MICRO ENTERPRISE

Micro enterprise plays an important role in creating employment opportunities for rural communities in Kenya. World Bank statistics report that Kenyans in rural areas subsist on a dollar a day while the unemployment rate has risen above 30%. In Muguna village, the unemployment numbers are significantly higher and the literacy rates are significantly lower.

Microenterprise provides an opportunity for self-employment and improvement of the economic status of women and children in Muguna. Friends of Yimbo has partnered with twenty-eight women to create a small agribusiness chicken farming venture. In the first year of this collaborative enterprise, the women have acquired business management skills, explored potential markets, and have expanded their production levels. These determined, enterprising women continue to see an increase in productivity year to year as they invest more in regular vaccinations, adequate supplies of chicken feed and water, and building durable coops to keep their chickens safe. Almost half of the initial microenterprise members have moved from subsistence production to agribusiness production, selling their excess supply for profits to reinvest in their enterprise.

Through this collaborative microenterprise venture, women are able to pay their children’s school fees and access improved health care. As women are becoming economically self-reliant, the community benefits with improved literacy and higher levels of employment. We aim to expand this venture to provide more opportunities for long-term capacity-building in the village. Join us in providing additional resources to collaborate in microenterprise ventures with enterprising women in this community by donating through the Friends of Yimbo website.

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