Taking the Next Step

(This is a story I wrote for a Partners Worldwide publication)

Why are entrepreneurs willing to take on the risks of starting their own venture? In most instances, that person has a new idea or product that drives them to strike out on their own. In countries like Kenya where the unemployment rate is over 40%, many people start small businesses out of necessity. For some, the lack of education and direction can limit their success. Others stop growing because banks see them as too small and too risky for loans. Without outside help, how can they expand? How do they take the next step? Stephen Ngai has only been a member of the Christian Entrepreneurs Saving and Credit Society (CHESS) for two months, but he knows that the support and affordable credit CHESS offers will help him take the next step. After teaching for 33 years, Stephen opened Banana Hill Technical Institute in his rural town. While not yet proficient on computers, Stephen knows that his fellow villagers need to learn computer skills to succeed in the 21st Century, even in rural Kenya. He hired an instructor to begin classes teaching computer basics – Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer. His vision is to go further and hire an instructor able to teach advanced programs. He is currently able to offer a one month certificate course and with this additional instructor he can offer a six month course culminating with a diploma. With CHESS' help, Elizabeth Thuo and her husband took the next step. They started a cooking gas distribution business in 1999. They quickly became members of CHESS as business was good and they had money to save for future growth. Realizing that saving enough cash to open a second cooking gas distribution shop would take too long, they utilized the multiplying power of CHESS' loans. Their loan allowed them to open a second location, fill it with an adequate supply of gas canisters and hire another employee. Sara Maina has been in business for two years and already she wants to take the next step with a loan from CHESS. Her seamstress school and clothing retail shop has been doing well, but classes are getting crowded and the retail shop no longer holds all the clothes she would like to display. She is interested in renting space next door for the workshop and school and also opening another location in a nearby town. With counsel from CHESS' field officer and a loan, this expansion is possible. Isaiah and Jane Kahuki were some of the first members of CHESS and together they have taken many steps together. They have gone all the way from a one room school house to a well-respected academy. Isaiah and Jane love children and are good at business. So what better combination of their two passions than opening a school? With humble beginnings in a small, wooden shanty, the Waka Academy has grown tremendously. The shanty is still on the school property as a symbol of where God has brought them from. Remarkably, Waka Academy's school bus is itself larger than the original school house. In these and many other cases, the way Kenyan business owners take the next step is with loans, business training, networking forums and marketing services provided by CHESS. The idea of helping others take the next step was modeled to CHESS by its partnership with a group of North Americans. This relationship has helped CHESS grow into the organization it is today. Through their sacrifice of time and willingness to share their experiences, CHESS is able to walk with these businesspeople each and every step of the way.