2017 ANNUAL REPORT
“With all the core values, attributes and the soft skills acquired from WAVE, I’ve been able to secure a position as an Assistant Logistics Manager at Hans & Rene with a satisfying salary. I look forward to continuing to improve myself and to more achievements in the nearest future.
Taiwo Yusuf Olatunji WAVE Alumnus
i | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
Letter from the CEO
4
Letter from the Board Chair
6
WAVE Model
7
WAVE Impact
9
Employers by Sector
10
Employer Testimonials
12
Alumni Story: Raflat’s Remarkable Leap
14
2017 Highlights
15
2018 Plans
17
Financials
18
WAVE Team
21
Employer Partners
22
Funders
23
Strategic Partners
24
To our Volunteers
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | ii
LETTER FROM THE CEO Dear Friends and Partners, In a year of change, we knew that we needed to go slow to go far. After launching 3 new academies and growing our staff strength by 50% in 2016, we needed to design an organization to support our model and the team behind it. We restructured to build a layer of department leads who support admissions, training and career services teams, and functional leads to drive indirect impact programs and support services. We transitioned from consensus-driven decision-making to a nimbler, more inclusive system. We articulated unwritten policies and culture codes to strengthen onboarding for new team members. Responding to feedback from our dispersed team and board about the need to “over-communicate” the many changes, we prioritized internal communications. We welcomed Nenna Onyewuchi, the new WAVE Board Chair who is leading a similar structuring process within our board. Adjusting to this new WAVE of change (pun intended ;)) where the HOW became even more important than the WHY and the WHAT in most cases was not easy. But we stuck with it. Now we are poised to reap the dividends. We are particularly thankful to our funders who supported capacity building: from leadership trainings, to teamwide professional development, to executive coaching, to conference and workshop participation. Thank you for continuing to invest in the people behind the scenes. 2017 was also the year we embraced the proverb, “to go far, we need to go together.” We prioritized testing partnerships for scale. This included training representatives from our government and nonprofit replicators who will go on to teach more youth. We continued learning from our government partnerships with Lagos State. Working with the Ministry of Wealth
1 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
Creation & Employment we trained over 200 unemployed youth in Lagos. Through the Office of the Special Adviser on Education’s ReadySetWork program 2000 graduating tertiary students underwent a train-the-trainer program supported by 200 volunteer facilitators. We partnered with Mercy Corps to test secondary schools as a distribution channel for our employability skills curriculum, training 65 teachers in Lagos and Kano states on our soft skills curriculums. Our partnerships have been the result of the growing recognition of the skills gap that hinders our youth from qualifying for entry-level jobs. To ensure our partnerships deliver on our impact and scale goals, we positioned our academies as R&D innovation labs working to further simplify our model for replication.
“We appreciate counting you among our partners who believe that young people deserve opportunities beyond the limitations of traditional education and employer mindsets.” Misan Rewane WAVE CEO and Founder
The entire #teamWAVE is dedicated to our work - each team member played a role in the year’s successes. We appreciate counting you among our partners who believe that young people deserve opportunities beyond the limitations of traditional education and employer mindsets. Thanks to you, I know we have a chance to close this opportunity divide for thousands of young people in West Africa. Thank you once again for your unfailing support. Yours truly,
Misan Rewane WAVE CEO and Founder
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 2
LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
“Your continued support enables us to help young people transform their lives. I hope you will be as moved and inspired as I am by the alumni stories we share in this report.” Nnenna Onyewuchi WAVE Board Chair
Dear Friends and Supporters, In my first letter as Board Chair, I would like to share my own WAVE story. When I first met the CEO, I was impressed by the passion with which she talked about the WAVE mission. Even more, I was immediately convinced that I must play some part in this critical work of tackling youth unemployment. Since I joined the board in 2015, that conviction is reaffirmed every time I meet a WAVE alumnus and hear their story. Beyond the skills they learn, they come away from WAVE with a renewed confidence and sense of agency. That belief in their capability and determination to use it constructively, in my view, is WAVE’s most powerful and lasting impact. Your continued support enables us to help young people transform their lives. I hope you will be as moved and inspired as I am by the alumni stories we share in this report. 2017 has been an exciting and demanding year. The economic environment remains difficult, creating challenges for both WAVE trainees and employer partners. However, with your help, we have continued our core mission of teaching young people the skills they need to get a good job and connecting them to employment opportunities. This year, we trained 867 students and connected 34% of them to employers.
3 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
We piloted a replication initiative; trialling partnerships to deploy our training through non-governmental organisations, for profit companies and Government. By adding this indirect model to our strategy, we reach more young people, increasing the supply of work ready youth more cost effectively. We began training secondary school teachers to integrate WAVE content into their schools’ curricula, further expanding our reach. Working with partners, we also entered two new geographies, Kano State and Imo State. We continued to innovate, developing a first iteration of competency-based tools to help us automate matching, with the aim of improving placement and retention rates. Thank you for your support and encouragement. You were an invaluable partner in 2017. As we look forward, we are excited and inspired to work with you to continue to empower young people to change their lives and create the future they want. Yours truly, Nnenna Onyewuchi WAVE Board Chair
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 4
WAVE Model SCREEN
We identify willing, self-motivated underserved youth who are willing to learn and determined to succeed.
TRAIN
We train them in industry-relevant skills that employers seek, effective communication and problem-solving
We fight unemployment in West Africa by teaching young people the skills they need to get a good job, start a successful career, and build a brighter future.
MATCH
We match work-ready youth with our growing network of employer partners.
SUPPORT
We provide post-training support through monthly workshops and mentorship.
5 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 6
2017 Impact Replication and Movement Building
867
334
TOTAL YOUTH TRAINED
TRAINERS
3,185
TRAINED BY WAVE
2,318
TRAINED BY REPLICATORS
7 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
WAVE Academies
357
JOB PLACEMENTS ACROSS
125
EMPLOYERS
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 8
Employer Testimonials “There is a gap between people who have certificates and actual suitability for the job. We did a lot of interviews and found a lot of discepancies between CV and the person in front of us. Someone recommended WAVE and I was thrilled with the result.”
Top Employers (By Sector) 3%
18%
Others
Agriculture and environmental services
35%
8%
Hospitality (Restaurant)
Medical/Health and Wellness
10%
Hospitality (Hotel)
Rome Ighrakpata Co-Founder, Ryder Lounge
“What I loved about WAVE was the fact that they have pre-selected people and trained them on the skills that they need to thrive. Once I met the WAVE alumni, I didn’t have to select them. Everyone I met was perfectly packaged.” Ogonna Arumemi Founder and CEO, Minibees Bakery
26% Retail
9 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 10
“WAVE has really Your continued helped equipping supportinenables us me withyoung the basic to help people skills I might need transform their lives. in doingyou mywill jobbe well.” I hope as moved and inspired as I am by the alumni stories we share in this report. Nnenna Onyewuchi WAVE Board Chair
Alumni Story: Rafiat’s Remarkable Leap:
From Earning $20 to $160 per Month Despite graduating from university, Rafiat struggled financially, as she only earned less than $20 per month. Rafiat found that formal education is not enough to be financially secure. Like more than 2 million youth in Nigeria, she was unemployed. Flash forward to a few years later and, Rafiat is now a sales manager at Ankara Express where she earns over $160 per month. At Ankara Express, a fabric wholesaler, Rafiat enjoys interacting with customers from abroad and offering them purchasing advice. Rafiat shares, “I never knew the names of Ankara fabrics, I never knew how to bargain for a better deal and also distinguish quality fabrics from substandard ones.” Rafiat credits her newfound success to the vocational and soft skills training she received from WAVE. WAVE’s classes provided her with the chance to meet, learn, and collaborate with other WAVE trainees.
11 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
She enjoyed the mix of theoretical knowledge and hands-on learning, and in particular admired the scenario-based teaching. She adds, “I liked that we could relate everything to real life situations because it was scenario-based.” In the future, Rafiat aims to start a catering business as she is passionate about cooking. She wants her business to be two-pronged— to make the catering services affordable while providing work experience to fellow locals, just like WAVE. Rafiat notes, “WAVE has really helped in equipping me with the basic skills I might need in doing my job well, and also ways to deal with most work-related problems I might encounter on my job. The skills I have acquired at WAVE — such as time management, customer service relations, problem solving — will definitely go a long way in achieving my goal.”
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 12
2017 Highlights Building WAVE’s Internal Capacity Mapped WAVE alumni’s strengths and skillsets such as verbal communication and problemsolving skills through a skills identification system. Helped employers screen jobseekers at the pre- and post- interview stages by developing a job-matching algorithm, which matches our graduates’ competencies with the needs of employers. Developed a Code of Conduct manual and a Culture Handbook for WAVE employees to articulate previously-unwritten expectations of “how we work”.
Implemented an e-invoicing platform which reduced administrative burden of manual invoicing by 50% and improved revenue collection rates by 18-20%. The platform automatically notifies our employer partners of their outstanding balance which minimizes our administrative work. Assigned department leads for program-related functions to better support and mentor program staff.
Expanding Our Reach with Partnerships Engaged with the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment to train and connect youth across Lagos State to economic opportunities. We have graduated 259 young people across 7 communities and 75% of them are now employed or engaged in entrepreneurship. Partnered with Mercy Corps to train 25 secondary school teachers in Kano State (in partnership with the Kano State Government), 46 teachers in Lagos State (in partnership with the Teachers Establishment And Pensions Office (TEPO)) and 46 National Youth Service Corps (N.Y.S.C) corps members on how to administer soft skills training to secondary school students. Partnered with ANGUZ Partners to run a replication pilot (ANGUZ Academy) to screen, train and match youth in Imo state to entry-level work in South East Nigeria. Initial pilot graduated 20 young people with 30% now employed, and 10% in fulltime education. Participated in the Youth Empowered for Success (YES!) program through a partnership with the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and Mercy Corps. 238 young people graduated from YES! WAVE Academy, 60% of whom were females, with 28% now employed, in entrepreneurship or education.
13 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
Establishing WAVE’s Mark in the Sector Bagged 2nd place in the Global Sourcing Council’s 2017 3S Award for Empowerment, which honors small- and medium-sized social enterprises that create social, environmental, and economic impact. Recognized by Social Enablers as “one of the 100 most inspiring Social Innovations & Social Entrepreneurs around the world.” Won $200,000 from Dubai Expo 2020. This grant is being used for the development of our skills validation systems and compatibility matching engine, and further replication of the WAVE model. Participated in the Praxis nonprofit accelerator, culminating in a pitch at The Gathering, a conference for major Christian philanthropists, which yielded key relationships for future growth. Led a session titled “The Value of Hunger in Youth Employment Programming: Hiring for Attitude and Training for Skill” at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Summit (GYEO) in Washington, DC.
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 14
2018 Plans Refine our replication approach to ensure quality delivery Having piloted a few replication projects, in 2018 we will partner with experts to identify, design, and implement the right social replication model that will enable us solve the youth unemployment problem at a much larger and urgent scale.
Expand our replication partnerships We attribute the growth in our impact in 2017 to our partnerships for scale. In 2018, we will deepen these partnerships and develop new ones to help us train and connect more young people to income-transforming economic opportunities.
Continue refining compatibiltymatching efforts to improve employment outcomes� We will continue improving our job matching systems in order to match the right young people to the right jobs more cost-effectively. Influence the education-to-employment ecosystem to level the playing field for young people: At a national and regional level, we will advocate for changes in employers’ hiring practices to make them more inclusive of young people who lack the credentials or work experience but possess the competencies for the job. We will also advocate for changes in how young people are prepared for the 21st century workplace by educators.
15 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 16
Our Team
Financials Dollar Equivalent (USD)
Naira Amount (NGN)*
Earned Revenues Grant Revenues**
59,974 1,047,126
18,351,926 320,420,413
Total Revenues
1,107,099
338,772,339
Direct Program Costs Indirect Program Costs Overhead Costs
314,992 40,282 296,230
96,387,410 12,326,353 90,646,321
Total Costs
651,504
199,360,085
Direct program cost/graduate Total cost/graduate Net income
363 751
111,045 229,678
455,596***
139,412,254
*Exchange rate used is NGN 306 = USD 1 **Includes $225,000 that was distributed to other nonprofits for movement-building ***Includes $225,000 earmarked for 2018 disbursement to sub-grantees in Movement Building project
Board Members
Sola Adeola Board Member
Kathleen McGinn Board Member
Bryan Mezue Board Member
Nnenna Onyewuchi Board Chair
Support Team
REMARKS Earned Revenues
Earned from training, recruitment, and corporate training as well as other revenue generation opportunities
Grant revenues
Donations
Direct Program Costs
Costs of finding, screening, training, and placing youth
Indirect program costs
Cost of finding organizations who can replicate our model, cost of building a competency-based hiring framework, and cost of increasing buy-in around hiring for competencies instead of credentials
Overhead costs
All overhead costs involved in running our model
17 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
Misan Rewane Co-Founder and CEO
Somto Ogbonna Operations Lead
Noella Moshi Programs/ Expansion Lead
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 18
Our Team
Aissatou Gaye Finance
Osarume Akenzua Corporate Training
Ebehi Ugberaese Training Operations
Amina Lawal Training
Seun Okanlawon Finance
Kelvin Bob-Manuel Communications & Alumni Affairs
Salma Sasu Support Services & Alumni Affairs
Chito Umeh Employer Partnerships
Ololade Kolawole Business Intelligence
Christian Adegor Training Operations
Ifeanyi Okafor Training Operations
Jide King Training
19 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
Kike Akintoye Training Operations
Andrea Idhegbo Training
Adebowale Ajakaiye Training
Frank Okhions Training
Nicolas Akposibruke Oluwaseun Oshoniyi Replication Career Services
Anthonette Okere Career Services
Toluwani Aina Career Services
Rolake Adeniyi Career Services
Taiwo Oni Admissions
Tobi Asubiojo Admissions
Adewale Adebowale Admissions
Ruth David Admissions
Samuel Ihonde Admissions
Fiyinfoluwa Ariyo Admissions
Ademola Odunuga Admissions
Tosin Adesanya Support Services
Collins Uduh Support Services
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 20
Employer Partners
21 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
Funder Partners
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 22
Strategic Partners Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment Lagos State Office of the Special Adviser on Education
To our volunteers who attended a networking class session to coach trainees, shared their stories and lessons learned, taught a class, referred a jobseeker or employer: We thank you for the gifts of your time and talent, and we treasure your investment in young people today.
23 | 2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT
2017 WAVE ANNUAL REPORT | 24
waveacademies.org info@waveacademies.org