Celebrating our work supported by Standard Chartered Foundation on the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Programme

With the end of the year fast approaching, we’re celebrating the successes of entrepreneurs supported by our members and delivery partners as part of Standard Chartered Foundation‘s Futuremakers initiative. The programme spanned seven countries, has impacted 10,302 young entrepreneurs thus far, and includes initiatives ranging from webinars and business clinics to mentoring, coaching, and individual advice sessions.

Read some highlights from across the programmes below.

In Japan, 192 entrepreneurs accessed the services from our member ETIC, with a particular focus on rural entrepreneurship. In Indonesia, our delivery partner YCAB Foundation‘s business chatbot had reached 6,689 entrepreneurs by September, 66% of whom are young women. Young Africa Botswana’s Business One Stop Shop helped 302 entrepreneurs access 1,240 different services, while in Nigeria FATE Foundation reached 632 entrepreneurs with 4,603 services. These programmes have furthered entrepreneurs’ confidence in a stressful global economy – for example 98% of the entrepreneurs who accessed support in Turkey via Habitat reported that they saw a marked improvement in their business knowledge and skills.

Stories from the programme

Vivien LaFleur, supported by KIZ Sinnova in Germany, was inspired to set up her business by a visit to an artist’s studio in which silicone objects were being cast. Vivien wanted to create high-quality sex toys with a focus on sustainability, safety and well-planned design. She was aware that many toys are made without transparency or safety in mind, and in interviews with potential customers many brought up the lack of ergonomics in existing designs.

Vivien credits KIZ’s all-female Futuremakers training with allowing her to be part of a community of self-employed women exchanging ideas and supporting one another, which she found vital on her entrepreneurial journey. She was able to collaborate with a company in Spain who shared her experimental approach, and is now ready to launch her first product on her new web shop in January. In all, 637 entrepreneurs have accessed intensive programmes through KIZ in Germany as part of SCF’s Futuremakers initiative.

In Uganda, Susan Akello was supported by Cordaid in furthering her animal-rearing business after the negative impact of COVID-19 and its associated restrictions. Having lost her eyesight when she was just 15, Susan started a piggery business in 2018 after being forced to drop out of education. Her business’s success positively impacted both herself and her community as she became one of the biggest buyers of maize grain in the area. However, in 2020, COVID-19 restrictions forced her to sell 17 of her pigs.

With the support of SCF’s Futuremakers programme, our member Cordaid provided her with a hardship grant of 1,200,000 UGX which enabled her to move her piggery to a larger property and increase her number of pigs, setting her up for future growth. Cordaid were able to support 41 entrepreneurs identifying as having a physical disability this year.

So many incredible stories have come out of this programme, many of which were showcased at the brilliant Futuremakers Forum in July with Business Fights Poverty, and in SCF’s Futuremakers Features. You can find further highlights from the programme here:

There’s more to come from this programme, and we can’t wait to see it in 2022.