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TechnoServe Headquarters
1120 19th St., NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202 785 4515
Fax: +1 202 785 4544
Email: technoserve@tns.org

Prepared by:
Edited by:
All photos: TechnoServe, YWE Program

TechnoServe is a nonprofit economic development organization based in the

US; with offices in more than 30 countries across the world. It was founded
in 1968 by businessman Ed Bullard, who pioneered the private-enterprise
approach to solving poverty around the world. Since that time, TechnoServe
has been one of the most admired organizations in the world addressing
poverty. Recruiting talented business advisors as management consultants
and industry experts, TechnoServe has helped create or expand thousands of
businesses, breaking the cycle of poverty for millions of people.

The YWE program was implemented with funding from the Nike Foundation to
promote the Girl Effect.

For more information about TechnoServe’s YWE program

please contact:

Alice Waweru
Senior Business Manager
P.O Box 14821-00800, Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 3754333/4/5/7
Cell: +254 0725 548742
Fax: 254 20 375 1028
Email: awaweru@tns.org

Pauline Mwangi
Entrepreneurship Manager; TechnoServe Kenya
PO Box 14821 (00800) Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 3754333/4/5/7
Cell: +254 722 740322
Fax: +254 20 3751028
Email: pmwangi@tns.org

2 Young Women in Enterprise Case Study

“Investing in women is smart economics…
Investing in girls is even smarter economics...”
- Ngoizi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing director of the World Bank
Executive Summary
Y
oung Women in Enterprise (YWE) is an economic capacity
building program for girls living in difficult conditions in urban
slum areas. In partnership with Nike’s “Girl Effect Organization,”
TechnoServe, a leading business-focused NGO, developed and
implemented a signature economic empowerment model to prepare
a diverse group of girls with a range of skill sets, needs, and career
plans for safe and productive opportunities including entrepreneurship
and wage employment.
Girls living in Nairobi’s slums are faced with social and economic
instability and vulnerability. Experiencing some of the lowest school
enrollment rates in Kenya, girls are at an increased risk for early
pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and are exposed to violence and insecurity in
their everyday lives. Opportunities for these girls to lift themselves out
of the vicious cycle of poverty are few and far between.
YWE targets these girls to offer a program comprising of four
phases: Recruitment through information sharing meetings in the
community, Enterprise club formation- in groups of 30 -40, girls
forms an enterprise that is easily accessible to each of them. The
clubs meets in safe places for the girls and venues that are owned
by the community. Training: Girls receive training in Entrepreneurship,
financial literacy, Employabilitty and lifeskills. They recieve knowledge
on use of tools to plan, implement, and manage a small business
with links to financing, an emphasis on the importance of savings, and
mentorship by a leading woman entrepreneur from the community;
and Aftercare support with business plan competitions where they
identify promising ideas, girls receive support for business start up
and growth, training in ICT, Skills building ,employment and financial
linkages..
This signature economic empowerment model prepares a diverse
group of girls with a range of skill sets, needs and career plans for
safe and productive opportunities including entrepreneurship and
wage employment.YWE is about realizing girls’ potential to change
themselves, their families, and their communities. Adapted to meet
the needs and circumstances of underprivileged girls, the YWE model
has the potential to be replicated in other slums across Africa and the
rest of the world.
The YWE program in Kenya has only reached 1% of girls living in
Nairobi’s slums. We are determined to reach more. With increased
financial resources, Technoserve has the capacity to expand the YWE
program and create opportunities for thousands more girls to realize
their potential, sparking the magnification of the Girl Effect in Kenya.
irl Effect
There are a large number of girls in developing countries who
are stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. They have a low level of
education, live in congested housing, and are often forced into early
marriage. They are isolated socially and lack the self-confidence to be
active members of society. They become pregnant before 18 years
old and are at high risk of HIV/AIDS.
The “Girl Effect Organization”, founded by Nike gives opportunities
to girls in poverty to break the cycle and start their own lives. So
girls become able to get educated, stay longer in school and marry
according to their choices at the right age. They have a higher chance
to raise a healthy family and in turn pass their values on to the next
generation.
Three years ago, the Girl Effect sprang into being for one purpose: To
get powerful people to talk about girls. The Girl Effect is a movement;
it’s about the unique and indisputable potential of adolescent girls
to end poverty for themselves and the world. It engaged people,
inspired people, made them cry, and made them mad. It inspired
them and touched them to donate funds or to do something like write
books or sock ignorance in the mouth.
Right now, there are 250 million adolescent girls living under poverty.
The Girl Effect has a bright target to bring 50 million of them out of
poverty by 2030; 50 million girl effects.
www.girleffect.org
Key Results & Empowerment Analysis 3
 Girls can change Kenya

N
early 60% of Nairobi’s 3 million inhabitants reside in slums, a
number that is growing.1 Slum life is characterized by poor
sanitation, crime and insecurity, lack of access to basic
resources, low levels of education, and high unemployment rates.
Many people live on less than US$1 per day, making it difficult to
cover school-related costs.2
Out of the 7 million adolescent girls in Kenya – who comprise 20%
of Kenya’s population – more than 1.6 million have dropped out of
school.3,4 If these girls had completed primary school, the Kenyan
economy would be boosted US$27 billion over their lifetimes (Graph
1).5,3
Only 22% of female students aged 14-17 attend school in slums,
while the national attendance rate is 68%. 6 Young girls often engage
in early sex or prostitution in exchange for money and gifts to support
themselves and their families. Consequently they are at great risk
of dropping out of school from early pregnancy and experience
Graph 1: Girls’ potential to boost Kenyan GDP
increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS – girls aged
15–19 are three times more likely, and those
aged 20-24 are 5.5 times more likely to be HIV-
Figure 1: The Poverty Trap
positive than their male counterparts.5 Some
girls are chased away from home because of
these factors, making their lives less secure, they
often become the victims of rape, abuse, and
harassment.7
For uneducated youth, economic opportunities
are very rare, and many resort to drug use, crime,
or prostitution. Over three-quarters of youth in
Kenya’s slums are unemployed – 57% of which
are females.8 The poverty trap can ensnare a
family in this way: the older generation cannot
prepare their children with enough assets and
education and the younger generation is ill-
prepared to escape from poverty (Figure 1).

Mission: Economically empower disadvantaged adolescent girls and young

women by facilitating their entry into safe and productive economic opportunities.

Program model overview
The Young Women in Enterprise (YWE) program, developed and
implemented by TechnoServe, seeks to economically empower
disadvantaged adolescent girls and young women by facilitating
their entry into safe and productive economic opportunities. The
program introduces girls 14-24 years of age to the concepts of
entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and employability.
The program is working with secondary school girls and community
girls (not enrolled in school). Over the 4-year program life, YWE has
worked with over 4,000 girls, in two schools and in two slums in
Nairobi and their environs: Mathare and Kawangware.
The program supports girls in three phases
(illustrated in Figure 2):
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
• Recruitment and group formation Girls are recruited and organized
into enterprise clubs of 30-40 members to be trained once per
week for 6-months (1 hr/week for school girls and 4 hrs/week for
community girls).
• Training phase starts by teaching girls about group formation,
group dynamics and life skills (such as problem-solving, decision-
making, and self-confidence). Thereafter, girls learn about financial
literacy, saving, business skills, record keeping, employability
(including self-presentation, opportunity awareness, interviewing
skills and networking), and negotiation. During business skills
training, girls form groups to work on experiential businesses
where they are able to apply what they have learned through
a small ($4 per girl) grant. Girls also identify potential individual
business enterprises and write startup and operational plans for
business proposals. These business plans are entered in the
business plan competition at the end of training.
• Aftercare support phase to guide girls to start business enterprise,
link them to employment for those who prefer employment. Girls
are supported to identify mentors who help them develop and
translate skills into business enterprises or transition to wage
employment. They are also linked to financial services institutions
to open bank accounts and save.
YWE was designed in collaboration with targeted girls, community
members, and stakeholders in girls programming with the aim to
generate a scalable, efficient and replicable program.

4 Young Women in Enterprise Case Study

Celestine’s Story
C
elestine had dropped out of college because she was unable to pay school fees when she was contacted
by YWE. Through YWE training, Celestine gained self-confidence and learned to present herself in the
job market. As a result, she secured an interview and was offered a job making yoghurt in a dairy shop.
“If YWE training did not give me this confidence, I would not have this job,” says Celestine.

“If YWE training did not give me this

confidence, I would not have this job”
Equipped by YWE with entrepreneurship and financial skills, Celestine invested her savings of $63 to start her
own yoghurt manufacturing and packing business. YWE supported Celestine to attend a skills training program
with the Kenya Dairy Board after which she was able to obtain a license to sell a wide array of milk products,
including Greek style yoghurt. The Kenya Bureau of Standards has certified her products so she can supply
supermarkets.

Celestine’s sales are around $600 monthly and she has an average profit of $300 per month. Her business
employs her mother and two other people. She has also created a good market for several farmers who sell
milk to her. Celestine explains, “I want to work hard and impact on the lives of many other people in my society.”
In the future, she hopes to open a milk processing and packaging cottage where she can make a variety of
products, such as cheese and butter, in larger quantities.

Key Results & Empowerment Analysis 5

 Highlights of the YWE Model
Innovations which make YWE stand out from similar programs are:
Customization to slum conditions
YWE recruits young female trainers who are able to communicate
and empathize with girls living in slums. The trainers strive to identify
the needs of the girls, ranging from lifestyle to business development
needs. For example, trainers noticed that girls’ concentration in
training sessions was impaired because they were hungry, and that
the need to care for their children was preventing them from attending
sessions. As a result, YWE began providing lunch ($1.25 a day) and
childcare allowances (~50 cents per day).
Experiential businesses
A transformational component of YWE, experiential businesses give
girls the opportunity to practice their acquired business skills with a
small ($4 per girl) grant as risk-free start-up capital. Working in small
groups of five to build trust and accountability, girls initiate small-
business projects and gain a practical understanding of business
concepts, money-management, and trust.
Many girls in YWE eat cheap lunches and save
the remainder of their lunch allowance to invest
in their businesses
6 Young Women in Enterprise Case Study
Business plan competition
Business plan competitions are an effective, high-return model for
identifying, mentoring, and otherwise facilitating young women
entrepreneurs to create new businesses. As the climax of the YWE
program, all girls make business plan presentations before a panel
of judges and winners are awarded cash prizes for further business
investment. Cash prizes are provided by leading private sector
companies.
Promoting a savings culture
From initial YWE trainings girls are encouraged to put aside some
money each day. Girls are introduced to commercial banks to open
savings accounts, however some girls choose to save informally
through mobile banking or informal groups as they find it easier to
borrow to meet urgent needs. Many girls even save a proportion of
their lunch and childcare allowances.
Alumni peer mentors
Outstanding YWE girls who have finished training often remain
involved as peer mentors. Connecting well with and serving as role
models for girls, this strategy is effective for transferring knowledge
and offering support to newly enrolled YWE girls.
Ongoing learning and program design
During the developmental phase of YWE and in adjusting the program
throughout its implementation, focus group discussions with girls,
parents, and spouses were held to engage them as stakeholders in
the program design. This way, it was ensured that girls needs and
interests were at the fore of YWE. Additionally girls’ homes were
visited throughout the program to build trust among family members
and the community.
Nancy’s Story
Public-private partnerships
YWE has cultivated public-private partnerships (PPPs) to facilitate Nancy Nungari owns a grocery shop in Kawangware, Congo area.
girls’ business startups. Examples include: She also combines her grocery supplies with Coca Cola products.
She is 24 years old and married with one child. She started her
• Coca Cola 5by20 initiative providing girls with startup kits- 300 business in October 2012 after under going enterprises training
girls are now Coke retailers in the slums organized by Technoserve. She makes a profit of about Kshs 200,in a
day Kshs 6000 a month. She is the Key provider for their family since
• Mention the companies providing awards and prizes during BPCs
her husband is unemployed, with business, she’s more empowered
• The Kenyan Ministry of Education proposing a national and able to support both their nuclear and extended families.
entrepreneurship program for secondary schools

Key Results
YWE coverage
Approximately 65% of the 1.35 million people living in Mathare and
Kawangware are youth. In this group, there are about 325,000
adolescent girls (ages 12-24).9 YWE reached 3,600 of these girls.
While this number may seem big, it represents only 1% of the target
beneficiary. There are many more girls in these slums waiting to benefit
from opportunities like those experienced by YWE participants.
Results
Girls were empowered through the training program and access to
economic opportunities provided by YWE. Overall, 87% (n=3579) of
girls enrolled in YWE completed the training course. Among trained
girls, 81% (n=2906) wrote a business plan, and 81% (n=2882)
practiced starting and managing a business through the experiential
business exercise (Graph 2).
Sarah’s Story
Graph 2: Girls’ participation in each activity
Community girls: Before joining YWE 15% of community girls had
some experience in businesses and 13% had worked as domestic
workers. Since joining YWE, 36% (n=531) of community girls who
completed all trainings have started businesses. An additional 26%
(n=390) have been found employment through YWE job placement
support. These results are considerable given the fact that nearly all
of the girls come from extremely vulnerable backgrounds with virtually
no savings, work, or business experience.
Sarah Sandra Wesonga lives in Mathare slums, Mradi Village.
She started her business about a year ago. Besides Chips
and Sausages she also sell fruits. She is a mother of two,
is married and a great entrepreneur. She makes on average
about Kshs 1000 in profit per day, translating to about Kshs
30,000 per month. With the business, she’s more empowered
and able to support both their nuclear and extended families.
School girls: Through enterprise clubs, X school girls acquired
various skills, which increased their self-confidence and ability to
start businesses. Of these Xparticipated in experiential businesses,
in which they learned how to write business plans and to run their
own businesses. The schools with the strongest business plans were
granted initial investment in business plan competitions. Out of the
19 schools participating, 12 started income generating activities for
the school.
Unmeasured results
Girls participating in YWE have become powerful agents of change in
their schools and communities. This is a result of the skills they gained
in YWE. Though not formerly measured, there were substantial
increases in girls’ confidence, communication and negotiation
skills, access to a network of business mentors, and strengthened
community support.
Key Results & Empowerment Analysis 7
 Rose’s Story
S
ince joining YWE, Rose has transformed from a shy and quiet girl into a confident and successful
entrepreneur. Rose started a small tailoring business, “Lucky Outfitters,” in a semi-permanent shack
in her community. From her savings, she bought a sewing machine and added accessories for sale
at her shop. After a short time, Rose was able to move her business to a larger, and safer space in a better
neighborhood.

However, she did not forget about the girls in her own neighborhood. Determined to break the cycle of poverty
Rose began training girls from her community in tailoring, giving them an opportunity for financial independence.
Due to a high demand for Rose’s exceptional services, she employed a young woman, who she has inspired
to join YWE.

As a current YWE mentor, Rose’s success story continues to motivate girls in the YWE program to follow their
dreams. Now she earns about $100 per month, and vows to continue to expand her business and encourage
others to do the same.

8 Young Women in Enterprise Case Study

Empowerment
believe in myself and I know I have everything it takes to do all that I have promised.”
Analysis
W
hile YWE’s overarching goal has been to empower girls,
measuring the impact of YWE on girls’ ‘empowerment’ has
been difficult; empowerment encompasses many different
factors and is manifested in limitless forms.
We aim to measure two types of empowerment: economic and
social. Economic empowerment refers to increasing girls’ access to
and control over economic resources and opportunities, and social
empowerment incorporates the strengthening of girls’ communication
skills, networks, confidence, and self-esteem. Evidence of economic
and social empowerment is manifested as social, human, financial,
and physical assets (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Assets manifest as a result of empowerment
Empowered girls are more likely to help others in their communities as
they understand the hardships their friends and classmates face and
tend to make the most opportunities to assist them. The results of the
empowerment analysis are presented in Table 1:
“I will practice common sense at all times and be a good role model for others. I
- The YWE promise, which all girls sign to join the program
Table 1: Indicators of Economic and Social Empowerment
Increase in Human Assets
Business and financial knowledge 3124 girls gained business and financial knowledge
Life skills and employability 1154 girls received life skills and employability training
ICT knowledge
615 girls underwent ICT training
Self-confidence 2590 girls reported improvements in their self-confidence
Increase in Social Assets
Group formation 3579 girls formed groups
Team work 1912 girls worked in teams to write business plans and to start businesses
Mentoring 1236 girls were mentored by 70 mentors from their communities
Social networks 3597 girls improved their social networks via access to each others’ or their mentors’ networks
Increase in Physical and Financial Assets
Businesses created 531 businesses created by community girls in various fields
$162,572 girls’ total businesses revenue after 6-months
Before YWE 15% of community girls (n=223) had worked in businesses- only in domestic work
laundry, and hair dressing.
Employment 390 community girls have been employed in businesses or wage earning employment
$152,43 girls’ total wages during 6-months after employment
Before YWE 13% of out-of-school girls (193 girls) were in wage employment-
most as household laborers and seasonal sellers
Bank account & savings 749 girls have bank accounts $31,248 girls’ total saving per 6-month period on average
Before YWE 23% of all girls (n=342) had bank accounts, 14% of community girls (n=243) girls
saved in bank accounts
National ID 885 girls received their National Identification
Safe physical space to meet 1489 community girls gather in safe spaces to learn and exchange their experiences with
mentors and each other
Before YWE No girls had safe spaces outside of home to meet
Key Results & Empowerment Analysis 9
 Cecilia’s Story
C
ecilia is a girl from Mathare slums, who joined YWE in 2009 and underwent the training. She successfully
filled a business plan and won some money to help facilitate her small salon that she had opened .Before
YWE she did not know how to separate business and personal money, she also did not know how to
keep good records. After the training she gained self confidence and can now convince customers and has really
improved on branding her salon.

She makes between ksh1000-2000 per day and makes profit of ksh3000 per month. She does not rely on her
husband and this has helped the husband to respect her a lot. She also has offered employment to two girls and
also teaches one of them at a small fee. She has bought a blowdrier, drier, tongs, and seats for customers since
joining YE programme.She is also paying fee for her sister who is doing hairdressing. She wants to expand her
salon by opening a school of hairdressing in future and soon wants to open a clothing shop in mathare.She also
has helped recruited more girls because they see her success. She is a great role model to her peers and a great
example of young girls empowered through the Young Women in Enterprise program.

10 Young Women in Enterprise Case Study

References
1. UN Millennium Project Taskforce. 2005. A Home in the City. Taskforce on Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers. London: Earthscan.

2. Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project (KSCYP). Retrieved from: http://www.leeonenessfoundation.com/projects/kawangware.

3. Chaaban, J. and Cunningham, W. “Measuring the Economic Gain of Investing in Girls: The Girl Effect Dividend.” Working Paper from the World Bank Human
Development Network and Children and Youth Unit and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Gender Unit. August 2011.

4. Demographic and Health Survey. Kenya: Central Bureau of Statistics: 2008.

5. The Girl Effect media kit. Retrieved from: http://www.girleffect.org/uploads/documents/2/Girl_Effect_Media_Kit.pdf.

6. The State of the World’s Children 2012. UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/sowc/files/SOWC_2012-Main_Report_EN_21Dec2011.pdf.

7. Gómez, M., Gomez, S. Kabajuni, A. Kaur, P. & King, W. (2008). Women, slums and organization: examining the causes and consequences.
Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Women and Housing Rights program, PP105-118. Retrieved from:
http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/cohre-womenslumsandurbanisationexaminingthecausesandconsequences.pdf.

8. Githu, A., “Urban Slums Youth Economic and Social Empowerment Project” PowerPoint Presentation (2007).

9. Kawangware slum. Retrieved from: http://www.nextaid.org/kawangware.htm.

Key Results & Empowerment Analysis 11