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Social
enterprise the way forward
Hlekweni
Training Centre
September 04, 2011
Social enterprise if the latest approach to rural development pioneered
by Hlekweni Training Centre in Matebeleland South.
The Society
of Friends ("Quaker")-run rural training centre has
been teaching vocational skills to rural people since 1967, with
a focus on sustainable agriculture and practical skills such as
building, carpentry and garment making.
The economic
challenges facing people from rural areas nee a new approach, according
to Hlekweni director, Craig Barnett.
"A lot
of international aid agencies' work in Zimbabwe has encouraged
a culture of dependency. Instead of offering handouts we are trying
to encourage a culture of enterprise among rural Zimbabweans, through
practical training combined with entrepreneurship skills. The small
business that Hlekweni graduates start up will be more effective
at creating employment and meeting rural communities' development
needs than any amount of hand outs".
A "social
enterprise", according to Hlekweni's approach, is a
small business which not only provides livelihood, but also meets
that real needs of a particular community, for employment, food
and other essential services and goods.
One recent Hlekweni
graduate, Jabulani Ndlovu, explained how this worked for him after
studying agriculture at Hlekweni in 2009.
At the age of
just 21 Ndlovu, now has a thriving agriculture and horticulture
business on 50 hectares of land. Used his Hlekweni training to produce
large yields of maize, beans and butternut and to raise a herd of
136 cattle, creating a good income for his family and jobs for local
people. But Ndlovu also says that his aim is not just to make money
for himself.
"My responsibility
is to make sure that people in my area have enough maize and vegetables
to eat," he told a recent group of Hlekweni trainees. "To
me, business is about doing something that is good for you, and
at the same time it is good for your community."
Effective business
planning is the key to success according to Hlekweni's approach.
"Far too many people try to start a business without any real
planning or financial forecasting", says Barnett.
"At Hlekweni
we always say that 'failing to plan is planning to fail'
which is why we have created a business competition to encourage
all our trainees to develop a sound business plan before they graduate."
The Hlekweni
business competition offers a cash award of US$500 for the best
business plan produced by one of their trainees. The award provides
that winner with start-up capital to make their business happen,
but more importantly it is an incentive to all trainees to develop
high quality business plans they can use to encourage investors
and micro-lenders to support their enterprises.
The most recent
winner of the Hlekweni business prize is Sindisiwe Madebe from Bulawayo.
Madebe studies
early childhood development at Hlekweni from January to June 2011.
Her enterprise, calls "Smart Charts", produces learning
charts for pre-schools based on pictures that local children recognise
from their environment.
"When
I was doing visits to pre-schools as part of my training at Hlekweni,
I noticed that most of the charts they used came from overseas,
and don't show what life is like for Zimbabwean children,"
said Madebe. "My charts help children to learn counting and
reading using pictures with which they are familiar."
"This
is a great example of a successful Social Enterprise," said
Barnett. "It is using business principles to spot a gap in
the market for a local product that meets a real need of the community.
We are proud that we have the opportunity to empower young Zimbabweans
entrepreneurs like Sindisiwe."
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