Providing Women and Youth with Proper Skills on How to Start, Improve and Grow their Businesses

Women small traders as Food Entrepreneurs play very important role in the food and nutrition security among the urban dwellers of Kisumu City. However, Social-economic and political deprivations, gender inequalities, and environmental precariousness undermine their economic viability and sustainability of their entrepreneurship. Women Small traders are stuck in survival entrepreneurship. Through Strategic Partnerships, Women Business Hub is developing a tailor made course on “Starting and Growing My Business” for women and youth working towards Self-Reliance

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Dorcas’s Journey of Dignity and Growth through Women Business Hub - Trade Over Aid (TOA) Initiative

When Dorcas first walked into the Women Business Hub orientation, she carried more than just hope—she carried the weight of responsibility. With two young children depending on her, and a dream of running her own shop, the Ksh 50,000 loan was more than money; it was a lifeline. She remembers the first day vividly: sitting in the financial literacy session, learning how to budget and save. Signing the loan agreement felt like signing a promise to her children—that life would change. With her first tranche of Ksh 15,000 , Dorcas stocked sugar, soap, and maize flour . Each sale was a step closer to dignity. Within weeks, she was repaying faithfully. But more importantly, she was proving to herself that she could manage credit responsibly. When she qualified for the second tranche , Dorcas expanded into farming inputs . Neighbors began to rely on her shop not just for household goods, but for seeds and fertilizer that sustained their families. Her progress report wasn’t just number...

Risper Auma’s Journey: From Street Vendor to Homeowner and Mentor

For over a decade, Risper Auma walked the streets of Kisumu selling fresh vegetables from a woven basket. Each day began before sunrise, and every coin she earned was carefully tucked away—not just for survival, but for a dream. She envisioned a home of her own, a place where her children could grow up with dignity and stability. Risper Auma joined a local savings and credit cooperative society , where she began contributing small amounts weekly. Through discipline and determination, she built up her savings and eventually qualified for a loan. With that support, she purchased a modest piece of land and began building her home—brick by brick, hope by hope. Today, Risper Auma stands proudly in her garden, feeding chickens beside the house she built. Her children are thriving in school, with graduation just around the corner. But Risper Auma’s story doesn’t end with her own success. She is now a community mentor with Women Business Hub , guiding other women through the journe...

Women Business Hub's -Trade Over Aid (TOA) Initiative Progress in 2025

Trade Over Aid (TOA) is Women Business Hub’s practical pathway from aid-dependency to trade-driven dignity. In Kisumu, TOA is implemented in partnership with Inua Village SACCO (IVS) – Kisumu Branch. Women Business Hub leads community mobilization, mentorship, and enterprise training for young women entrepreneurs and non-binary youth, while IVS provides the regulated financial rails: member onboarding, passbooks, share capital, and safe savings channels via mobile money and in-branch services. This partnership operationalizes TOA’s model: mobilize youth cohorts, help them formalize membership (registration and passbooks), build ownership (share capital), and cultivate continuous savings habits aligned to enterprise goals. The SACCO’s cooperative structure protects member funds and fosters disciplined growth; WBH’s mentorship and market-linkages translate that savings into enterprise resilience and revenue. Participation and gender engagement in TOA (Kisumu, Sep–Dec 2025) Between ...

WOMEN BUSINESS HUB -ADVOCACY ALLIANCE CONSORTIUM

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