Empowering Rural Women: Street Business School Paves the Way

On the International Day of Rural Women, we'd like to share the inspiring success story of Nancy, a participant in SBS.

In 2019, HopeCore partnered with Street Business School (SBS) in Uganda as part of its Micro Enterprise program. SBS is dedicated to ending extreme poverty by providing entrepreneurial training. The SBS curriculum includes eight modules: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone, Business Opportunity Identification, Finding Capital and Starting Small, Record-keeping & Book-keeping, Market Research, Business Planning, Growing your Customer Base, and Money Management.

Nancy’s Story

At HopeCore, 80% of SBS trainees are women. Nancy attended an SBS training in 2021 when she was involved in small-scale farming - primarily growing and selling vegetables to her neighbors. A married mother of two, Nancy completed the comprehensive SBS program covering all eight modules.

Figure 1 Nancy was part of the cohort that graduated in 2021 in Kieganguru

What particularly resonated with Nancy were the topics on stepping out of her comfort zone and starting small. Hearing success stories of other women who began with limited resources and now run thriving businesses motivated her to take action. Nancy saved money from her vegetable sales and used it to purchase a piglet. After six months, she sold the piglet for Kshs 7,000 and used the proceeds to start a business in Chogoria.

Armed with her newfound knowledge from SBS, Nancy conducted market research to determine the best business for her location. Positioned between a hospital and three schools, she decided to start a fruit-selling business, as there were few competitors in the area. Her business quickly expanded, and she began offering a variety of fruits, including mangos, papaws, passion fruits, oranges, apples, watermelons, and grapes. Over time, she added an M-Pesa shop and diversified her shop items. On average, Nancy generates a profit of Kshs 20,000, and her M-Pesa business is growing rapidly.

Thanks to SBS training, Nancy's life has been transformed. She now saves daily in a local SACCO and has a healthy float for her M-Pesa business. With her newfound success, she can adequately support her family. Nancy attributes her remarkable journey to the SBS program, which ignited her entrepreneurial spirit and empowered her to start and grow her business.