This exciting initiative consists of two components: our award-winning business skills app HerVenture—available to Kenyan women now—and our intensive, online 7-week investment readiness training programme Road to Growth, brought to Kenya for the first time thanks to our new partnership with DHL Express and Sinapis. This builds on out successful pilot of HerVenture in Kenya last year, which was met with a target-breaking uptake and wide praise as over 1,250 women entrepreneurs used it to achieve growth and protect their businesses against the impacts of the pandemic.
The Foundation’s founder, Cherie Blair CBE QC, announced the launch today in an interview with journalist Anne Kiguta:
This enhanced support comes at a crucial time: we recently released our 2020 annual audit of research on women entrepreneurs in low and middle income countries, drawing on responses from women across 32 countries including Kenya. The research report illustrates the stark impacts of COVID-19 on women entrepreneurs and other major barriers they face—such as gender stereotypes, legal challenges and lack of access to finance. Nearly four in ten (38.5%) women report their business will or may have to close as a result of the pandemic, potentially spelling disaster for children, families and staff. The report makes clear that targeted, urgent action and support is needed.
But where there is disruption, there is also opportunity. Investing in women entrepreneurs plays a crucial role in supporting Kenya’s 2030 vision of becoming a middle income nation by 2030, yet while 49% of micro and small businesses are women-owned only 9% of medium sized enterprises are, suggesting they find it difficult to scale. Furthermore, sub-Saharan African economies lose nearly $100 billion a year because of the gender gap in the labour market. Now, during a global economic crisis, it makes more sense than ever to take action to close that gap.
Through the Road to Growth programme, I have learned to position my business better, communicate with my target audience, and get their attention [...] I have an academy where I teach textile designing, and COVID-19 affected our classes. But thanks to what I learned from Road to Growth, I was able to move my class online.
