We are partnering with our brilliant women entrepreneurs to continue breaking the cycle of poverty for the benefit of their family + community.
Each Co-op meets twice a month to participate in:
Village Banking for Saving
Continued Entrepreneurship Education
Community Support + Encouragement
Businesses represented in these groups include Tailoring, Farming, Retail Shops, Chicken Farming, Tailoring School, and more. Our women entrepreneurs have all graduated from our 12-month skills training program. They are successfully running small businesses using this knowledge.
FAQ
We frequently consider issuing Business Grants for women in our Entrepreneur Co-ops for them to be able to take their businesses to the next level.
When they have completed the application and we have approved it, we will begin this process:
Here are the steps:
Step 1: Each Grant Recipient will submit quotations for the items they wish to purchase for their business needs.
Step 2: Our support staff will discuss and approve the quote accordingly.
Step 3: Our support staff will go to purchase the needed item and deliver to the Grant Recipient.
Step 4: The Grant Recipient will be visited by our support staff every 2-3 weeks for impact-measuring surveys, business record checks, and troubleshooting for any problem areas together.
Step 5: Grant Recipients will gather together to receive further trainings for business success.
Step 6: Grant Recipients will experience sustainable growth in their small businesses with the goal of employing local women to continue the community impact.
How does this work? How will we know that funds will go to the projects described above?
We have partnered with our Zambia staff to create a Disbursement Protocol. No cash will be handed directly to the Grant Recipient. A quote for the item requested will be submitted to our team. The team will then go out and purchase that item directly and deliver it to the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur will have required business visits every 2-3 weeks. Our team will use those visits to check business records for accuracy, collect data through impact-measuring surveys, troubleshoot with the entrepreneur, and answer any business-related questions. All of these women above have been hand-selected by us for this Entrepreneurship Co-op, and have graduated from our skills-training program. They have completed 10+ hours of business training courses taught by Amy (CiH Executive Director) during her visits. They will continue to receive trainings throughout their involvement in this program for the most business success possible. Most of these women have also previously received micro-loans from us, and have repaid them on-time and in full. It is because of their impressive track record, amazing business accomplishments, and personal connection to us that we have extended this invitation to them to present their Business Grant Requests for funding consideration. We take this program very seriously, and are committed to the best use of your partnership funding. Thank you for your interest in coming alongside these inspiring entrepreneurs to help take their businesses to the next level!
Want to donate towards the overall Business Grant program? We need donors to support additional overhead expenses associated with running this program over the next year (additional training workshops, transportation for business visits, curriculum printing, support staff salaries, etc.).
All donations are 100% tax deductible. If raised funds exceed the need of the specific giving area, the funds will be re-allocated to an area of greatest need.