The Social Economic Empowerment (SEE) project in Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties, in Kenya is funded by Lind Invest. Hand in Hand Eastern Africa, through its Eldoret branch, is implementing the project, which will run from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2026. The primary objective of the project is to improve the social and economic well-being of 3,600 Bottom of the Pyramid residents in Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties. Additionally, it aims to benefit 650 members who participated in the initial project (Lind Invest project) in the acceleration phase.

The project seeks to achieve the following key result areas.

1. Diversified income amongst the members through sustainable entrepreneurship.
2. Increased enterprise and financial resilience of Hand in Hand Self-Help Group members through the creation/enhancement of sustainable agri-enterprises
3. Increased enterprise and financial resilience of Hand in Hand Self-Help Group members through the creation/enhancement of sustainable agri-enterprises

The SEE project is an expansion of the Lind Invest Project and is being implemented following the success of the Lind Invest project (Phase 1). The project focuses on training 3,600 Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) members in Hand in Hand Eastern Africa’s business model, which includes social mobilization, entrepreneurship training, and financial and market linkages. Moreover, it targets 650 accelerator members who have already been trained and graduated from the first phase of the Lind Invest Foundation project. These accelerated members take part in value chains that they are promoting and will receive training in business development, technical skills, access to finance, and scaling up their operations through stronger producer groups. The objective is to ensure they can deliver larger volumes of products from the selected value chains to the market. Additionally, the project includes control groups comprising 300 members who will not receive any treatment or intervention during the first year.

The success of the first phase of the Lind Foundation project established strong relationships with stakeholders, the county government, and other relevant parties in all areas of operation. Key achievements include recruiting 1600 project participants. Furthermore, new members are showing interest in joining the program, and field officers are working diligently to meet the budget ahead of schedule. The positive relationships established by Hand in Hand Eastern Africa with stakeholders have resulted in consistent referrals of new groups from different areas due to the community’s appreciation of the organization’s work.

Regarding the acceleration component, Business Development Officers (BDOs) have identified and mapped members from the previous Lind 1 Invest Foundation project. The BDOs are working tirelessly to provide comprehensive business training, market linkages, financial support, and technological adoption to these members.