Hand in Hand Eastern Africa Information

Vision: An empowered society with sustainable enterprises and jobs. Mission:To work for the economic and social empowerment of women, youth and men, and therefore the society, by supporting the enhancement and creation of sustainable enterprises and jobs. The Hand in Hand enterprise and job creation approach is based on a philosophy of self-help, providing training, skills and support to enable people living in poverty, particularly women, to build and sustain independent, market-based, economic activities. This provides for a higher level of income for them and their families, which in turn contributes to greater food security, better education for children, increased access to medicines and healthcare, improved housing and overall improved livelihoods. We work in four key stages: First we create community groups, made up of mainly women who support each other, save together and learn together. Then we train the group members to discover and develop small businesses and enterprises that make use of their skills and potential. Next we provide access to business start-up loans and finance, and the support across the group ensures that members who borrow them repay without difficulty, finally we help scale up their businesses by supporting them find a larger market, so they are able to optimize profits and to improve their competitiveness. To achieve the vision, Hand in Hand Eastern Africa operations are guided by these values; Integrity Professionalism Innovativeness Customer focus Teamwork Respect for all