business mentorship and micro loans
Ensure newly trained women entrepreneurs have the holistic, ongoing resources needed to establish successful businesses.
Newly trained seamstresses receive ongoing mentorship, access to loans, and support for their wellbeing as they enter the world of business.
To discuss supporting this project contact jo@justpeoples.org
In Asembo, Kenya, many young girls are forced to abandon their education due to prohibitive tuition fees, gender inequality that favours the education of boys, as well as teen pregnancies and early marriages. Local leader Grace Ongong’a established a skills training and entrepreneurship academy for women to challenge and change these limiting societal structures and provide a path toward economic independence.
But skills training isn’t enough to break the cycle of poverty.
Grace checking in on a program graduate at her new tailoring shop!
Post-graduation, skilled seamstresses from the Academy encounter formidable obstacles to success. So Grace has also established a microcredit and mentorship program to offer ongoing mentorship and small loans for essential equipment. The aim is for the entrepreneurs to have the means to acquire sewing machines, materials, and even storefronts for their businesses. Simultaneously, the women join social savings groups that meet each week, learn how to save and invest their money, and form close, supportive bonds with other women in similar positions.
This initiative targets all graduates from Grace’s academy - currently 60 women - and enables increased independent income, robust business management, expanded enterprises, stronger social networks, and elevated confidence.
Grace's vision is to break the generational cycle of poverty in Asembo. This ongoing support will ensure that these entrepreneurs' businesses generate enough income to support their children's education, transforming the cycle that begins when girl children are forced out of school due to financial constraints. Notably, 100% of the children of Grace's academy graduates are actively attending school!
Grace also sees her graduates as influential role models, demonstrating to the next generation of Asembo girls that women can successfully run businesses, exercise agency, and achieve self-reliance.
Meet Grace
The local woman ensuring girls in her community are educated, free and independent
Growing up, Grace observed the stark contrast between her path and the challenging realities faced by many of her peers, especially young girls. It was not uncommon to witness her friends dropping out of school due to early pregnancies and early marriages. The future seemed bleak for these girls, trapped in a cycle of intergenerational poverty with limited access to education, opportunities, and basic necessities. But Grace is changing this! Her passion and dedication to her community are the driving forces behind the transformative impact of Asembo Skills for Hope and she’s already making a significant difference in the lives of countless women. Learn more.