The SheEO Effect: Amplifying Her Ambition

  Meet Joy, a very kind soul. Behind that soft-spoken demeanour is a go-getter and a big dreamer. For Joy, a social work and community development student currently interning at Kenyatta National Hospital, the journey to financial independence has without doubt been transformative. As a SheEO Fellow, Joy is unlocking a new perspective on money and self-discipline.  Like many young people, Joy struggled with savings. Balancing her student responsibilities, personal needs and aspirations, and savings felt out of touch. The concept of setting aside money for the future and, as a student, felt unrealistic and often intimidating.  "I always thought savings was about having excess money. Something as a student I rarely had." Joy shared. Her mindset began to change when she joined the SheEO MAP. At first she only wanted to volunteer as a fellow; after our first module, "Woman Entrepreneurship: Mindset."  Through the interactive class sessions, practical exercises, and take...

  When Anastacia first enrolled in SheEO Foundation's Micro-Enterprise Accelerator Program, she was quiet, reserved and hesitant to speak up in class. She was apprehensive about tackling the practical assignments that followed each module, unsure if she was capable of applying what she was learning. Despite her doubts, she showed up, eager to turn her dreams into reality.  Fast forward three months later, Anastacia's transformation has been nothing short of inspiring. Not only has she completed every assignment, but she has also successfully conducted a business gap assessment- an in-depth analysis identifying the support she needs to make her business vision a reality. Today, she is taking steps towards starting her own briquette business by conducting market research and building her business plan. Two modules Anastacia found particularly impactful was Savings and Budgeting. Applying these skills   in her daily life, she managed to save up to 40% of her initial expense...

  Esther came to SheEO without any training in financial management or with a business concept.  As a university student, pursuing education, little experience existed regarding how to manage money or accrue savings. But after going through SheEO's training, Esther's journey took a transformative turn. Today, Esther handles her finances with confidence, saves a third of the money she receives as a freelance writer, and is in the process of opening an MMF account.  The knowledge has encouraged her to diversify into entrepreneurship.  Esther received a laptop from SheEO so that she can effectively continue doing her academic writing jobs that are enabling her to save to get started with the chicken rearing business in her neighborhood to sell eggs there, therefore guaranteeing her a stable income stream toward fulfilling her studies and future goals. Nowadays, Esther is a SheEO Fellow , contributing to the planning and follow-up of programs with other women parti...

Christine  joined   the SheEO program with no savings,  business,  or   even  an unsure future  ahead of her .  However,  through the training in goal   setting, savings, and budgeting by SheEO, she  unlocked  her potential, saving small change from her daily food stipend.  Using   the  SheEO  budgeting module, Christine  saved  enough money  to   buy  seeds  for  her own business: a cleaning business  now  trusted in homes and offices within her community. With   the   support of  SheEO   in   conducting   market research, Christine began diversifying her products. She felt  there   was  demand for cleaning agents and  planned   on   selling those once her business  had   grown  enough — a direct response to  the wishes of  her clients . Having  a better understanding of deb...

Faith is the resilient entrepreneur that has overcome many hurdles to make fresh healthy greens available for busy city people in Nairobi. She sources her produce directly from local farmers, prepares, packs, and freezes the produce to freeze for quick, healthy meals. But when a power outage wiped out her entire stock of frozen vegetables, Faith was sent into big setback. Thanks to her training with  SheEO savings, investment, and business risk mitigation, Faith had an emergency fund available. This allowed Faith, with her savings and a microloan to bridge the gap, to restock and resume with no interruption of service. The training on debt management allowed her to borrow responsibly and be sure she would recover to serve her customers again. Faith's journey is only just beginning. Now preparing to go through mentorship through the  SheEO  MAP program, Faith looks to grow her business in the coming years by increasing sales and customers and adding more team members. She ...

  At SheEO Foundation , we believe in practically and realistically turning potential into performance. The stories of Grace and Faith of late best describe how our program lessons culminate into real-world success and resilience. Grace's Willfulness: Grace comes from our Micro-Enterprise Accelerator Program and is only two modules into her training-one of those being Personal Financial Planning, which covers savings and investments. For one still early in the course, Grace has shown great determination. With a capital of just 3,000 KES, she started a small charcoal-selling business. It is the pragmatic advice, strategies she took away from our program-budgeting and financial planning in particular-that have been so pivotal. The small business that Grace owns is already making waves in her community, a testament to the power of early-stage lessons in empowering entrepreneurs to make key steps toward their goals. In fact, her initiative has just shown how immediate and tangible the ...