Dear Amazing LI Donors,
Our Microproject designed to fund our Regional Business Education Program Center was retired because it did meet its funding goals, but we came astonishlying close and because our last matching day was so succesful we are moving forward with our Regional Business Education Program Center spring classes!!!!!
These business will create new jobs in the region by either creating new businesses or opening up new shops for pre-existing LI businesses into new regions through business training, skills training and identifying local investors to assist with business expantion.
To showcase how your generous donation will directly affect lives on the ground, I am going to highlight one of the first businesses we have accepted into the program Hamza Welders!
Remember it is our goal that this program and business to serve as a model for growth in its surrounding communities. We also hope to prove by highlighting Hamza's story that project beneficiaries learn how they can fill voids in the local economy while improving their families' health, education and financial stability.
This Regional Business Education Program Center in Bauchi will offer classes to to teach leaders financial, personal and business management. It will also be able to serve as a resource for problems and questions that will arise. In essence this program will provide a 2nd year of regional business training allowing businesses that are currently successful to open up new shops in the surrounding region changes hundreds of lives.
Because the program is just beginning we are going to highlight this pre-existing business that is now going to expand its shop and hire new employees because of your funding!!!
This also the first report written by our Nigerna staff on the ground who are communicating with Hamza as they wrote this report and fact checked it for accuracy.
Business Overview
Hamza Welders is a welding business that was established in July of 2009 after the beneficiaries received welding training from Leadership Initiatives (LI). Services offered include making and fixing doors, windows, kiosks, burglar proofs, etc. The net income of the business in a quarter is N136,000. In the future, LI hopes to aid the business in planning on how to purchase a power generator with local investment. This is very important, due to the fact that electricity in Nigeria is not very consistent, which can be detrimental to the effectiveness of businesses.
Beneficiaries
Hamza Welders currently employs three people, excluding the business owner.
However, the business is hoping to increase its staff in the future by three additional employees by participating in the Regional Business Education Program. Each new participating individual will receive N6,000 bi-annually to start as they become trained welders. This money is given to them as pocket money, because the employees are apprentices that are still learning and are not full time staff. In addition to welding skills, the business beneficiaries gain business management and accounting skills through LI.
The Business Owner: Hamza Ya’u
Hamza Ya’u, the son of a local farmer, was born in 1985 at Kofar Fada, but then later settled at Yelwa Markaranta of Bauchi. His father could not afford to send him or his thirteen siblings to school. Therefore, he spent most of his time helping his father on the farm during the rainy season or just sitting idly by at other times.
LI’s intervention greatly transformed his life, as well as that of his family. Due to his training in welding, he now earns about N300 – N400 daily, giving him the financial power that he needs to take care of himself and his family, especially when one of them is sick. He has even been able to help send four of his siblings to school. In addition to this, he is working on his own education by enrolling in adult classes that he did not have access to prior to LI’s intervention.
Hamza has acquired skills that have allowed him to fix and make doors, windows, kiosks, and burglar proofs for a lot of people in and outside of the Yelwa community. Many of these people have been amazed by his work and have recommended his services to others.
Because of this Hamza is now a respected community member and as he expands his business he will take three to four new individuals and train them in how to gain a skill set in welding.
Community Impact
The majority of people living in Yelwa are traditionally petty traders and subsistence farmers. The rate of poverty in Yelwa is high, while level of education and employment are low. The project has offered many opportunities to those in the community, as well as increased the number of businesses, in particular tailoring and welding. Many of the youth in Yelwa benefitted either from directly learning from the LI beneficiaries or by being inspired to learn welding, tailoring, motorcyle repair, cobbling and other skills. Hamza Ya’u, the business owner, is trying to solve the problem of youth unemployment in his own little way, which important to helping the Yelwa community.
With the business expantion that you are so generously funding the business will alsmost double the people directly benefiting from this program due to hiring new employees, pro-bono community outreach projects to highlight the businesses potential to communities it is expanding in and the benefits afforded to the family members of new employees such as medical care and schooling.
Contact Information
Location: Yelwan Makaranta, Bauchi state- Nigeria
Phone Number(s): +2347056776586 or +234814209657
End of Report
If you enjoyed this report, would like to speak to Hamza directly or learn about how the Regional Business Education Program you funded is greating jobs on the ground in Nigeria please contact me, Marshall Bailly the executive director at 202-422-3234 or mbailly@lichange.org to set up a meeting time through the phone or skype.
It is an honor to have your support and we hope to continue to showcase how your generosity is shaping lives across the globe in thefuture.
Thank you from the bottom of LI's heart and of course wishing you, your family and your friends the absolute best,
Marshall
Marshall Bailly IIExecutive DirectorLeadership Initiatives4410 Massachusetts Ave., NW #236Washington, DC 20016(p) 202-465-4796 (f) 202-280-1221www.LeadershipInitiatives.org