Verifiable Social Impact

There are a number of ways to measure the social impact of so-called development programs. In the traditional aid industry, the metrics are too often dollars spent and number of program participants. For the commercial handicraft sector, the metrics may simply be the number of artisans employed and the company's annual sales (if they even tell you how much the artisans are paid). Indego Africa tracks all of these metrics, as they're relatively good indicators of social impact. Since its first partnerships began in mid-2007, Indego Africa has generated $30,000+ in handicraft sales revenue for more than 150 Rwandan women and their approximately 600 dependents, conducted hundreds of hours of skills training programs, and proved that African women are capable of anything when given an opportunity.

Yet these metrics leave something to be desired. What is the depth of impact on a program participant's life? Did the income generated lead to positive change in their lives? (Or was it even the income or program that led to the change?) To better verify its social impact, Indego Africa has an extensive Social Impact Assessment Program that measures a range of developmental information, both quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews). Please take a moment to review our new Social Impact webpage and 2009 Social Impact Report to get an idea of how we measure the success (or failure) of our programs. In addition to quantitative metrics (see below), we also let the women tell their own stories of how Indego Africa is changing their lives:

New Social Impact Webpage

For a snapshot of some of the impact Indego Africa has made in only one year, here are some key findings:

• Enhanced Quality of Life ~ 585% increase in the number of women who are satisfied/very satisfied with their quality of life.
• Increased Income ~ 336% increase in the number of women earning more than $1 per day.
• Greater Food Security ~ 96% increase in the number of families eating at least twice per day.
• Higher Child Education Rate ~ 17% increase in the number of women reporting some or all of their children attend school.
• Better Housing Conditions ~ 42% reduction in the number of women with no permanent residence and 26% increase in the number of households with beds for all residents.
• More Bank Accounts ~ 153% increase in bank account ownership.
• Better Access to Communication ~ 138% increase in the number of households with a telephone.