or use other milk products are buying this product as if they had been waiting for it. The elements are manufactured in South Africa and assembled at the site in UEL.  Pauline Ofong of UWEAL, who in a past life had a one-stop shop for all the needs of pregnant women an women with young children, was delighted at meeting John. I will not be surprised to see the Yoomi baby bottle introduced one day soon to Uganda.

Pauline Ofong and I are excited about possible future cooperation with UEL. They are happy to take interns, and UWEAL may consider sending an intern to BIC to learn how everything is done. Having such a centre in Kampala, perhaps in cooperation with MUBS (Makerere University Business School), would provide great opportunities for business development in Uganda.

Kevin Ma on getting business at the Olympics

Celebrating International Women's Day

On Saturday 5 March Sancoma organised an International Women's Day celebration.

In our week of staggered comings and goings, one woman from the Ethiopian delegation, one from the Tanzanian delegation and three from the Ugandan delegation attended. Each and every one experienced value, finding valuable new contacts and getting important new leads.

The event was set up as a trade fair and a conference, with a gala dinner after. Trade relations were established. A London entrepreneur in search of fabric for the embroidered bedspreads she makes was delighted to meet Engedaye and begin to discuss importing Ethiopian cloth for her work.

Ugandan Maria found several potential importers of her pineapples.

Dina Bina moved the crowd with her speech: What will you do, London? The tenor of her speech was: in Africa women are moving mountains to participate in the opportunities that international trade offers. East African women in London can be part of the experience. They can certainly be responsible for developing wealth.

Councilor Elizabeth Kangethe of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham continued on the same theme. The Councillor had been very confronted by the fact that only 5 of the planned 12 African women entrepreneurs met with her two evenings earlier. The others had been denied a visa for the UK and were still trying to get in to the country. She shared that East African women with UK passports had so many possibilities. Not only can they move easily between the UK and East Africa, they can move easily within Europe. Yes we can, she said. We can grasp the opportunities available.

Throughout the conference, photo's taken during the week of intensive meetings flashed on a screen. They come from The Reporter, Sacoma's online magazine. Check it out!

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the conference was the 20 minute presentation by Kevin Ma on the opportunities the Olympics offer all of us in 2012. He described the many opportunities available to entrepreneurs with the Olympics around the corner. Anyone wanting to win a contract, large or small, to feed the athletic team of your country or sell fresh produce on the markets - or supply door jams for hotel doors for that matter - can sign up on www.competefor.com. Once you have done the sign-up you have access to the hundreds of opportunities available at any one time.

The event went late into the night. Perez Ochieng received many well-earned compliments for making strong networking events like these and bringing great people together.

Inspiration galore at 8 am

Thursday began with a 7.30 cab ride to a breakfast meeting organised by the Hainault Business Park Ltd. They are an intermediary organisation's dream!
Watch our video here.

Hainault is only 10 minute's from bustling Ilford, Essex, where we have established ourselves this week. (Cranbrook Rd, where both the Sacoma offices and our Hotel are, is called Sacoma Street by our group.)

Imagine a business park. Warehouses, recycling plants, offices. Car sales. It is an industrial area, and as we are learning this part of London has been one of the most depressed boroughs for many years.

The business park had been a place you do not want to bring your clients. Ruffians caused havoc constantly. Cars were ignited. Rubbish was everywhere, the place looked a mess. The business owners paid rates but nothing was ever given back to them.

Five years ago the business owners realised that if they worked separately to change this situation, no change would happen. "United we stand, divided you fall" became their motto and they established themselves as a Business Improvement District. They were inspired by New York Mayor Guiliani's Broken Window Policy - the idea that if there are broken windows in a building more people will throw bricks to break more windows. To stop people from breaking windows and creating disrepair, ensure that nothing is broken. The Mayor cleaned the underground, stopped people taking free rides on public transport, and created a community-based approach to ensuring that New York became safe.

Now the Business Park is safe and people are doing business with each other. The FUNDING for the change - the thousands spent on fencing, for example, came from matching funding. Whatever the owners themselves contributed, the association found matching money from the council and other public authorities. In today's meeting alone businesses volunteered 5000 pounds!

What made everything really possible was a great relationship with their bank, and with the police.

I am looking forward to hearing what our delegation go out of the meeting. Not only did we get a lot of input on how to run a great intermediary organisation, there were good contacts there. We met the people from Gateway to London - important for our exporter' contacts with partners in the UK.

Sacoma is doing a great job getting our delegation in touch with good business relations and with advanced intermediary organisations that inspire. The exposure visit is very valuable.
==========
A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. Grant funds acquired by the city for special programs and/or incentives such as tax abatements can be made available to assist businesses or to recruit new business. BIDs may go by other names, such as business improvement area, business revitalization zone, community improvement district, special services area, or special improvement district. BIDs provide services, such as cleaning streets, providing security, making capital improvements, construction of pedestrian and streetscape enhancements, and marketing the area. The services provided by BIDs are supplemental to those already provided by the municipality.^[1]

The lessons from Women's Business Development Association

The five delegates are with Perez Ochieng of Sacoma in Coventry, learning about the work of Women's Business Development Agency. Addressing us is Rachel Doyle, who is a women's enterprise consultant and has a business selling batteries. She described briefly a European project she is working on.

We are discussing mentoring. Although we will get the slides, let me share some points
- consider all parts of life, not just the business
- have flexible times so the client can be considered
- use safe and welcoming venues
- avoid business jargon
- move at a pace set by the client
- empower, build confidence and self-esteem
- gain and maintain two-way trust
- set ground rules

In other words, having coffee together works better than being strictly in an office environment.

CAWEE has its own mentoring tool. Perez Ochieng is also a professional mentor. It could be a good action to share mentoring tools between the group, as mentoring is an important part of the work of an intermediary organisation.

Anyone can become a member of the WBDA forum with resources for women entrepreneurs in UK but also abroad.

Mary Clements of Chamber of Commerce

The Barking and Dagenham Chamber of Commerce

From the persepective of an intermediary organisation, the Barking and Dagenham Chamber of Commerce (BDCC) has lots to offer.

The BDCC has been in existence since 1953 and for the first half of those 50 years it serviced a community that was largely fed by the Ford car trade. 30 years ago Ford left the area and it has taken a long time for the community to recover and rebuild.

BDCC is doing its bit, by working with businesses to create wealth for the community.
it has four areas of activity
- networking: businesses finding each other through networking events. We went to the networking event and met people in the cleaning business, accountants, trainers, builders, consultants, retailers and manufacturers
- lobbying: for example, they work with local Members of Parliament to solve the traffic problems that limit trading possibilities in the area
- Raising the profile of businesses - through an annual exhibition, and b having members host networking events
- Providing information - databases, forwarding people to local businesses, and other things.
BDCC offers a tailor made service: You can ask them anything, if you are a member.

BDCC generously welcomed us to their monthly networking event for free. They advised us to bring a list of what we want to supply. Dina Bina and I worked with a Sacoma designer ad had a very good list with which Dina could wok the room.

So many contacts: Networking in London

The PROINVEST delagation, accompanied by Perez Ochieng of Sacoma, participated in a monthly networking eent organised by the Barking and Dagenham Chamber of Commerce. The meeting provided many opportunities. We met an accountant who has contacts with potential clients. We met a printer who will put us in touch with a jeweller, interested in the Tanzanian gems. We met a health charity with whom important relationships can be developed.
The treasurer of the chamber was delighted to tell me that his 200 year old company makes drums. In its first 100 years most of the drums went to Africa, where they were used to transport cement.
The conversation reminded me that there are so many opportunities of doing business in Africa that companies in Europe are taking advantage of. There is every reason for a Tanzanian company to make drums. Why leave it to the Brits? Could contacts like this be a beginning for knowledge sharing that could lead to more profits being generated and retained by African companies?

NIgest reflects on day 2

Nigest Haile, founder and director of CAWEE in Ethiopia, is leader of the Ethiopian delegation to the PROINVEST visit to Sacoma. Nigest is on the lookout for lessons to be learned from good practices in intermediary organisations. Chambers of commerce are a good place to start. She wants to observe how the chambers are accommodating women and what services they provide.

Stationery lessons

Dina Bina of Dina Flowers and the Tanzanian Women's Chamber of Commerce continues to share her lessons learned during the visit to London. The stationery shop held many lessons, as she explains in this video.

NIgest Haile of CAWEE reflects on day 2 in the UK

Nigest Haile, founder and director of CAWEE in Ethiopia, is leader of the Ethiopian delegation to the PROINVEST visit to Sacoma. Nigest is on the lookout for lessons to be learned from good practices in intermediary organisations. Chambers of commerce are a good place to start. She wants to observe how the chambers are accommodating women and what services they provide.

Engedaye reflects on first day of visit to UK

Engedaye Eshete shared what she got out of the first day of the visit to Sacoma.

"Technology and Internet. Women with information have power. If you don't have information you can't succeed in business. What we women entrepreneurs associations must do is support women to use technology.

"We need to give training. We learned about a website called Microsoft Digital Learning where people can learn to use computers and software. Someone who is already good at using internet and various software packages can quickly learn to be a trainer. We need to establish centres where our entrepreneurs can come an be trained.

"What we also need is computers. In our association there is only one computer. How can we give more training with just one computer? If we can get some used computers we can better serve the needs of our members. If we use computers in our business we can transfer information to our members. Our members can enter tax information on the computer. We need computers to do business. Our entrepreneurs do not have the knowledge they need for their business. With their lack of information they cannot grow.

"We also need websites. If we had websites we could exchange more information, for example with the UK and our potential clients there.
"We have organic products, honey and spice without chemicals. When we ask with technology where the demand is, we can send the product easily. The consumer is happy because there are no chemicals used in the production of the honey and spices and other organic material. We can send from our country to the UK or the Netherlands. But we can't do this at this time, because at this time we do not have the technology to reach our customers.

"There are 13 different kinds of association in the Ethiopian entrepreneurs association. This umbrella organisation includes the disabled women entrepreneurs association, farmers, exporters and women entrepreneurs associations. Many of these organisations have little information.the exportrs association has some information but does not have linkages, like joint ventures, with UK associations or partners.These women's collectives have little or no information.

"We want to learn more from Sacoma and from Lin about how to use the Internet to solve this problem of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia."

Engedaye requested that Lin think about how to help women entrepreneurs associations get better connected, every time she opens her laptop.

For starters, at least every women entrepreneurs association should have a laptop or computer.

That is not all.

Engedaye also reflected on violence against women and how this affects women entrepreneurs. When women have good businesses and can support their families, the families do better.

Wat we need is to work with men. The old communist idea on gender was to give women freedom. Liberate them. But traditionally men are the head of the household. We will not make improvements if we try to avoid this, Engedaye says. We need to make it so that the men want women to be successful entrepreneurs. Dina Bina told the story about how she tried to get women at her church to go to the hospital to check for cervical cancer. When she asked for all the women to come, noone came. When she asked for the men to be responsible and ensure that the women were able to undergo the checkup, 300 women participated.
In other words, Engedaye says, we need to change the paradigm and work with men.

If we raise gender equality we can cancel violence against women. We can teach a good culture. If it is not a good culture we all suffer.

Getting ready to start

Five of us breakfasted at Rossmore Hotel, getting ready to visit SACOMA.

At the foodcourt in Ilford

Argos in Ilford

Visiting the UK

Sunday 27 February.
Five of the 7 delegates to our week long exposure visit in the UK have arrived. We are still waiting to hear whether the other 7 get their visas. This morning Dina Bina, Engedaye Eshete, Martha Getachew, Yared Fekade and Nigest Haile arrived.
At lunchtime three of us went into town - the town of Ilford. Every moment was a learning moment, as the following videos show.

The Benefit of Sharing

Knowing want you want

Networking works!

Dina Bina was the first (at present only) member of the Tanzanian delegation to the UK next week to get a visa. Guess why? According to Happiness Mchomvu, it makes a difference that she decorates the British Embassy with her flowers.

Planned visit to the UK

Program IO visit

Sun     27.02.11	Arrival
Mon    28.02.11	SACOMA/Induction/IT systems/Business Development Support Systems Social Entrepreneurship/Program Funding/New Service Models Visit to London Chamber of Commerce/ benchmarking facility
Tue     01.03.11	Visit to Prowess (Bedford, Bedfordshire, in the East of England).
Wed    02.03.11	Free Day
Thu     03.03.11	Visit to Women Development Agency (Coventry, West Midlands)
Fri       04.03.11	Visit to the African Embassies in the UK (Uganda and Tanzania) (Include meeting & roundtable Discussions with the High commissioners Participants Review and strategy meeting/ Business Planning
Sat       05.03.11	Departure

Below is a summary of the learning’s we hope to achieve form all of the IO visits

	What we will learn	Outcome
Prowess	How to develop enterprise support, financial services, general advice or any kind of assistance to women in business	Review the effectiveness of your current services to Attract more women clients through effective promotional materials and outreach Develop women-friendly business training, counseling and networking programs Train and develop staff to understand and meet the needs of women-owned businesses Map services available for women-owned businesses in your area Establish effective equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming strategies Work with key stakeholders towards developing an effective strategy and network of provision for women-owned businesses Support your Leaders or senior staff Demonstrate expertise to funders, develop high quality services for women and increase client base.
Women Business Development Agency	How to develop partnership projects and work with Regional Development Agencies and Funders	How to develop projects in partnership with mainstream government Secure women’s active participation and leadership to build a more sustainable future for the IOs Research Hoe to develop unique programs specific o women business owners or start ups. Working with and support from Universities Other Facilities made available for women i.e. research facilities, Intellectual Property, Research: Evaluations, impact assessments, strategic overviews, questionnaire construction, mapping, consultation meetings and focus groups, wide range of broad based research.
London Chamber of Commerce		Women’s enterprise project development: promotion and outreach, mentoring, networks, all levels of training, microfinance, investment-ready and business angels, on-line services and business counseling. Partnership development: Developing strategic networks and partnership, including trans-national partnerships.
ELSBC Or GWIIN		How to manage capacity building IT Systems Funding form Government Funding form EU Membership Management Data base and IT Systems required Data Protection Working with Policy Makers, Relevant Government Departments and Agencies Policy & Strategy: Development of regional and national strategy, advocacy and lobbying
SACOMA Centre for Enterprise	Program Planning	Fundraising systems and strategy HR Development of a Business Support Service Support your Leaders  or senior staff with the help of an executive coach or mentor Working with Banks, Financial Institutions, Investment and Manufacturing Companies Data Protection Effective partnership working: principles and practice of effective partnership work for IOs Capacity building: staff development and training, social audits, al review and development, assembling complex financial packages (revenue and capital), business planning and fund-raising.
IWD Trade event	Trade and partnering Sat 5th March	This is organized to coincide with trade fairs in March so that the participants can have the opportunity for partnership matchmaking with potential partners. A business booklet will be published to market the incoming participants to attract partners or investors. There will also be involvement from the country high commissions, chambers of commerce and other women in business (potential clients/supply chain). This will form part of the business forum and march making hosted by SACOMA to try and secure a number of partnerships and match making with opportunity networking with other carefully selected potential partners in EU including financial institutions and other business women.

PROWESS

Prowess is the UK association of organizations and individuals who support the growth of women's business ownership. Our work encompasses raising awareness, sharing of best practice, advocacy and information. Prowess has over 300 members who support 100,000 women each year to start 10,000 new businesses which contribute an additional £1.5 billion to the economy.

Each year Prowess members:

Help over 100,000 women looking to start or grow businesses every year. They help 10,000 of them get a business off the ground, contributing an additional £1.5 billion to the UK economy in additional revenue

Support the launch of 25,000 new businesses each year, 39% of which are women-owned

Provide business networking events and opportunities to 40,000 people each year, 83% of whom are women

Provide business development training and support to 70,000 businesses, 35% of which are women-owned

Directly support 18,000 people into jobs, or further training, 42% of who are women

Provide over 5,000 business loans, 32% to women - delivered by 14 members

Issue 4,500 grants, 27% to women - delivered by 16 members

The majority of Prowess members who deliver business support services do so as part of a mainstream service; 26% deliver services targeted specifically at women.

The majority of Prowess members providing business support services define themselves as independent and not-for-profit (69%). The others are split nearly evenly between the public (17%) and private sectors (14%).

Half of Prowess members provide services on a local or sub-regional level, with 40% delivering region-wide. 10% deliver on a multi-regional or national level.

Recent figures from year 1 to year 2 of data collected from 11 of the Prowess Flagship members show that there was a 205% increase in enquiries from women with 6,623 actual enquiries. (The Regional State of Women’s Enterprise in England, Prowess 2005).

Prowess offers a range of specialist consultancy services which are designed to enable members to develop both their organizational capacity and an effective range of support to women-owned businesses.

 Particular areas of specialism include the Flagship Award, a best practice quality standard for excellence in women’s enterprise development.

WOMEN'S BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (WBDA)

Have been helping women to start and grow their businesses for nearly 20 years.

Support is free to all members.

In the UK, the Women's Business Development Agency has developed a unique program to support businesses owned by women, particularly those with growth potential.

WBDA are sharing this knowledge with partners in Poland, Italy and Bulgaria so that business women in these countries can enjoy the opportunity to start and grow their businesses with the support of a program designed by women for women.

Getting Visas to the UK

For three weeks now we have been doing everything to get visa's for our planned week-long visit to the UK. The 12 delegates accumulated all sorts of documents, some from their husbands saying they are definitely returning to their families, some from PROINVEST stating what the importance of the visit is. I bought all the flights and we had tickets to prove the delegates were actually going, I sent money to the organisations to cover the expenses of applying for visa's, I booked and paid for the first night in the hotel in London.
And what happens?

7 of the 12 visa's were denied. Denied! I can't believe it. Here I am organising a trade mission, in the context of EU-ACP trade relations, and the UK does not allow my delegation to participate.

I got the following letter today.

"Your enquiry was passed to me yesterday and I’ve now had a look at these cases. In all cases there was a lack of satisfactory evidence of the personal circumstances of the applicant. We do not doubt that they have been invited or that arrangements are in place for their visit as there is ample documentation showing this, however we need to see the individuals’ personal circumstances in their home country e.g. evidence of employment, personal bank statements, property ownership, family circumstances, in order to be satisfied that they will leave the UK at the end of the visit. This is where the problem lies.

The reasons for the refusal are fully explained in the individual refusal notices. Should applicants wish to re-apply they will need to ensure they cover the points raised and submit documentary evidence to show what their personal circumstances are.

I note that the travel date was proposed to be 26/27 Feb so it will not be possible to have applications processed in time unless you can delay or re-arrange the visit for a later date."


It is absurd. There is ample evidence the women will return. And what I understand is, the visa issuing organisation wants our delegates to start from scratch and pay the fee AGAIN and wait another two weeks and possibly, highly possibly, be denied again.


I am on the phone. We can't accept this.

An example of what happens at the Mobilize Networks! workshop

I am experimenting with putting videos online. I made this video on my iphone.

In the news

SIDO published an article on the networking workshop. You can also find a good article in Tanzania's Daily News.

We will keep you posted on other publications.

To be successful you must read

Audrey Kawuki is Assistant professor at the Makerere University Business School. She is a trainer of the Access! program as well as leadership development trainer and developer of Leadership trainer curriculums.

Audrey admonished people to do their research. She described export is just another business, where the buyers are out of the country. When you are doing research in that area you have to look at the entrepreneurial roles and the challenges in that area. 

What are these challenges? Whether you are professional, you have a family, children, we are kind we want to support people in the village and we have to juggle these challenges all the time. In one of the research papers she published in 1999 she found that women had 7 major roles and  found these roles affected their performance. While our male colleagues go for a drink after work, the women are rushing home to the children, to cook for the husband who is out networking. Most of the deals are done in the bars. And when your fellow colleagues see you out they ask you "What are you doing out at this time of day?” We hinder growth among ourselves. 

When you invite people for trainings they don’t turn up. They say it is because they “don’t have the time”. How are you going to get on the export market if you don’t know what is there? So that is what we have to do on the export market: go for trainings, develop knowledge. Read a book, at least a page. How many of you are reading a business related book at the moment? As women you should have a book that you are reading. Take the time to read a book. If you are reading three or four pages every year, that is equivalent to four books a day. You are a person who is in business and you have read four books in a year, there is no way that someone who does not read books can compete. There is no way you can compete with each other. And if you are going into the export market there is no excuse for that. 

Audrey noted in her research that women’s don’t even know simple things that are happening and they are over the news every day. When you hear about China on the news listen attentively, it affects you. When you hear about the dollar don’t say  “I don’t understand that.” It affects you. When you are going into the export market it will affect you. 

Finances. 

People always say women don’t have access to finances. But women also don’t use the possibilities that exist. Claim they don’t have enough finances, but I advocate for entrepreneurial behaviours.  If you have entrepreneurial behaviours you can be successful. Make sure you have relevant networks. Don’t have friends for the sake of it. Have friends that are useful, that add value to you. If you are in business, have friends that are in business. Your minds work the same way as theirs,  you can help each other to find solutions to challenges. And as women, don’t give up easily in business.

Listen to Mrs Mbeke admonish women to make radio programs and Dorothy Tuma lament that women are not writing for the papers enough. Their message: let other people know what you know. It is valuable.

Making bags from rubbish

After 20 years working for the Government bank, Benedicta Nabingi retired to Kinawataka village. She and fellow retirees could see that their community needed to pull itself into a sustainable group caring for orphans and themselves. Self-taught in weaving and the design and finishing of plastic mats and bags, Benedicta is the power behind Strawbags.

Kinawataka Women’s Initiative is based in a village that has become a suburb of Kampala, in Uganda. As well as thin plastic bags blocking the drains - that are so necessary in fertile Uganda with two rainy seasons – the women found plastic drinking straws that had been used for locally made juices in a bag as well as commercial soft drinks and beer. These straws are gathered, sorted and sterilised in a big drum before being rinsed and sun dried.

The next stage is to flatten the straws – this is a skilled task as the correct pressure must be applied in order to squeeze out all of the air, generate enough heat to create a crisp edge to the sides of the straw but not stretch its length. The younger members of the Kinawataka group are out-of-school children and orphans in the care of the Women’s Initiative. Their earnings from the manufacture of the bags contribute to their school materials so that they can attend a few classes in the next term.

The next task is the skill that Benedicta Nabingi, the founder, has developed and refined and now taught to other women in the group. The straws are woven, as you would with grasses and natural straw, to form a long strip in the shape of a thick belt. These strips are the basis for the original plastic straw mats – used for kids to play on and in several of the local mosque. By joining several strips and sewing corners to attach flat panels together, Benedicta started making purse handbags, shopping bags and now with zips, the parents’ bag and sports holdall.

The different stages: strip making, joining to make mats or panels, stitching to form bags and the finishing each provide a direct income to the member of the group that provided that time and labour.

And the result is a range of bags which provide an income to the community members that make them; remove plastic waste from the environment and enable it to be re-used; it reduces the use of disposable plastic bags which would be torn and discarded or burnt; it protects the water-course for drainage and the new drinking water; the bags actually work. 

Creating wealth with chickens

Janet is a Ugandan woman with three children. In 2003 she lost her husband, and in 2006 the company she was working for went into receivership. She thought she would go in to business so she could pay the electricity bills and feed her family. She had 2 acres of land and bought local chickens. Janet started her business selling organic eggs to individuals. That went well, and she was surprised people were willing to pay more for eggs with a yellow yoke, She bought more chickens and went to the local supermarket and asked if they would sell her eggs. Then she went to the big South African- owned supermarket and they asked her to supply 150, then three hundred then seven hundred eggs. That’s when she joined the Ugandan Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL) because she knew she could find business women there that could help her develop her business and do everything that is needed to sustain a business. UWEAL sponsored her to go to Ghana, where she received training in supplying multinational companies. She learned how to do tenders and learned a lot. She is now supplying other supermarkets. 

Janet could not supply all these supermarkets from the eggs from her own chickens. She has found other women to help her fulfill the agreements she has made with supermarkets.  She used her network to build her business.

A Facebook of the Visit to the Ugandan Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL), January 2011

Engedaye Eshete Mekuria

Ethiopia: Southern Region Women Entrepreneurs Association (WEA), President

Tel 251-11-515-5990

engidayeeshete @ yahoo.com

Roman Deksiso

Ethiopia: Oromia Region Adama business Town WEA, President

Tel 251-22-81-40

Fax: 251-22-112-47-61

atwea @ ethionet.et

      
Asseghedech Woldelul

Ethiopia: Business development Vice President at Admas University College

Tel:  251-11- 6631268

Cell phone:  251-91-1630211

Email: awoldelul @ yahoo.com

Nigest Haile Goshu

Ethiopia: Founder & Executive Director of the Center for African Women Economic Empowerment (CAWEE)

Tel:  251-11-3206065 (Office)

Fax:  251-11-3206066

Cell Phone:  251-91-1402957

E-mail:  cawee @ ethionet.et

Achameleshe Ashenafi

Ethiopia: Addis Ababa WEA, President

Tel+251-11-4169294

Aawea @ ethionet.et

www.addisababawomenentrepreneurs.org.et

Dina Bina
Tanzania: Tanzania Women’s Chamber of Commerce

Dina’s Flowers

Address: P.O. Box 1497, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Tel: +255 (0)22 266 8147 (Namanga Branch)

+255 (0)22 266 8040 (Old Bagamoyo Rd, next to US Embassy)

+255 (0)22 266 7352

+255 (0)22 277 1607

Cell: +255 744 282 106

Website: http://www.dinaflowers.com

dinab @ omnisys.co.tz/

dinaflowersltd @ yahoo.com

Salome Kusilla

Tanzania: Phone (mobile): 

+255-787 - 147451

Email address: 

avino @ yahoo.com

Happy Mchomvu

SIDO-WED

Eunice Yegele

Tanzania Women Miners Association

tel +255-784 486863

uenicenegele @ yahoo.com

 Eunike Kuzwa
Tanzania: Hope development and empowerment

+255 0784701441

Patricia Babukiika

Uganda: UWEAL board member

+256

patbabukiika @ yahoo.co.uk

Pauline Ofong

Uganda: UWEAL board member

ofongpaula@gmail.com

Dorothy Tuma

Uganda: DMT Consultants

Tel: +256 414 259 478

Mob: +256 782 519 128

Fax: +256 414 259 480

E-mail: dorothy_tuma @ dmtconsultants.net

Audrey Kahara-Kawuki

Uganda:

Director, Makerere University Business School Entrepreneurship Centre;

Zebra Solutions

Cell: +256 752412822 +256 772412822.

www.mubs.ac.ug/entrecentre/

akawuki@yahoo.com


Stella Atim

Uganda: DFCU Bank women banking program

Lilian Kahenano

Uganda Agency for Development

Cell: +256-772-462324

flkahenano @ yahoo.co.uk

Ruth Musoke

UGANDA PSFU

rbmusoke @ psfuganda.org

+256-312263850

William Babigumira

Uganda Export Promotion Board

Tel: +256- 414230250

+256 752-987914

Uepc @ starcom.co.ug

William.babigumira@gmail.com

www.ugandapartnersonline.com

Hannah Namuyomba

Resource Team Uganda

Alice Karugaba

Uganda: Ninas Interiors

Tel: (+256) 41-4251024, 433379, 312-62453/4

Fax: (+256) 41-4251178

Email: info @ ninainteriors.co.ug

Website: www.ninainteriors.co.ug

Hope Kabirisi

Uganda: Perfect Roses

Thereze Mbire

Uganda: Patron UWEAL

Benedicta Nabingi

Uganda: Kinawataka Women Initiatives

www.strawbags.org

Tel +256-41-221332

Mobile +256-77-513507

Mobile +256-71-221332

Mobile +256-71-245988

Priscilla Violets

Uganda: NBS TV

Prisie Violets prisie2008 @ yahoo.com

Margaret Kulabachemba

Uganda: Chairperson UWEAL Jinja branch

Board member UWEAL

Carol Mayanja

Uganda: UWEAL Executive Director

Carolane Mayanja cmayanja @ uweal.co.ug