Marli Kasdan
Country: Kigali, Rwanda
Organization: Hands of Mothers
Overall, my internship experience with Hands of Mothers (HOM) was extremely rewarding for me. I learned a lot about development at the local level though the lenses of women’s empowerment in business, capacity building, and project sustainability.
Location / Country: Kigali, Rwanda
Organization: Hands of Mothers
Kasdan: "Overall, my internship experience with Hands of Mothers (HOM) was extremely rewarding for me. I learned a lot about development at the local level though the lenses of women’s empowerment in business, capacity building, and project sustainability. In addition, I feel that my work with HOM centered on deliverables and impact to our program participants. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the three cooperatives that HOM supports: Twiyubake, Baho, and Ejo Hazaza. I appreciate and recognize the many challenges they face, and I think that the HOM summer team was able to lay the groundwork for a sustained upward trajectory for each cooperative. My hope is that our team’s focus on capacity building through a series of trainings and workshops and our emphasis on promoting sustainable income generation has put in place the foundation for each cooperative to become independent from HOM and sustainable in the long run.”
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Hands of Mothers
“HOM worked with three women’s cooperatives in Kigali, Rwanda:
Baho: raises kuroiler hens and sells eggs
Twiyubake: makes hand-crafted leather sandals
Ejo Hazaza: makes hand-crafted jewelry; applied for a grant to start a project to grow and sell oyster mushrooms”
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Deliverables and Impact to Program Participants
“During the internship, my deliverables and impact on program participants mainly focused on my work with the women in the cooperatives that HOM supports. Throughout the summer I ran a series of trainings and workshops along with my team members in order to help the women in the cooperatives improve their record keeping skills, sales skills, cooperative management and organization, and cooperative accountability structure. “
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Conclusion
“I thoroughly enjoyed my internship experience with Hands of Mothers in Kigali this summer, and I hope that I had a positive impact on the women we worked with and HOM. I gained valuable field work experience this summer, and I want to extend my most sincere thank you to Jerry and Yunie Blakeley for the fellowship.”
Ankit Grover
Country: Zimbabwe
Organization: TechnoServe
My summer experience as a Blakeley Fellow working with TechnoServe and the African Agriculture Fund (AAF) was nothing less than a “have-it-all-at-once” opportunity. In my ten weeks in Zimbabwe, I was afforded the chance to delve deep into each of my interest areas – small and medium enterprise development, private equity, business strategy and impact investing.
Location / Country: Zimbabwe
Organization: TechnoServe
GROVER: "It is often said, “You can have it all. Just not all at once.”
My summer experience as a Blakeley Fellow working with TechnoServe and the African Agriculture Fund (AAF) was nothing less than a “have-it-all-at-once” opportunity. In my ten weeks in Zimbabwe, I was afforded the chance to delve deep into each of my interest areas – small and medium enterprise development, private equity, business strategy and impact investing. ”
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About TechnoServe and TAF
“TechnoServe, whose mission is to find business solutions to poverty by connecting farmers to financial markets, recruits Fellows (or Volunteer Consultants) to work on short-term assignments in developing countries with high impact opportunities. As a Fellow, I was drafted to work with AAF’s Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) (managed by TechnoServe) in preparing a business plan, market strategy and financial projections for a Zimbabwean agribusiness company in the sesame crop value chain. TAF supports AAF’s portfolio companies in improving linkages between smallholder farmers (SHFs) and the companies, to increase local household incomes and enhance food security in communities where the Fund invests. This lays the foundation for sustainable long-term growth and developmental impact for both the portfolio partner and the community it benefits. “
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The Experience:
“It is one thing to study value chains and another to actually start from the base of the pyramid and follow the trail of the grain. A thorough analysis of the sesame business required engagement with SHFs on the ground, away from the hustle and bustle of Harare. In late July, I had the opportunity to travel to one of the remotest and most water-stressed villages in Zimbabwe, some hundred miles from the capital. I had the chance to study first- hand the various predicaments from the farmers, as well as brainstorm some quick-fix solutions for their problems. My education in agronomy came full circle when I could finally validate and tie the smallholders’ income statements to the financial model I was preparing.“
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Conclusion
“My biggest takeaway from my fellowship is to never discount the power of the value chain. It is what drives synergies in achieving developmental impact, and without it, no business can remain sustainable in the long term. I'm grateful to the Blakeley Foundation for affording me this opportunity and look forward to helping the Foundation accomplish its objectives in the future.”