EMPOWERED ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING PROGRAM. Elisa Derby, Anita Shankar & Genevieve Smith

Transcription

1 EMPOWERED ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING PROGRAM Elisa Derby, Anita Shankar & Genevieve Smith

2 Developing a Sustainable Cookstove Sector (DSCS) Program Goal: Development of sustainable cookstove markets that will lead to widespread adoption of clean, efficient cooking solutions through: Strengthening private commercial distribution of high-quality biomass stoves Encouraging innovative partnerships Increasing availability of local financing Expanding consumer access USAID and Winrock Developing a Sustainable Cookstove Sector Program

3 Source: Empowered Entrepreneur Training Handbook Developed with funding from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Lead authors: Dr. Anita Shankar (JHU) & Genevieve Smith (VN) Designed for organizations currently working with, or planning to work with, women entrepreneurs and/or sales agents Part 1: Human Centered Design Handbook Developing customized trainings for each organization using human-centered design principles Part 2: Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook ~50 hours (or 6 days) worth of business, empowerment and leadership training curricula Part 3: Participant Packet (available in English, Swahili, Bengali, Tamil, French and Spanish)

4 Agency-based empowerment Empowerment has two components: Agency: internal ability to make and control decisions that affect our lives (selfconfidence, voice/assertion, self-responsibility) Resources: external support that allows us to exercise that agency (education, finance, skill building) Agency-based empowerment enhances one s capacity to create and focus on his/her goals. Increased agency = more likely to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

5 Previous Research: Findings & Evidence Agency-based empowerment can increase sales and customer satisfaction (Randomized-control trial), 2014 Kenya Johns Hopkins University, ESVAK, Envirofit Other studies on agency-based empowerment show that training impacts health, development and well being Urban and disenfranchised women in Kenya Women living in Mathare slums in Kenya HIV positive pregnant and lactating women in India Women engaged in sex work in India TRAINING Sales Adoption Consistent Use Community Benefits

6 Previous Research: Intervention group has higher cookstove sales and growth rates (Kenya RCT) Total Unit Sales by Intervention 900 Intervention, Units Sold Control, Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul-14

7 Empowered Entrepreneur Training Program (Under DSCS) Phase 1: Trainer Certification Program Develop in-house expertise to train sales staff and entrepreneur partners Provide trainers with tools and facilitation techniques (gender-sensitive) Phase 2: Training for entrepreneur networks Roll out training curriculum to hundreds of entrepreneurs worldwide Phase 3: Monitoring of business and personal growth impacts Collect data on the impacts of this training curriculum and share results with the sector

8 2015 and 2016 ToTs DSCS Program activities to date 47 people trained from 20+ Organizations in 8 countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia) Pre-ToT homework / webinar 5 days of training, facilitation practice, action planning Follow up practicum homework, exam, practice trainings 500+ entrepreneurs trained M&E on business indicators, personal growth of entrepreneurs. Voto Platform refresher calls

9 EETP participants train entrepreneurs in East Africa Select organizations Organization Training deployment No. of entrepreneurs* Improved retention) Improved sales Practical Action/SCODE 5 days training 175 Energy4Impact 3.5 days empowerment/ leadership 49 Stayed high Positive trend Livelyhoods 4 days over 2 weekends 17 Positive trend AEST 5 days of training 24 SNV 3.5 days empowerment/ 21 No data No data leadership Sola Yetu 5 days training 10 No data Solar Sisters 1 day of empowerment monthly meetings 38 No change No change *No. of entrepreneurs that we have some kind of data for (not total trained)

10 Current Research: Training results reveal organizational benefits Increased sales and sales strategies Practical Action / SCODE: ~15% increase in sales Nearly three times more likely to be a high seller (top 50%) Energy4Impact: 16% increase in the rate of people becoming high sellers & increased sales outreach strategies observed Increased retention rates LivelyHoods: Average tenure for an agent who underwent the EETH is % longer than average agent Practical Action / SCODE: 42% greater retention for trained briquette sellers, 23% greater retention for cookstove sellers Increased promotion rates LivelyHoods: 35% of those who received the training were promoted (compared to an average of 5%)

11 Current Research: Patterns of Cookstove Sales Over Time Practical Action / SCODE entrepreneurs (n=169 trained, 147 untrained) Retention at 6 months Untrained: 40% Trained: 63% Mar 16 Apr 16 May 16 Jun 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Untrained Trained

12 Current Research: Trained entrepreneurs tend to earn more Practical Action / SCODE entrepreneurs (n=169 trained, 147 untrained) Quartile Rank in Sales at Month 6 80% 70% 60% 71% RR = 1.8 (CI: ) 50% 50% 40% 30% 20% 16% 15% 15% 20% 10% 10% 3% 0% < KES 2400 ($24) Lowest quartile KES ($25-$58) 2nd KES ($60-$180) 3rd KES > ($180) Highest quartile Untrained Trained

13 Current Research: Patterns of high sales over time Energy4Impact entrepreneurs (n=41) Sales of more than $1500 per month Before EETP Training After EETP Training Percent of total Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Month/Year

14 Personal impact Betty: eature=youtu.be Sammy: pfreload=10 Eki: feature=youtu.be

15 Lessons learned Organizational level: Organizational buy-in and investment: Training is time-intensive and requires ongoing organizational support Retention of trainers: Organizations should envision the training as longerterm integration into core activities work to retain or send trainers with longer tenure at organization Previous training experience is important for those attending ToT for best results Many orgs in household energy sector don t provide significant training beyond technical High sales staff / entrepreneur turnover is challenging as full training can be expensive and time intensive (although some evidence that training leads to greater retention)

16 Lessons learned (2) Training schedule / roll out: Flexibility is important: full 6-day (in a row) training program is often unrealistic for organizations and participants Ongoing support needs beyond training: For Trainers: essential to keep them engaged in topics (e.g., through post ToT homework, IVR tips/guidance, WhatsApp group) For Entrepreneurs: critical to have ongoing reflecting on the material posttraining (e.g., through mentorship or peer buddies) Need further exploration/understanding of which types of follow-up support are most effective (and cost-effective) For Enterprises/Orgs: Ongoing need to prove and share the business case (including & beyond sales e.g., retention/promotion potential), since training budgets are often first to go