What Will Help Women?

The UN's news site, IRINnews, recently had a story about the changing face of Ghanaian politics. The new government of John Atta Mills has appointed 8 women as cabinet ministers, a milestone for the country. The story asks (and here I paraphrase) "so what?" Do these political milestones (more female ministers) translate into real benefits for women? The story points out that: "For many, the greatest boost not only for women but for all Ghanaians would come from empowering women economically. " This is surely right.

Put another way, how important is it for growth and development that politicians be women? After all, what's essential for citizens is how their government treats them, how their rights are or are not respected, and whether they do, or do not, have peaceful economic opportunities. Political participation is obviously important, but is participation enough to generate policy change that leads to positive economic change?

I think a more interesting question might be something like this: "Do we have any evidence that female politicans are more likely to create economic opportunity for citizens than male politicians? Are they more effective at developing and implementing policies that promote economic empowerment than men?" Today, Rwanda has the highest percentage of women parlimentarians of any country in the world. Is this translating into a different kind of policy making, as compared with other countries where women hold fewer political offices?I'm not aware of research that directly addresses these questions, but it may well be out there. And wouldn't it be interesting if women politicians turn out to be more supportive of the kinds of economic reforms that expand opportunity for many, as opposed to enriching a few?

Rwandan members of Parliament take oath of office.

Report on Covanya's Computer Training Progress

Emmanuel Mukomeza, one of Indego Africa's hard-working Rwandan interns, recently sent us a short report on the computer training program at our partner cooperative Covanya: 

Computer training at COVANYA are going on well. The members are trying to pick what we teach them. The time to conduct the course changed because of the time table at school. I train from 1 pm that is after noon up to evening time on Thursday.

According to Menu Bar, we are done with “FILE” and important things that it contains, that’s Opening a new document, Saving documents and Opening the existing ones, Print preview and the Page setup. We hope these are the main ones that may help them for the basic Microsoft Word training.

We are coming up with “EDIT” and we’ll be working on the main ones like Undo and repeat typing, Copy, Cut and Paste, and others that may be necessary and may not confuse them.Actually, what is much interesting now is that many of the women are able to write some short stories and make a complete Microsoft Word document and the process of saving and opening the files that contains their writings.

It is necessary to show the process of any operation to every member one by one when she is writing some stories. Using that system we discover the weaknesses or strongness of each trainee and for that, I try to explain everyone accordingly to her capacity.

The interns -- remarkable university students on scholarship through Orphans of Rwanda -- not only save Indego Africa costs and perform a tremendous service for the women, but they also gain otherwise unattainable work experience that will propel them to even greater heights in Rwanda. To Read More about the origins of the Covanya Computer center (donated by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP), CLICK HERE

Slow Steps Towards Peace

There's an interesting story in this morning's Washington Post about why some Hutus are returning to Rwanda after long years in Congo fighting or just trying to survive. The current government is promoting this re-integration process and has, in addition, undertaken a host of efforts to prompt reconciliation between the former enemies.

There are many strategies that countries can adopt to try to reconcile people in the aftermath of a conflict: war crimes tribunals, peace and reconciliation commissions, and local court proceedings are just a few ways.

There is another reconciliation strategy that is less legalistic but may be quite effective. Whether in craft cooperatives like those that Indego Africa works with or in coffee cooperatives around Rwanda, it seems that when former enemies work together to accomplish a shared goal (making a better living), the emotional and psychological distance between them shrinks. People who experience more economic satisfaction may feel a greater willingness to interact with, share with, be with others. In other words, they may have a greater willingness to reconcile. Here's some work I've done on this topic in the past. 

Last summer (2008) Jutta Tobias and I -- along with 10 students from the National University of Rwanda in Butare -- conducted a survey of over 200 coffee farmers to see if we could better understand if and how working together was helping Hutu and Tutsi farmers experience some informal reconciliation. The results were very encouraging AND suggestive for policy makers: in post-conflict environments, policies that make it as easy as possible for people to do business with each other should be an integral part of rebuilding, peace-making efforts.

The women at Indego Africa's partner Ntibizongere, a cooperative located in Kayonza, Rwanda, focus on unity and reconciliation through economic development.

What IS Social?

What, precisely, does the "social" mean in the phrase "social enterprise?" For most people it means that the enterpreneurial activity being pursued serves a "social" purpose. But, that begs the question. Which entrepreneurial actions are social? Which aren't? It seems to me that reasonable people can disagree about this. For example, is a clothing retailer serving a social purpose? The owners train sales people, but also might help people feel better about themselves. Is that serving a social purpose? What about the book publisher Alfred A. Knopf? They often publish great books that arguably improve our cultural climate. Maybe Whole Foods is closer to the mark: they train people, sell interesting foods, and support local producers, all while trying to make a profit.  

Social enterprise websites typically identify these enterprises as either non-profits that pursue some profit-generating activities or for-profit businesses that have, as an important part of their mission, helping people or communities in some way. The Social Enterprise Alliance defines the movement in this way. 

However you define social enterprise the core of the idea is about accomplishing something positive. Here's a nice example of what I think most people mean by social enterprise: in some of the townships around Cape Town, South Africa, people are creating organic gardens. Their produce feeds the people who work the gardens but some of the produce is sold in local markets, generating income. It's a good example of how being alert to changing consumer desires can--at times--lead to positive change even in a difficult environment.

From San Fran to Rwanda with Love

Even after running Indego Africa for 2+ years, I'm still surprised by how closely people can connect even across unbelievable distances.

Last Saturday I helped set up a valentine's day warehouse party/fundraiser in the Mission district of San Francisco - thrown by incredible volunteer Lydia Daniller (check out her photography). I was amazed how guests took a moment away from the revelry to linger over our photos and learn about our Rwanda program. They asked probing questions and didn't hesitate to make donations. The next morning I read the story of Fatuma Nyiramana (below) and recognized a familiar refrain from prior conversations with our program participants: Fatuma is proud of her work (rightly so) and has a deep affection for the US and Americans.

Could the San Francisco folks and our coop members really be making a faint yet personal connection? If so, what explains it? The photos certainly help and our Rwandan partners are much more familiar with Americans through our team members. But I think it's something more universal that brings them together - the process of integrating into a global economy on each end. Here in the US, we travel more often and appreciate the story of how our products are made and by whom. In Rwanda, the women know that their lives are impacted by selling their products to Americans who truly value their work. They've never met, but there's an admiration there which is the foundation for mutual respect - despite a vast distance.

Indego Africa's putting this connection together, but we're simply part of a larger process. It's humbling and encouraging.

Social Enterprising Spotlight: Fatuma Nyiramana

Jadot - Indego Africa's Hand Up Coordinator - recently sat down with Fatuma Nyiramana, 50, a master weaver at Covanya who supports six children.

How has Indego Africa affected your life?

Before I did not know how to weave, I can now weave and I have some money to help my family because I have so many children. I earn money to feed the children, to help my family because I am now able to work.

If you could tell people in the United States one thing, what would it be?

I don't know what to say, but my heart says that I love the US and the people there. I just want to say thank you for what you have done for me and my family.

What is your favorite part of the computer training, and why?

What I see is very nice, but I think computers are so difficult to understand.

How does it make you feel knowing that people all over the US have your baskets in their home?

I am very happy to produce something lovely that goes beyond the Rwandan border.

What are your hopes for the future?

The future is in the hands of God and I cannot tell what will be in the future. According to the way I live now things should be good but only God knows. According to my past after genocide I remained with my family to care and feed for them. God helped me because now I can feed the children.

What is your favorite part of the management training, and why?

I like recording of finances because before we used to work in a very suspicous way with no recording, no way to know how to get money. Everything is clear now.

Cocoki Rising

One of the most amazing things about working for Indego Africa is watching the women in our cooperatives become self sufficient and confident.  Recently, our partner cooperative Cocoki, who we have watched develop since our introduction in Rwanda, found itself in a dilemma: their Treasurer was not properly maintaining their accounting procedures. Money was not accounted for, she was failing to appear for trainings, and entries were missing. 

Indego Africa offers to our partner cooperatives management training as part of our Hand Up program.  These programs provide skill sets to the women like basic cooperative management and accounting procedures.  Typically, our Hand Up Interns would teach skills like voting on committee members.  However, they had not covered that material yet so Jado (Indego Africa's Hand Up Coordinator) conducted an impromptu session, teaching the women proper voting procedures.  The women must have listened and learned because when I arrived to monitor their progress they had gathered a quorum of members to vote on the Treasurer’s future.  With each member speaking about the Treasurer’s errors, the women unanimously voted the Treasurer out of her position and replaced her with the woman who received the highest marks on the accounting procedures training exam.  Not only did the women vote out the Treasurer, but out went the Vice-President and the Secretary.  The reason?  These women failed to appear for meetings and trainings.  The women explained whomever represents Cocoki on the committee must be an example of how each woman should conduct herself within the cooperative.  Failing to appear for meetings and trainings, the women felt, reflected poorly on them and they needed someone who demonstrated dedication to improving their lives. 

These women, so used to being dominated by men, became strong and independent during this meeting.  I was moved by their success that day, and was immensely proud of our in-country team for successfully teaching the women the skills needed to become their own voice and surround themselves with a committee that represented the goals they aspire to reach.

Marie-Rose in Times Square

Two things I love about social enterprising with Indego Africa: (1) the overwhelming support from people far and wide, and (2) the thrill of helping some remarkable women in Rwanda enter the global marketplace.  An example: this December, Dan Hennes, a great friend and supporter of Indego Africa and Director of Multimedia Products for MultiVu (and blogger), offered to stream an Indego Africa image through his HUGE JumboTron in Times Square.  Next thing you know, Marie-Rose Nyiraneza's beautiful smile is brightening the day of thousands of New Yorkers!

The question that immediately entered my mind was, What will Marie-Rose think about this? Does she know what Times Square is?   Indego Africa's invaluable in-country coordinator, Megan, is in the process of finding out, so we'll have to wait and see!  And Dan, thanks again!

Marie-Rose Nyiraneza, 33, was born in Ruhango, Eastern Province.  Marie-Rose supports her five children, five orphans, and her mother.  Marie-Rose has taken to sewing with enthusiasm and humor.  

Voting with your dollars: social enterprise

The idea that private enterprise can promote useful social goals is in some ways new, but in other ways not at all new. Think about what any successful business does: it provides something that customers value in exchange for some other thing, normally currency, that a business values. Businesses provide what customers want/desire and customers find some satisfaction from acquiring what businesses offer. Most people would consider these good things -- increasing satisfaction on both ends of an exchange.

What's so interesting to me about social enterprise is that it provides a purely private way for customers to "vote with their dollars" to help improve lives and, hopefully, the business climate on the ground in developing (and other) nations.

For example, you buy a beautiful plateau basket (my favorite) from shop.indegoafrica.org. You could buy lots of other things but by purchasing this particular item you signal a) your good taste and b) your interest in supporting the development of private enterprise in Rwanda. By supporting these private enterprises you, in turn, directly support the Rwandan women who work in craft cooperatives. They earn an income from these transactions and use their profits to pay school fees, buy clothing, or fix their home. Some may buy a goat or a cow. But notice how different this is from traditional foreign aid: by being a customer, a consumer, you help specific, identifiable people, your money isn't lost in some bureaucratic shuffle. You give a particular set of women incentives to produce high-quality products and they learn a host of skills in the process. They gain, you gain.

Can social enterprise "solve" the problems of poverty? It can't solve all the problems (think about corrupt judges or abusive police, for example, common problems in developing countries) but it can do an awful lot of good. In case you're interested in learning more, here is a link to the Social Enterprise Initiative at Harvard's Business School (http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/). You can find some research here as well as information about events they hold and courses they offer on the topic. More to follow.

Social Enterprising!

Welcome to Indego Africa's new blog -- SOCIAL ENTERPRISING.

A couple of Indego Africa's goals for the blog:

(1) Contribute to the Global Dialogue about Social Enterprise.

“Social enterprise” is a somewhat new, innovative, and increasingly effective method of tackling global development challenges.  By utilizing entrepreneurial, income-generating strategies to pursue social missions, social enterprises are creating sustainable models of economic growth around the globe.   But there is a still a lot to learn, and Indego Africa hopes to contribute to the dialogue with a top-to-bottom examination of social enterprise from the perspective of a social enterprise, well, social enterprising!

(2) Even More Transparency.  

Indego Africa takes an unusually transparent approach to its operations, from relations with its partners in Rwanda, to full disclosure of social impact surveys, to the availability of its business practices, policies and financial documents.   Indego Africa hopes that SOCIAL ENTERPRISING will make it even easier to share its successes, frustrations, insights, lessons learned, thoughts, and hopes with you.

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Social enterprise is more than just a hip new concept.  Social enterprise gives its participants a real stake in their own development.  It promotes pride and ownership.   And it inspires self-confidence in the most unexpected places.   

Indego Africa invites you to join us on this exciting journey - please follow along, share with friends, and get in on the conversation (just click on "COMMENTS" below). 

Felicite Kangabe, 67, laughs as I try to use Kinyarwandan words while taking her portrait.  Felicite is a member of the Indego Africa partner Covanya (read more HERE).