EBLI's co-facilitaors of business training, Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, visited more young mothers in business today, focusing on the Mahina and Bugarika neighborhoods of Mwanza, Tanzania. While one of these was a follow-up from an earlier visit conducted April 2016, the other two were new business visits. 

To reiterate, the objective of this field visit was to (1) see the state of young mothers’ businesses, (2) provide coaching to help young mothers generate increased profit, and (3) understand the current life condition of young mothers in business. All four young mothers visited today are self-employed.

At each place of business, the young mother completed a questionnaire regarding the health of her business, and together with Michael and Lucy, listed a number of actionable commitments to improve business operations. One copy of these commitments was left with the young mother, and the other copy remained with Michael and Lucy. This way, in follow-up visits, each knows exactly what was agreed upon as necessary to better the health of the business. 

The first visit was with Mariam and Nuru (not pictured as she was off serving customers), two sisters who graduated from EBLI computer literacy and business training in 2013. Together, Mariam and Nuru operate a small food catering business, focused mainly on taking lunch orders from local construction sites and then delivering a hot meal to the workers. Combined, they estimate monthly earnings of TZS 360,000 (USD 164.76) before expenses. While this number exceeds the national average for a Tanzanian, the business is challenged by inconsistent if not intolerable payment practices by the construction workers. EBLI has seen firsthand the unique challenges that women - especially young women - face in both employment or self-employment, often the victims of harassment or abuse by men. In the case of Mariam and Nuru, the customers bully them and refuse to pay on time, forcing these two young mothers to wait up to one week to get paid for their work, often with money missing. Michael and Lucy are currently working with Mariam and Nuru to explore alternate business ventures they may pursue in light of the challenges facing the present business. 

The second visit was with Suzan, a young mother who graduated in the very first batch of EBLI computer literacy and business training. Suzan manages three businesses: food catering/restaurant, grocery stand, and a hair salon. This was a follow-up visit to check on the progress of Suzan's operations. Since the last visit, Suzan has started keeping detailed records of income and expenses for two of her businesses. In analyzing these records, Michael and Lucy were able to pinpoint the more profitable and therefore lucrative sides of the business, which Suzan should focus on. When busy, Suzan's food catering/restaurant business can earn her TZS 35,000 (USD 16.02) in profit in one day. If successfully able to secure tenders five days per week, this would generate Suzan TZS 700,000 (USD 320.37) per month in profit, a truly tremendous accomplishment. The hair salon has yet to fully take-off, as Suzan plans to seek additional training on hair and beauty so that she can meet all of the customer's needs.

The third and final visit was with Martha, a young mother who graduated from EBLI computer literacy and business training this past May. She has only recently begun cooking and selling vitambua, which lacks a proper English translation, but is a morning snack or form of bites often purchased by students while walking to school. For the time being, Martha sets up her small charcoal stove near an existing local restaurant, capitalizing on the the customer traffic that already frequents that establishment. Since she is in the beginning stages, there is nothing but opportunity ahead for Martha, and Michael and Lucy are working with her to outline her goals and the steps necessary to reach them. At present Martha earns about TZS 60,000 per month (USD 27.46) from this small business. 

Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, co-facilitaors of business training, continue to visit young mothers in business. On 2 August 2016, they followed-up  with two young women, Jackline and Mariam, to see how their businesses are progressing since the last business visit in April 2016. 

Once again, the objective of this field visit was to (1) see the state of young mothers’ businesses, (2) provide coaching to help young mothers generate increased profit, and (3) understand the current life condition of young mothers in business. Both young mothers visited today are self-employed.

At each place of business, the young mother completed a questionnaire regarding the health of her business, and together with Michael and Lucy, listed a number of actionable commitments to improve business operations. One copy of these commitments was left with the young mother, and the other copy remained with Michael and Lucy. This way, in follow-up visits, each knows exactly what was agreed upon as necessary to better the health of the business. 

Jackline graduated from EBLI in the second batch of 2015 (eighth batch overall), and she co-runs several businesses with her siblings, including: the production and sale of clay flower pots, sewing children's clothing, a fruit and vegetable garden, home goods shop (e.g. rice, beans, water, toilet paper), and a small restaurant. Combined, these business generate millions of Tanzanian Shillings per month in revenue, or more than USD 137 per day. This is quite impressive considering the average Tanzanian earns just USD 2.19 per day. 

Mariam joined the pilot EBLI Hisa saving and loaning group in early 2015, and used the system to open and run her own hair salon. She continues to generate at least USD 70 in profit per month, but her business is far from reaching its full potential, limited mostly by being located in a very quiet, sparely populated neighborhood. Thus, Michael and Lucy are working closely with Mariam to increase customer foot traffic by, for example, offering a discounted price during typically slow days, advertising in the neighborhood with signage and flyers, or even relocating her business less than one kilometer from its present location. Additionally, Michael and Lucy spoke with Mariam about the possibility of training other young women in the trade of hair and beauty, allowing Mariam to offset slow work days by having paying students learn from her how to do hair care while at the same time affording her additional income. 

Today, EBLI continued ​visiting young mothers in business who previously completed EBLI computer literacy and business training. You can read about the first business visit as well. 

The objective of this field visit was to (1) see the state of young mothers’ businesses, (2) provide coaching to help young mothers generate increased profit, and (3) understand the current life condition of young mothers in business. A mixture of young mothers who are employed and self-employed were visited. Co-facilitators of business training, Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, conducted this field visit.

At each place of business, the young mother completed a questionnaire regarding health of her business. Additionally and when possible, customers were also interviewed. Specific young mothers visited include: Suzan (runs her own small restaurant, food catering business, food stand, and hair salon), Maria (runs here own hair salon), and Magdalena (employed in a hair salon).

Across the five young mothers visited today, they earn on average TZS 127,000 per month or roughly USD 59.07 (exchange rate: 2150).

Most recently we have been visiting the homes of 43 young mothers currently studying computer literacy and who will later enter into business skills training at EBLI. Now, our attention has turned to ​visiting young mothers in business who previously completed EBLI computer literacy and business training.

The objective of this field visit was to (1) see the state of young mothers’ businesses, (2) provide coaching to help young mothers generate increased profit, and (3) understand the current life condition of young mothers in business. A mixture of young mothers who are employed and self-employed were visited. Co-facilitators of business training, Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, conducted this field visit.

At each place of business, the young mother completed a questionnaire regarding health of her business. Additionally and when possible, customers were also interviewed. Specific young mothers visited include: Annastazia (employed in a shop that sells local handcrafts), Asha (cooks and sells porridge), Jackline (makes and sells clay flower pots, sews children’s clothing, and runs a vegetable garden), Mariam (runs her own hair salon), and Berina (employed in a hotel and cooks food at a local primary school).

Across the five young mothers visited today, they earn on average TZS 152,000 per month or roughly USD 70.70 (exchange rate: 2150) which is above the average monthly wage for a Tanzanian. 

​Monitoring and evaluation was conducted in the form of a field visit to the homes of the final four young mothers in Batch 9 who are currently studying computers and will later enter into business training. You can also read about the first, second, third and fourth round of home visits. This concludes home visits for the young mothers in Batch 9.

The objective of this field visit was (1) to understand where each young mother lives to help communication, (2) to see firsthand their life condition, (3) to build relationship among the young mothers, and (4) request the cooperation of parents/guardians in ensuring that each young mother arrives each day to study computers and business.

Co-facilitators of business training, Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, conducted this field visit. Specific young mothers visited include: Khadija, Eva, Levina and Anagrace. At each home, Michael and Lucy sat with the parents and reiterated the aforementioned objectives, and took a family photo.

As we talked about here and here, we have been conducting field visits for monitoring and evaluation of our work at EBLI. Specifically, we have been visiting the homes of young mothers who are currently studying computers and will eventually enter into business training.

To reiterate, the objective of this field visit was (1) to understand where each young mother lives to help communication, (2) to see firsthand their life condition, (3) to build relationship among the young mothers, and (4) request the cooperation of parents/guardians in ensuring that each young mother arrives each day to study computers and business.

Today's home visits took place across several neighborhoods of Mwanza, including Uhuru, Isamilo, Nyashana, Mji Mwema, Kirumba, Bwiru and Pasiansi. Once again Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, co-facilitators of business training, led these field visits. In total, eleven girls were visited, including: Latifa, Khadijah, Lucy, Noela, Habiba, Matilda, Agnes, Monica, Neema, Aurea and Christina. You may view photos from our visit in the gallery below.

One of the core EBLI initiatives for 2016 is to conduct regular field visits for monitoring and evaluation. This will help us gauge the efficacy of our projects and make improvements to better serve our beneficiaries. 

Today we visited the homes of 11 young mothers who have recently begun studying computers and will later enter into business training. The objective of this field visit was (1) to understand where each young mother lives to help communication, (2) to see firsthand their life condition, (3) to build relationship among the young mothers, and (4) request the cooperation of parents/guardians in ensuring that each young mother arrives each day to study computers and business.

Michael Leen and Lucy Metha, co-faciltiators of business training, carried out this field visit. Specific young mothers visited include: Naomi, Asante, Happyness, Farida, Martha, Hapines, Neema, Jenipha,  Debora and Happyness. At each home, Michael and Lucy sat with the parents and reiterated the aforementioned objectives, and took a family photo. Check out the gallery below for a selection of photos from our visit.