Between 2008-2012, Cardno implemented the Value Girls Programme, a four-year US$4.7 million project co-funded by Nike Foundation and USAID through the Global Development Alliance.
It offered young women access to high growth value chains, focusing on:
- Improving girls’ safety and security by exposing them to alternative livelihood options
- Increasing girls’ incomes through participation in high growth value chains
- Developing, testing, and communicating a model for economically empowering girls.
In collaboration with local authorities around Lake Victoria, the programme has directly benefited more than 2,400 young women by introducing them to high growth value chains in the poultry and vegetable production sectors.
The project trained young women on all aspects of developing personal private enterprises, including savings, business planning, record keeping and marketing.
It also provided other benefits such as raising girls’ profile within their communities, improving overall confidence and self-image, protecting their assets and providing mentoring opportunities. This all contributed to what Nike Foundation has termed
the Girl Effect.
The Value Girls Programme made a significant impact by providing vulnerable girls in Kenya with critical skills to navigate a difficult environment and presented them with viable options that brought tangible benefits to them, their families, the local business community, and the broader community as a whole. To view a video on the Value Girls Program, please
click here.