BASIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BOOK-KEEPING SKILLS TRAINING FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

MARY MWANIKI FOUNDATION
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BASIC BOOK-KEEPING SKILLS TRAINING PROPOSAL
Training for Self-Help Groups and Small Business Community in Kenya
16TH JULY 2010

CONTACT PERSON

RICHARD OCHIENG BONYO,
PROGRAMS MANAGER
P. O. BOX 16500-00620
NAIROBI, KENYA
EMAIL: info@marymwanikifoundation.org website: http://www.marymwanikifoundation.org



TRAINING BACKGROUND
Women and men with disabilities can and want to be productive members of society. In both developed and developing countries, promoting more inclusive societies and employment opportunities for people with disabilities requires improved access to basic education, vocational training relevant to labor market needs and jobs suited to their skills, interests and abilities, with adaptations as needed. Many societies are also recognizing the need to dismantle other barriers - making the physical environment more accessible, providing information in a variety of formats, and challenging attitudes and mistaken assumptions about people with disabilities.

Current Situation
There is no recent data on the situation of people with disabilities in Kenya. Some numbers are available, although these do not give an accurate picture of the number of disabled people living in the country. Applying the WHO recommended 10 per cent to today’s Kenyan population of approximately 36 million would indicate that there may be some 3 million disabled people. Many disabled people in Kenya, as in most developing countries in the world, live in poverty, have limited opportunities for accessing education, health, and suitable housing and employment opportunities.

Governmental support for people with disabilities
The Government of Kenya has adopted a number of laws and policies pertaining to people with disabilities, including their right to productive and decent work and basic services. The main ones are listed below.
1. The 1969 Constitution of Kenya outlaws discrimination on various grounds such as race, tribe and color; however, it does not refer to discrimination on the basis of disability.
2. The Proposed Constitution of Kenya (May 2010) still to be agreed and adopted on the 4th August 2010 Referendum, explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of health status and disability.
3. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2003, is a comprehensive law covering rights, rehabilitation and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. It creates the National Council of Persons with Disabilities as a statutory organ to oversee the welfare of persons with disabilities. The Law also requires that both public and private sector employers reserve 5 per cent of jobs for disabled persons.
4. The National Security Act, (Chapter 258, Laws of Kenya), mentions invalidity benefits for worker incapacitated before the established retirement age.
5. National Social Security Fund Act, 1965 (No. 5 of 1997), amended 2001, contains a provision which states that physical and mental disabilities shall not be considered as leading to work incapacity.
6. The Workmen’s Compensation Act, (Chapter 236, Laws of Kenya), recognizes disability but only where it has been acquired during and in the course of work.
7. Free Primary Education, 2003, crucial to the attainment of universal primary education, removes all levies that previously prevented children especially those from poor economic backgrounds from accessing education. The scheme has been extended to special education and schools for children with disabilities, through the provision of additional funding to meet the needs of children with disabilities in schools.
8. National Development Plan (2002- 2008), focused on strengthening vocational rehabilitation centers for people with mental and physical disabilities and affirmative action in areas of employment, vocational training and education.
9. Vision 2030 provides a long-term development framework and initiatives aimed at sustaining rapid economic growth and tackling poverty. The plan follows soon after the implementation of the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS), 2003-2007. Under Vision 2030, Kenya hopes to become a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030.


Training Project Justification
There are an estimated 3.6 million persons with disabilities in Kenya. Physically and/or mentally impaired persons constitute a major group of the most vulnerable poor in Kenya. A vast majority of persons with disabilities live in rural areas and many of them are small farmers who depend on the agricultural sector for food and livelihood security. Major causes of disability in Kenya include malnutrition caused by extreme poverty and food insecurity. In addition, more and more people are disabled by road or machine accidents due to various traffic-related factors including careless driving, poor roads, bad attitude of drivers and other road users. Other disabilities are due to occupational accidents in building and construction sites, mining grounds, violence and armed conflicts.

People with disabilities must confront major barriers to achieve food security and sustainable livelihoods. Dominant social and cultural biases make it doubly difficult for them to overcome these hurdles.

A large majority of country-level rehabilitation programmes for disabled persons do not give due attention to the specific needs of small farmers. Mary Mwaniki Foundation (MMF) has taken up the challenge of increasing awareness among policy decision-makers and the general public about the plight of persons with disabilities, particularly those with disabilities resulting from Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs). Pilot activities have been initiated to empower persons with spinal cord injuries and its related disabilities, including women, and make them economically self-reliant by developing their self-confidence and skills to become independent, small-scale entrepreneurs.

The Mary Mwaniki Foundation provides regional and country-level support for the implementation of the Kenya Disability Act, 2003 and the United Nations Declaration on Disability Rights. As part of these efforts, MMF’s regional office situated at Union Towers, 11th Floor along Moi Avenue in Nairobi endeavors to provide technical assistance and coordination in pilot project activities aimed at small-scale enterprise development by disabled persons and their self-help groups, based upon mushroom production, processing and marketing; biodiesel or green energy production and value chain addition; poultry husbandry; beading, ornament, jewelery and decoration; soap and shampoo making; market-stalls-based retailing; tailoring and dress-making and other functional vocational activities suitable for persons with disabilities. The Organization further seeks collaboration linkages with other service providers in providing technical assistance including provision of agro-processing technologies adapted to the needs of physically and mentally-disabled small-scale farmers to help them become rural small-scale entrepreneurs. Technical assistance is also sought in skills training and knowledge transfer required in order for the persons with disability to adapt to new lifestyles away from their former functionalities.

MMF promotes enterprise development by disabled persons in the Kenya, in collaboration with national government through its legitimate disability empowerment organs including the National Fund for the Disabled; National Council for Persons with Disability; Association of the Physically Disabled Persons of Kenya; United Disabled Persons of Kenya and the Ministry of Gender and Social Services – as an umbrella body. Linkages is also sought and developed between the Foundation and the international non-governmental organizations, development partners and self-help groups of persons with disabilities across Kenya through their regional bodies.

The Training Program
“Micro-Enterprise Development training of disabled” has been developed to assist MMF members and other disability support and planning organizations in the training of disabled persons on small-scale enterprise development and small business management. It applies the lessons learned from various similar interventions implemented by Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Ghana and Zambia and the FAO’s technical assistance on the project “Mushroom production training for disabled people” in northeast Thailand, as well as from the “Poverty alleviation through market generated rural employment” project that was jointly implemented with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Better known as Success Case Replication (SCR), the latter project tested a methodology to replicate successful experiences in village-level, micro-enterprise development by small farmers in eight Asian countries. This training program has therefore adapted the SCR methodology to the needs of Kenya’s persons with disabilities, with emphasis on persons with spinal cord injuries and paralysis. This training manual is a practical tool for pilot activities, by MMF and other interested Disability Planning Organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kenya and other developing countries to empower people with disabilities as part of the implementation of the Biwako Framework commitments. It provides an adapted SCR methodology, references and check-lists, and identifies resources for use by specialized training centers, village development workers and other trainers on self-employment of disabled persons as small-scale rural entrepreneurs.

Training Objectives
The objectives and priorities in training people with disabilities for enterprise development are:
1. To improve their daily living skills
2. To impart technical capabilities and capacities
3. To develop entrepreneurial skills and lifestyles
4. To establish a network and strategic partnerships for improved access to productive resources

Trainee selection procedure
The following selection criteria will guide the trainee selection process:

Identification of the candidates:
The names and addresses of persons with disabilities registered with the National Spinal Cord Injuries Centre and other Disability Planning Organizations in Kenya will be sought and all individuals in these data banks contacted either by way of short message service or direct phone calls. Radio and newspaper announcements will also be used to invite candidates for training on enterprise development. Information on training will be provided to disabled persons located in the remotest rural areas and who for unavoidable reasons may not be able to attend the planned training.

Pre-selection:
The disabled person’s age and type of disability shall then be verified. Ideally, the age should be between 19 and 35 years. Persons with multiple disabilities may have difficulties following a training course because of limited mobility and their capability for active participation must be verified. Candidates with basic literacy will also, generally speaking, find the training course more enjoyable and easier to understand; they are also more likely to succeed and, therefore, may be given priority.

Diversity of location:
Care will be taken to avoid market saturation. A diversity of locations for training in the same type of enterprise is necessary. Moreover, if trainees are selected from different locations, they will have the opportunity to replicate their enterprise and become trainers in their community.

Each candidate visited at home:
Trainers and project field staff shall seek to meet each candidate at his or her home. This will allow trainers to verify if the candidate has family and community support, as well as the financial and other material resources for establishing the new enterprise.

Verification of commitment:
Trainers will check the will and commitment of the trainees and their families to attend the training course. This is especially true when the trainee has to leave home to attend the training which may last for several days or even months depending on the trainees’ entry levels.

Verification of motivation:
Trainers and their host agencies will have to make sure that the candidates are highly motivated to learn about enterprise development and new skills.

Verification of availability:
Trainers must make sure that the candidate is capable, committed and ready to leave home to learn. In case of a person with multiple disabilities, a family member may have to accompany the trainee.

Final selection:
Trainers will then sit together and evaluate each candidate, decide whether or not a candidate should be selected, and justify their decision. This will ensure impartial and objective selection. Trainers must always keep in mind that the training is not only for enterprise development but should also serve as a re–education of the disabled towards their full integration as active and self-reliant participants in society. This is in fulfillment of MMF’s purpose statement of supporting persons with spinal injuries and physical disabilities towards fulfilled livelihoods.

Size of the training group
The number of trainees will depend on the number of trainers. A ratio of 5 to 1 or 10 to 1 has been shown to be successful. With only five or ten interns at maximum, it is possible for a trainer to better understand the physical, psychological and emotional needs of the trainees. The trainer should always keep in mind that the training programme is not only for enterprise development but also for self-motivation and confidence-building to ensure that the disabled person- turned entrepreneur can be an active and self-reliant participant in community development. And above all developmental needs of a disabled person be able to conquer disability in his/her mind.

Training & Skills Building Course Content
Small-scale enterprise development
1. Before setting up a small-scale enterprise
a. Deal with specific challenges
b. Choose the right business
c. Review market demand and the competition
d. Check seasonability
e. Decide on business size
f. Identify the location
g. Check availability of raw material
h. Identify funding
i. Review the market
j. Check feasibility before starting the enterprise
k. Check profit and loss (feasibility checklist)
l. Avoid common mistakes

2. Preparing to start the business: Basic and unavoidable steps
1. Secure funding
2. Open bank account
3. Identify precise location for the enterprise
4. Build or renovate the needed structure or building
5. Arrange necessary infrastructure
6. Request permits (if necessary)
7. Purchase and adapt necessary tools, equipment and assistive devices
8. Identify suppliers of raw material and consumables
9. Start production
10. Control quality
11. Devise marketing and sales strategies

3. Managing the business: A profit-making business
• Keeping clear records
• Verifying profit and loss
• Managing cash flow
! Purchase of raw material
! Payment for utilities (electricity, water, etc)
! Repair of broken equipment
! Payment for extra labor
! Repayment of the loan
! Replacement of tools and material.
• Maintaining tools, equipment and buildings
• Reviewing the market regularly
• Expanding the business wisely

Basic Book-Keeping Skills for Small Businesses
This course is intended to help micro-entrepreneurs to learn how to use their numeracy skills in improving their businesses. The course is designed to benefit semi-illiterate people in simple book-keeping and business management skills. It targets people with disabilities working either as sole-proprietors, partners, or self-help groups. Using experiential, participatory and Didactive lessons, the following contents are covered:
 Lesson 1: The Importance of Book-keeping
 Lesson 2: The use of symbols in book-keeping
 Lesson 3: Income and expenditure
 Lesson 4: The use of the cash book
 Lesson 5: Profit and loss
 Lesson 6: How to use the profit
 Lesson 7: Buying and selling on credit
 Lesson 8: Costing and pricing
 Lesson 9: Business Planning
 Lesson 10: Small Business Management

OUR MPs BLEEDING POOR UNEMPLOYED KENYANS.

In a move that is sure to cause outrage among Kenyans (and that takes us back to the origins of Mzalendo), Kenyan MP have unanimously approved the Akiwumi PSC report which recommends higher salaries and increased perks for MPs. It does not escape our attention that vote precedes the referendum vote in August and that the new constitution will eliminate tax-free allowances and arbitrary salary increases for MPs.

MP Walter Nyambati defended the review of the report recommendations, “saying the Commission increased the perks to ensure that the salaries of MPs are not reduced since the proposed Constitution declares null and void any law that exempts the allowances of MPs.”

Among other things, the report:

•Raises MP salaries from Sh851, 000 ($10,411.82) to Sh1.1 million ($13,455.76) per month
•Proposes that the Speaker be entitled to a sitting allowance of Sh30,000 up from Sh10,000 while MPs will take home Sh10,000 up from Sh5,000 for each sitting.
•Proposes that the mortgage for the MPs be raised from the maximum Sh15 million to Sh20 million.
•Those MPs who do not make it back to Parliament after elections will enjoy a lifetime pension of Sh100, 000 monthly.
•Car maintenance allowance to be increased from Kshs 95,000 per month to Kshs 75,000
•A Kshs 140,000 tax-exempt house allowance

•Increment of maternity cover to Kshs 500,000 from Kshs 100,000 per family
•Increased Maternity Leave pay of Kshs 60,000 per month for three months
•A new Kshs 30,000 Paternity Leave pay
•Group Life and Personal Accident cover of Kshs 10,622,200 to extend to death by natural causes, and not limited to through accident
•Speaker pension of Kshs 1.2 million for every year worked and a Kshs 6 million “winding up allowance.”
•Kshs 75,000 per month to all former MPs without pension
•Kshs 336,000 “controversial allowance” in mileage claims

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