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.

Biofuel vs. Food Crops: Who Decides?

What happens when a poor farmer discovers that the seed of a previously useless plant can be sold and then processed for biofuel? The farmer shouts "hooray;" the farmer's family shouts "hooray;" the government shouts "what a minute!" This is the basic plot of this story from Tanzania, reported by the BBC.

The seed in question is jatropha, which can be crushed into oil and used for everything from jet fuel to candles. Jatropha grows wild in rural Tanzania and is an extremely hardy crop: it's both drought and pest resistant and can withstand conditions that other plants can not tolerate.

After some enterprising children began selling jatropha seeds, adults in Tanzania followed suit, gathering the seeds and selling them to a biofuel processor called Diligent. Diligent is one of many companies in the US, Brazil, and the Phillipines, that is excited about the seed. In fact, early in 2009 Time magazine has asked: "Is jatropha `The Next Big Biofuel?'"

Maybe. But the BBC report notes that the Tanzanian government is worried that jatropha may be something of a curse, as well as a blessing. Here's a quote from the BBC:

"But here is the rub. The government is facing complaints that food production is being threatened because so many farmers are focusing on jatropha rather than edible crops. And that's something a poor country like Tanzania call ill afford."

Really? Farmers have found a valuable cash crop and now devote more of their land to growing that crop. This means less food is grown, this (presumably) raises prices for food crops. At the same time, farmers have higher disposable income because they're growing, and selling, jatropha. They can better afford more expensive food crops. But importantly, as food prices rise this signals the farmers to return to food crop production to take advantage of the profit opportunities offered there. As food production increases, supply increases and prices fall again.

Shifting prices are signaling farmers to grow jatropha; tomorrow, prices may signal farmers to grow tomatoes. Farmers are behaving entrepreneurially right now and that's something to be applauded. They may even be providing an environmental benefit to Tanzania (if the crop is drought and pest resistant presumably it can be grown without most pesticides and energy use related to irrigation will be slight).

So, should the government be concerned that too many farmers are foregoing food production to focus on jatropha? No, not so long as food producers inside and outside Tanzania are able to transport their crops safely and inexpensively and sell them freely.

If the Tanzanian government wants to ensure food supplies for the country, it would do better to eliminate agricultural tariffs rather than limiting entrepreneurial behavior related to jatropha production. What the country can ill afford is less economic opportunity -- poor farmers should be free to decide which crops to plant.

- Karol

Kellogg School of Management & Indego Africa

Indego Africa is always honored to contribute to the vibrant conversations about social enterprise currently raging at academic institutions around the world. This past semester, for instance, we had the pleasure of participating in a project at the Kellogg School of Management.

As part of the class "Leading Mission Driven Enterprises," four incredibly talented Kellogg students - Kate Floyd, Erica Labovitz, Keli Leaf, and Shannen Root Chin - dug deep into the inner workings of Indego Africa. The assignment: conduct an analysis of a nonprofit to identify its current stage, and then provide recommendations on how it might advance along the stages and/or sustain the current stage. To accomplish this goal, the team conducted in-depth interviews with me, Matt, and Josh Lebowitz (Chair of the Chicago Board), and then poured over our policies, procedures, strategic plans, financials, marketing documents, and more. The result: a professional and insightful paper about Indego Africa that will help us pivot into the new year with even more focus and vigor. Thank you, Kellogg team!

Want to read the paper? Well, here you go:

"Indego Africa Life Stage Assessment," Leading Mission Driven Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management (Dec. 7, 2009)

- Ben

Blattman Asks: What Good is Aid?

Chris Blattman has an interesting post about aid's effectiveness. To summarize, he says that if we consider aid as a tool to improve health and mortality then surely it has been a success: witness the growing population in the developing world.

But rising population may help us understand why aid hasn't worked especially well to spur sustainable economic growth. Blattman points out that unless an economy industrializes (or discovers / extracts valuable natural resources), GDP won't bump up substantially. Even with newer and better technologies, a rise in the productivity of subsistence farmers will not be enough to raise these figures in a significant way. Industrialization, or a resource discovery, on the other hand, often will. Unless there's growth in manufacturing or service industries, a county with a growing population will not experience GDP per capita increases and may, in fact, experiences decreases.

To read this in the gloomiest neo-Malthusian light, aid that saves lives contributes to keeping the rest of a society poor. Unless, of course, aid helps a country to effectively industrialize, which it typically doesn't. Here's an article from the Miami Herald highlighting some of the problems of a rising population for families in Africa.

What to make of this? Blattman posted this as a very preliminary idea and welcomes feedback. I agree with his conclusion that on humanitarian grounds aid has been something of a success--though he doesn't pose the "what about compared to other, private-sector efforts by NGOs, etc.?" question. Whether traditional development aid could ever overcome its inherent problems and spur industrial growth is a very different question.

- Karol

One Laptop Per Child in Rwanda; 50,000 Programmers To Be?

The Economist reports here on the Rwandan government's efforts to get affordable and durable laptops into the hands of over a million children within the next few years. Here is a related story.

The goal is to create a cadre of tech savvy citizens who will help spark entrepreneurial activity and pull Rwanda into middle-income status by the year 2020. This is a hugely ambitious goal and it would be wonderful if the government is successful.

The experiment provides an interesting opportunity to consider trade-offs: the government will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy these computers which are being developed by the One Laptop per Child NGO. This money could, of course, be used to upgrade hospitals or build medical clinics in rural areas. It could be used to build irrigation systems, reclaim threatened natural habitats, or improve roads and bridges. Why buy computers; isn't that something of a luxury in a poor country?

In this case, the government has a target of training 50,000 computer programmers by 2020. The government might be making a good bet that thousands of computer programmers is what the country needs, but recognize that it is a bet. Maybe Rwandans would be better off learning agronomy for example, or finance.

Time will tell if this effort leads to the kinds of outcomes (talented computer programmers) that the government desires. Meanwhile, as the story in The Economist points out, small businesses will spring up around the country to repair the machines, and provide other related services. The children who have access to the computes will have the wonderful experience of active learning as a supplement to their traditional education. Who knows what cool ideas and businesses this will spark. . .

- Karol

(The photo is from the One Laptop per Child website).

MEGA Holiday Sale!

DON'T MISS THE MOST EMPOWERING FAIR TRADE SALE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Indego Africa is excited to offer up to 25% off of its world-renowned Rwandan handicrafts.*

Plus, for Social Enterprising readers, an additional $10 off on all purchases over $70 (just use the code IA-SUBSCRIBER-7010 at checkout).

Combine this with FREE SHIPPING on all purchases over $50, and you've got one amazing social enterprise deal!

SHOP NOW!

As always, 100% of the profits from handicraft sales go directly back to the artisans for our ground-breaking training programs in entrepreneurship, financial management, literacy and computers.

*Offer good only through December 19th. Must order by December 17th for products to arrive before Christmas via regular shipping (Dec. 19th for expedited shipping). Photo is of Esperance Mukanzi, a master weaver at Covanya.

Double Your Impact: New Gift Matching Campaign!

I'm proud to announce the launch of Indego Africa's 2009 Entrepreneurship Gift Matching Campaign! Through the generosity of several anonymous donors, every dollar up to $10,000 donated to Indego Africa by December 31 will be matched one-to-one and invested in the new Indego Africa Entrepreneurship Program (IAEP) in Rwanda. The IAEP strives to transform our cooperative partners into business-savvy and confident entrepreneurs through training in a range of skills, from business planning and accounting to pricing and marketing. If you've been considering a year-end donation, this is the perfect opportunity to both double your gift and launch a ground-breaking program.

Remarkable women are at the very foundation of Indego Africa. This Matching Campaign is inspired by the memory of Olga Mitro, my Grandmother, one of Indego Africa’s original and biggest supporters. While her story is similar to those of the women in our cooperatives (see below), as a hard-working and talented American, she had the opportunity to overcome her life’s obstacles. In her honor and with your help, Indego Africa will help deliver the same opportunities to women in Rwanda.

CLICK HERE TO INVEST IN INDEGO AFRICA

Thank you for your support!

- Matt

*Olga Mitro always found a way to share some of her meager income

to help support Indego Africa's activities. An entrepreneur in her own right, Olga was raised in the rural U.S. without electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. She spent her childhood days fetching water for the family and attending a rudimentary one-room grammar school, even learning to sew on a manual foot-powered sewing machine (like those at Cocoki). At age 14, she was forced to drop out of school and find a job cooking for others in order to support her family. Her lifetime of hard work, sacrifice and determination eventually paid off for her own children and grandchildren who were able to go to college and lead very successful lives.

Rwanda: Looking Towards Westminster

News out of Rwanda of two interesting political developments.

First, the country has restored diplomatic ties with France. Relations frayed in 2006 when a French judge cited President Paul Kagame and other high ranking officials for being complicit in the assassination of former President Juvenal Habyarimana. As France retains a strong presence in Africa this is an important relationship. Economically, it may be useful for Rwanda to build on its own francophone tradition (at least since post-WW1) and try to provide services for the French market.

Second, in a move that may be irritating to the French, Rwanda joined the Commonwealth -- a group of former British colonies. With this addition, the Commonwealth now has 54 member states. Though many people in Rwanda speak French, Kagame is an Anglophone and has, over the past 15 years, moved the country away from reliance on France. This successful bid adds to the re-orientation of national priorities. Rwanda was not a shoe-in for the Commonwealth: there was concern over the country's human rights record. Here's another story talking about what these developments might mean: "the day the tiny central African nation came out of the diplomatic wilderness."

Btw, Gerard Prunier, author of Africa's World War and The Rwandan Crisis: History of a Genocide has an interesting interpretation of French responses to Mr. Kagame's pro-British stance in the latter book.

- Karol