Hand in Hand Annual Report 2023
THE BOARD CHAIR STATEMENT:
It is always a privilege to introduce Hand in Hand Eastern Africa’s annual report. This is a particularly exciting year as the organisation has embarked on a bold agenda, launching a new 5-year strategic plan
in March. I say bold, because having scaled quickly in its first ten years of operation, Hand in Hand Eastern
Africa aims to double its current reach in half the time. The organisation is committed to reaching underserved groups, especially women and youth, and to expand into new, hard to reach geographies. At the same time Hand in Hand will continue to work for transformational change in the communities where it is present today, leveraging data, evidence and technology to better serve member entrepreneurs, and to ensure businesses not only boost their profits, but are resilient to economic and environmental shocks.
Hand in Hand remains similarly committed to raising its profile as a go-to agency for enterprise development in Kenya and beyond, to investing in its operations and its people, and to advocating for change on issues that are critical for microentrepreneurs. As we close the first year of this new strategic plan, I am pleased to say Hand in Hand Eastern Africa is already making huge progress on its agenda, with key highlights detailed in this report. In parallel to launching a new strategic plan, this has
been a very exciting year for Hand in Hand Eastern Africa’s Board. We have taken time to listen, understand and discuss with the executive team, making sure the organisation’s operations and governance evolve alongside it as it grows. The Board had the opportunity to come together in June, discussing effective governance now and in future, with interesting results. Later in the year Hand in Hand Eastern Africa hosted a network meeting, bringing together peers from Afghanistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Sweden and the UK for joint learning. Leveraging the Hand in Hand network for greater impact is an area where there remains great potential, and this will be a space to watch in coming years.
