COPE Project Preentation

How Value Chains Can Help Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their Caregivers : 

Focus on the Field A Day of Workshops to Advance Practice through Collaboration presents How Value Chains Can Help Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their Caregivers

Project Information : 

Project Information Project Name and location: Community Based Orphan Child Protection and Empowerment (COPE) Project, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Mozambique Organizations: Africare Emerging Markets Group, Ltd.- Subcontractor Project Duration: 2005-2010 Donor: USAID Project Goal: To reduce the socioeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS on about two million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and their caregivers.

High impact income generation activities through linkages to high growth markets : 

High impact income generation activities through linkages to high growth markets Caregivers in Uganda now selling their dried fruit in the UK Caregivers in Rwanda now selling their baskets to Macy’s Caregivers in Mozambique now selling their vegetables every week to a College

Value Chain Approach : 

Value Chain Approach Definition of the Value Chain Approach: A tool to create wealth in poor communities and for promoting poverty-reducing economic growth. To ensure that the poor are not left out of economic growth strategies, this approach focuses on linking micro and small enterprises (MSEs) into global, regional and local value chains (through linkages with larger firms). Source: USAID Microenterprise Development (MD) office

Value Chain Frame Work : 

Value Chain Frame Work

Methodology and Interventions : 

Methodology and Interventions Sector focused projects follow a specified methodology: Identify an industry with potential for growth and a large number of microenterprises Undertake a Value Chain Analysis Develop specific interventions to address constraints along the Value Chain

How is this relevant to OVC and their Caregivers? : 

How is this relevant to OVC and their Caregivers? OVC and their caregivers are among the rural poor, but often in a worse situation Most caregivers and older OVC are engaged in various microenterprises This was confirmed by the project’s market analysis

Designing Interventions : 

Designing Interventions Market analyses drove the project’s interventions: Promoting access to better markets; and Facilitating access to resources and skills

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains : 

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains Facilitating linkages with larger firms is a critical step in providing microenterprises with access to better markets Like other microenterprises, caregivers and OVC need support to effectively work with larger firms Support given to caregivers and OVC microenterprises needs be tailored to the stages of their vulnerability and local reality Caregiver and OVC microenterprises must be focused on meeting the business needs of the larger firms

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains : 

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains Facilitating linkages with larger firms is a critical step in providing microenterprises with access to better markets (Contd.) Larger firms must be committed to having microenterprises as part of their core business Example: In Uganda, developed a relationship with an export company that exports dried fruits to the UK

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains : 

Linking Caregivers and OVC to Value Chains Microenterprise cooperation is often required for microenterprises to contribute to and benefit from relationships with larger firms Cooperation may be in the form of formal or informal groupings of MSEs Cooperation should be focused on a joint constraint (s) that require joint action

A Pilot Program in Uganda : 

A Pilot Program in Uganda Target Group: A rapid needs assessment was conducted in 15 sub-counties of Ntungamo District, and a total of 10,591 caregivers of OVC identified Which Income Generation Activities (IGA) should the project support? Undertook an inventory of all IGA being undertaken by the caregivers including their current and prospective higher value markets Identified opportunities with larger firms using a pre identified criteria

A Pilot Program in Uganda : 

A Pilot Program in Uganda Organized Caregiver into producer groups Six caregiver clusters were formed, with a total membership of 303 caregivers (f 256, m 47) taking care of 949 OVC Each cluster is comprised of 5-10 smaller groups of 5-6 caregivers A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the export company

A Pilot Program in Uganda : 

A Pilot Program in Uganda COPE assisted the groups to analyze the viability of fruit drying IGA The export company trained 148 caregivers in fruit drying Dryers were constructed by the export company and paid for through a cost share agreement between the company, the project, and the caregivers Caregivers are now supplying the export company Follow up and additional support is being provided by the company

Caregivers Production To Date : 

Caregivers Production To Date

A Caregiver filling out the group’s saving’s records : 

A Caregiver filling out the group’s saving’s records

Caregivers preparing dried fruits for shipment : 

Caregivers preparing dried fruits for shipment

Caregivers constructing a storage for dried fruits : 

Caregivers constructing a storage for dried fruits

Solar Driers in Rutunguru : 

Solar Driers in Rutunguru

A pilot program in Rwanda: A Caregiver with her woven baskets : 

A pilot program in Rwanda: A Caregiver with her woven baskets

Caregivers waiting to receive payment for their baskets after training : 

Caregivers waiting to receive payment for their baskets after training

Challenges and Lessons Learned : 

Challenges and Lessons Learned Group development is time consuming and this makes it difficult to manage against expected short term results Larger firms are businesses and relationships with them must be developed with this understanding Producer groups formed to support caregiver microenterprises could be a platform to support other social needs The willingness of the market to integrate microenterprises into their core business is a critical element of this activity

Thank You : 

Thank You Contact Information: Beatrice Kinyanjui bkinyanjui@emergingmarketsgroup.com