I M P A C T
REPORT 2016 2017
ACCELERATING IMPACT IN ETHIOPIA THROUGH DIGITAL & SOCIAL INNOVATION
Kavli Trust and Reach for Change Impact Report 2016-2017
Bezawit Worku runs tibeb.net, which delivers online and offline leadership development programs for women. She was a 2016 Digital Accelerator Participant and though she was not selected onto the 2017 Incubator, she has made great strides in developing her social enterprise since finishing the program. Many other educational and leadership training programs have approached Beza to have their programs featured on tibeb.net. Her initiative was also featured in national news several times in 2017.
Kavli Trust and Reach for Change: Accelerating development through digital innovation in Ethiopia In 2016, Kavli Trust and Reach for Change joined hands with the mission to transform lives in the country by merging the power of digital innovation with that of social entrepreneurship. Though the social entrepreneurship sector in Ethiopia is quite new, it has already shown to be a critical catalyst in driving change and impact in the society. Our objective was to find and support high potential digital social enterprises and innovators who could improve the lives of children, youth and women in Ethiopia. By setting the right supports in place that enable social enterpreneurs to thrive, we were able to support 32 ambitious digital innovators to develop and impact the lives of more than 6000 children, youth and women along the way. Besides organisational funding, the social entrepreneurs benefited from our Accelerator and Incubator Programs that provided them with intensive training and mentorship in areas such as finance, marketing and business planning. The social entrepreneurs identified in this program have been implementing various social innovations to strengthen women, youth and children’s social and/or economic prospects and in just 2 years have already demonstrated promising success. Their initiatives have empowered high school students; improved emotional and physical health; improved access to education; enhanced parenting skills; improved the academic performance of students by creating the opportunity to network in 02
education tutoring and coaching, and prepared students for exams; lessened health risks of pregnant women by creating a platform for exchange of opinions; created job opportunities and improved livelihoods; provided access to health information; inspired girls at secondary schools to be interested in information technology fields of study; and others. In addition to empowering social entrepreneurs, the collaboration helped to develop the Ethiopia social startup ecosystem through the Ethiopia Social Entrepreneurship Forum which culminated in the East Africa Social Enterprise Conference. The partnership between Kavli Trust and Reach for Change has proven to be an innovative collaboration that both complements and challenges traditional approaches. We invite you to read about the impact this incredible journey has achieved and to be inspired by the momentum and potential that Ethiopian social entrepreneurship holds.
Kavli Trust and Reach for Change Impact Report 2016-2017
Our Impact
Results from 2016 & 2017
32
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS gained access to Reach for Change’s Accelerator Program.
Each received: A 40,000 ETB grant Training in: > rapid prototyping & testing > financial, business and impact modeling > pitch & presentation
The social entrepreneurs that participated in the Accelerator Program rated the Accelerator as being effective in developing their business, technical and other necessary skills needed to establish and operate a sustainable venture. It also boosted their confidence and determination to implement their business ideas and bring social changes.
80% of participants
felt that the workshops helped them improve their ability to clearly and confidently pitch their idea
75% of participants
felt that the workshops helped them explain their business model more clearly
73% of participants This is what one of the participants had to say about the Accelerator Program:
felt that the workshops helped them with the overall development of their idea
“I went to Reach for Change with an idea that has been synthesizing in my head for over three years, with no fruition. Now, it has come to reality! This, apart from the business and social impact my idea will have, has created a sense of achievement and inspired a huge entrepreneurial spirit inside of me. I'm also starting another business as a "by product" of the inspiration.”
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LEADING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS from the Accelerator entered a prestigious Incubator Program
This is what one of the Incubatees had to say about the Program:
Each received: A 400,000 ETB grant Plus: > one-on-one coaching > access to social impact measurement tools & trainings > workshops: financial management, financial sustainability, fundraising, branding, communications & more > exclusive networking opportunities
“The capacity building helped me implement my project in an organized manner by developing a strong business model and business plan. Although I knew I had a good idea, without that support, I would not have known where to start.” - Nathan Mulugeta, 2016 Accelerator Participant and 2017 Incubator Winner
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Kavli Trust and Reach for Change Impact Report 2016-2017
Our Impact
Results from 2016 & 2017 Our 32 Digital Innovators have together impacted the lives of
5,891 children & youth
196 women
The children, youth and women impacted were supported across these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -
How did we accomplish all this? Flip through the next few pages to find out!
Transforming Ideas Into Impact the Accelerator With social entrepreneurship being such a new concept in Ethiopia, it was critical that our program provided opportunities for prospective social entrepreneurs - people with great ideas for creating social change, but who required support to test their ideas and develop solid prototypes, as well as help developing the groundwork for sustainable social businesses. In 2016, we ran an Accelerator Program for 32 social entrepreneurs, providing them with financial grants and social enterprise training to help them transform their ideas into real social impact. The Accelerator Program ran for a six week period and included intensive courses that helped them to develop and run a pilot to support children, youth and women in Addis Ababa.
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The modules covered:
Understanding the problem
Designing an effective solution
Rapid prototyping and testing
Business modelling
Financial and impact modelling
Pitching and presenting
Kavli Trust and Reach for Change Impact Report 2016-2017
Helping Change Take Root - the Incubator In addition to the Accelerator Program, the Kavli Trust and Reach for Change collaboration also took on the task of providing tailored support to 2 outstanding social entrepreneurs to help them replicate and scale their solutions to create lasting, widescale impact in Ethiopia. Through the Incubator Program, the social entrepreneurs received tailored strategic planning, one-on-one coaching and mentorship, customized workshops, exclusive networking opportunities and access to proven impact monitoring tools. The entrepreneurs were supported to explore a variety of financial models that would work for their particular organizations. These supports, among others, helped them to maximize their impact, plan for the financial sustainability of their organizations and begin to scale to reach exponentially more beneficiaries.
>Melat Habtemariam & Amanuel Lemma Organisation: Tatarri SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
Meet our Incubatees! >Nathan Mulugeta Organisation: kNANDs SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth The Problem Young people (particularly students in high schools, universities and colleges), find it difficult to gain income needed to cover basic needs and necessities because of school or university commitments. Currently, there are both online and offline platforms for job searching but they only provide long-term placements.
The Problem Currently it is difficult for fresh graduates to get jobs and get an entry into the types of organisations they would want to work for, as companies look for more experienced professionals. Graduates usually have high-level, general skill sets, but companies want specialists. For this reason, companies prefer professionals with at least a year of working experience. Currently graduates don’t have a platform to acquire these specialised skills. The Solution kNANDs created a web platform where companies can attract the kinds of interns they want, and graduates can intern at the companies that offer jobs they are interested in. Companies can have detailed requirements for the interns they want to hire so as to ensure they get the best fitting candidates. By interning at these companies, graduates and students get invaluable professional experience and build their networks thus increaing their chances of being offered permanent jobs.
The Solution Tatarri is a trusted online community for businesses and individuals to outsource their daily tasks. Tatarri provides young people with once off and short term income generating opportunities by letting individuals and businesses outsource tasks and chores they don’t have time to do, therefore connecting them to energetic and vetted young people who have what it takes to do those tasks for a reasonable and fair price.
Both Melat and Nathan in total supported
60
university students and new graduates to get internship and short term jobs.
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Kavli Trust and Reach for Change Impact Report 2016-2017
The impact our social entrepreneurs are creating: stories from the field [Impact Story]
Elias lands a job by gaining invaluable professional experience! Elias Assefa is a 2017 graduate from Addis Ababa Institute of Technology. As many recent graduates in Addis Ababa, he was very idle and was not earning any income months after he had graduated. In his words he said, “It felt frustrating to get no money and just stay at home watching TV and socializing everyday. This was very difficult especially since I am expected to contribute financially but instead I was asking my family for pocket money. Tatarri helped me to start getting quick cash by connecting me to busy people who needed help completing daily chores and tasks.” Elias started using Tatarri’s service to help him get temporary jobs to do and completed two tasks. While completing one of his tasks, he met with a Branch Manager at a company named Jupiter Trading. The Branch Manager liked how Elias carried himself when he interacted with the customer service team and asked him if he was interested in a permanent job with Jupiter Trading. Elias, was ecstatic, agreed and he gave him his CV together with Tatarri’s recommendation. Now, Elias is working at Jupiter Trading in his profession as a Technician.
2 Years of Accelerator & Incubator Support, A lifetime of Impact As we celebrate the success of this two-year collaboration and mark the end of a successful project, its impact will continue to improve lives for years and years to come. Although the Kavli Digital Innovators Program has come to a close, it opened the doors to unlimited potential in Ethiopia, started an unstoppable movement of passionate young digital innovators and brought together incredible organizations who support their work and are committed to improving and growing the social enterprise ecosystem throughout Ethiopia.
Building on Success Through our collaboration with Kavli Trust, we have seen the huge impact that digital social entrepreneurs can have in improving lives and the huge potential that remains unlocked in technology. Social entrepreneurship is a nascent sector in Ethiopia but it is generating increasing momentum, which we as Reach for Change would like to build on going forward. This collaboration has shown us how to effectively build up digital social enterprises and the type of capacity building support that propels them forward effectively. We intend to build on this by continuing to establish a strong platform for social change and development through our unique model, supporting high potential digital social enterprises throughout Ethiopia and cultivating the country’s digital startup ecosystem.
For us this is just the beginning, and we look forward to empowering more local heroes so they can impact more lives and communities in the years to come!
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For more information about this report, please email:
africa.communications@reachforchange.org