Sponsor a Women to Start Her Own Business in Ghana

Dear Supporters,

COVID-19 has forced many businesses to close down, either due to lockdown or as a result of the economic recession. In times like this it is more important than ever to innovatively. Whilst the majority of American and European business have implemented working from home policies and gone virtual wherever they can, it is not as simple to adopt a social distance strategy for African businesses where people do not necessarily have access to electricity, computers or internet. Luckily, our entrepreneurs were well equipped to manage the changing circumstances, remain safe and still reach their customers.

As COVID-19 reached Africa, it is easy to say that things changed rapidly. Borders closed, schools shut down, businesses were forced to limit their operation hours and people needed to stay indoors. Whilst it was all done to ensure the safety and health of the African people, the side-effects of a closed down society became far greater than anyone could ever anticipated. This causes not only job losses but also extreme hunger. In Zimbabwe, it is anticipated that 60% of a population of 14 million are currently in food-insecure households where they cannot meet the basic need.

So for one of the many social entrepreneurs we are working with, we were proud and excited to hear how he was adapting to the changing social order. For the last year we have been working closely with Clive, a social entrepreneur focusing on growing and selling sustainable agricultural produce and educating small-scale farmers on cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions. Clive has been working on site on his farm, selling his produce in stores and markets and held classes for small-scale farmers on the ground - a business which was no longer possible with the changing COVID-19 regulations. With a low number of the population, and ultimately his consumers having access to reliable electricity, computers and wifi it was not possible to simply open an online webshop or move his courses to zoom. Instead he moved it to the popular social media platform WhatsApp. As WhatsApp uses low levels of data, and is available to the majority of phones, not simply smart phones it is the ideal platform to use in a nation like Zimbabwe. 

On Whats App he now promotes and sells his products through various Whats App groups and it is also the platform used to run online training. After doing the hard work of adapting the training online he uses the platform to have group calls, group chat conversations and discussions, sharing of videos and photos to be able to reach those in the most rural part of Zimbabwe. Whilst the situation is not ideal, it is essential to recognise that this is the best option for the local context; something a true entrepreneur recognised. Knowing your customer, and listening to their needs is essential. And the fact that the products and courses are ensuring that we are looking after mother earth is a massive bonus as COVID-19 has taught us the importance of fighting climate change.

We are so proud of how our social entrepreneurs are adapting to the changing environment and context where they work. And we are so thankful to all of our supporters across Africa who make it possible for us to advise and guide leaders and innovators in these stressful times. We are however asking you to continue to donate so we can continue running virtual leadership and business courses so that more African businesses can get back on their feet.

Thank you to our Donors, Fundraisers and Supporters for supporting Social Entrepreneurs in building their economy and allowing them to take ownership of local issues.

With Gratitude,

African Social Entrepreneurs