Building a sustainable future

A problem facing many NGOs, big and small involved in development is sustainability.  Indeed SCOPE discovered that sustainability was one of the biggest issues in running programs.

Therefore in 2008, SCOPE set-up a Business Development Services (BDS) program to work with beneficiaries of SCOPE programmes and with local youth, women and HIV/AIDS support groups from across all the constituencies in Kilifi.

The program works to provide these groups with the skills and support required to successfully start-up income-generating activities and reduce reliance on donor-funded programs.

Through a range of activities such as group trainings, outreaches and one-on-one counseling, SCOPE BDS and our beneficiaries are gradually seeing the fruits of all our efforts.

We work with a range other local NGO’s and State / Para-Statal organisations to provide marketing information and business resources to several groups.

Some of BDS highlights so far include:

• Training 23 HIV/AIDS support from across Kilifi on Business Management and Business start-up which has seen all groups start successful savings groups providing an exit for recipients for the SCOPE managed World Food Program Food Distribution.
• Twelve of our groups are now successfully generating income by producing eco-friendly charcoal, thus also helping prevent further eco-damage from charcoal production in Kilifi.
• Help start and train a Vision 2030 Youth network made up of plus 200 youth in Kaloleni District.  The Network is setting up four businesses around Coconut, Castor Oil and Art and have successfully applied for support from Constituency Development Fund to grow their business.
• SCOPE BDS work with Export Promotion Council (EPC) to link Groups with Businesses that posses potential export quality products such as Coconuts
• SCOPE BDS have set-up Savings groups with the 300plus Peer Educators SCOPE trained with USAID and Ministry of Health under the APHIA II project.  The savings scheme helps to ensure that the excellent Community Health and awareness work that these Peer Educators do, is sustained as the groups are strengthen and empowered.

Though we do charge a small amount for the services we provide – to increase engagement and ownership of the beneficiaries – SCOPE BDS is unfunded and we have faced many challenges, as indeed have our recipients, largely around travel funding.

However, since we started we have grown and there is now an employed staff member for the program and several volunteers.  The BDS team work closely with other SCOPE staff and programs, as well as other stakeholders and partners, to maximize the impact of BDS’s work.

For the future, we intend to extend our services to more groups and create further linkages to marketing opportunities in Kenya and abroad.

The plan is definitely to grow the program further, growing in tandem with the businesses of the Youth, Women and People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kilifi.