Under our program “Women and Entrepreneurship in Colour!” We hope to build the capacity of women in the urban informal settlements of Nairobi and pastoral communities who are survivors of violence against women.
Using color energy profiling by Clarity4D, these women are coached to better understand themselves and their human environment with an aim to understand their strengths and development areas.
To achieve this, the women are engaged through; Lead Self-coaching- Lead Enterprise Coaching- Mental Wellness support- and Linkage to access to microfinance.
We are grateful to our partners Haella Stichting and Clarity4D for providing the resources that made this possible.
In this post, we want to share with you some of the benefits and challenges of our program, as well as some success stories from our participants. Our program is based on the premise that women’s entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool for economic growth, social inclusion, and gender equality.
According to various studies, female entrepreneurs represent a fast-growing category of entrepreneurship worldwide, but they face many barriers and obstacles that limit their potential. Some of these barriers include a lack of access to credit, education, training, networks, markets, role models and mentors. Moreover, many women entrepreneurs operate in low-growth sectors or necessity-driven activities that do not offer much opportunity for innovation or scaling up.
“Women and Entrepreneurship in Colour!” aims to address these challenges by providing women with a holistic approach that combines personal development, business skills, mental health support, and financial inclusion. Using Clarity4D’s color energy profiling system, we help women identify their personality preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement. This helps them gain self-awareness, confidence, and motivation to pursue their entrepreneurial goals. We also offer them coaching sessions on how to lead themselves and their enterprises effectively, covering topics such as goal setting, planning, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork. Additionally, we provide them with mental wellness support through counseling sessions that help them cope with stress, trauma, and emotional issues that may affect their well-being and performance. Finally, we link them with microfinance institutions that can offer them loans or grants to start or grow their businesses.
Our program commenced a couple of months ago and we have already enlisted over 200 women from different backgrounds and sectors. Some of the outcomes we have observed include:
– Increased self-esteem and empowerment among our participants.
– Improved business skills and knowledge.
– Enhanced innovation and creativity.
– Expanded networks and market opportunities.
– Higher-income generation and savings.
– Reduced poverty and vulnerability.
– Greater social impact in their communities
We are proud of our participants’ achievements and we want to share some of their stories with you:
- Namelok is a 23 year old mother of 4 who runs a bead making business in Impiro center, Kajiado County, Kenya. She joined the program having survived intimate partner violence from her husband for a couple of years. She could not leave the marriage as she hadn’t any income to support her young family. Having been married while still a teenager and transitioning to motherhood before she was even 16, she only had basic literacy and numeracy skills. From her mother and grandmother, she had learned the art of beading. Through coaching and micro-financing from the project, she has started earning income for herself and with support from other women, emancipated herself from domestic abuse. With renewed confidence in herself and skills, she is hopeful for a thriving bead-making business. She has more friends now and participates in community activities, previously, a taboo.
In the end, we are grateful to our partners Haella Stichting and Clarity4D for providing the resources that made this possible, and we are thankful for all the participants.