Posted October 2008

Business leaders from New York City, Toronto, Denver, Atlanta and elsewhere traveled to a remote corner of Kenya recently to share their expertise with young entrepreneurs preparing to launch or expand their micro-enterprises.

The visit to Kenya by 15 North Americans was the first-ever "J9 Mentors" trip sponsored by The J9 Foundation and Heart for Africa and hosted by Community Aid International.

"I believe the partnership between Heart for Africa and The J9 Foundation is something that will really begin to change things in Kenya, one person at a time," said one of the trip participants.

The North Americans became trainers, encouragers and motivators for the 30 young Kenyans undergoing extensive training as part of the J9 Entrepreneurs Project in Bondo District, an impoverished are of western Kenya’s Nyanza Province. The project is intended to spark economic growth in Bondo and beyond by raising up young entrepreneurs to develop small- and medium-sized businesses and engage in community service.

The young people – ranging in age from the early 20s to mid-30s – take part in five weeks of training in entrepreneurship, business development, finance and credit, life and social skills and Christian values. They write business plans and then have access to loans ranging between a few hundred to a thousand dollars.

The North American mentors had a chance to visit several of the J9 Entrepreneurs from the 2007 class whose businesses are already up and running. Those visits were among the highlights of the trip.

"Visiting the 2007 entrepreneurs was so helpful in allowing us to see the impact of the program," one Mentor said. "It also gave us the opportunity to interact with and observe the people in the community, especially the children."

The project is a joint effort of The J9 Foundation and its Kenyan partner, Community Aid International. Heart for Africa, which specializes in bringing North Americans to Africa for service projects, became the third partner to recruit trip participants and arrange trip logistics.

Each of the 15 Mentors prepared and delivered talks on certain aspects of business, from marketing and finance to human resources and business development. They also broke into small groups to answer questions and provide one-on-one counsel to the young Kenyan entrepreneurs. Finally, each Mentor was assigned two trainees with whom they will continue a relationship for at least six months after the trip through email and text messaging.

The trip gave the Mentors a good view of the economic climate in Bondo District and the opportunities available for well-trained entrepreneurs to rise above poverty.

"This program not only has the potential to change lives but also entire communities and regions and their economic health," said one of the trip participants.

The closing speaker during a celebration dinner with the Mentors and young Entrepreneurs was Pete Ondeng, a Kenyan economist well-known for challenging his country to rise above its history of poverty. He said the trip was vital because it helped to raise the vision of the young Kenyans by exposing them to the way businesses operate in North America.

"Your vision can only rise to the level of your exposure," Pete said.