Is It Too Late for Systems Thinking? Lessons Learned on Adopting a Market Systems Approach Mid-Program
By Karla Yoder, Global Communities Economic Development/Workforce Specialist This blog was originally published on Marketlinks.org Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded initiative to promote trade in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi by increasing access to finance and markets for agricultural small and medium enterprises (A-SMEs). AIMS was not initially…
Read MoreMeet Tanzania’s Safe Water Superhero
Yvonne Mwakisyala understands firsthand how access to clean water and sanitation is critical to keeping girls healthy, safe and on track with their education. “My mum makes a joke that I hated dirty floors so much as a child that I never crawled and moved straight to walking,” says Yvonne, who serves as a construction…
Read MoreNew School Libraries Help Unlock Literacy Among Students in Tanzania
If books open new doors to learning, then libraries hold the key. Yet, neither were within reach to students attending the schools where Project Concern International (PCI) works in the Mara Region of Tanzania. In fact, prior to PCI’s first program interventions in 2016, none of the 231 primary schools in Bunda, Butiama and Musoma…
Read MoreTurning the Tide on Unsanitary School Conditions in Tanzania
Children should not have to choose between their health and their education. Yet, one-third of schools worldwide lack access to clean water and basic hygiene facilities, putting students at risk of disease or forcing them to miss class altogether. Like many parts of Tanzania, the Mara Region continues to experience the challenge of inadequate school…
Read MoreIt Takes a Village: Community Support Vital to School Feeding in Tanzania
What’s in a name? When it comes to Chakula Chetu, the answer is everything. The program, which means “Our Food” in Swahili, takes an innovative and integrated approach to school feeding by ensuring both “what” and “who” is at the table emphasizes local food and local ownership. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and…
Read MorePaying Success Forward, One Book at a Time
Kimmy Brooke understands firsthand how a network of empowered women can change a life. Before she became a successful entrepreneur, author and leadership coach, Brooke remembers the isolation she felt as a single mom, struggling to move forward with a stagnant bottom line. “I found myself at the age of 40 divorced and turned upside…
Read MoreNever Too Early to Learn: Engaging Parents as Teachers in Tanzania
For years, Juma Mazaba Motoka has confidently served as the head of a small sub-village in Tanzania. But only recently did the 40-year-old father come to embrace another leading role. “Earlier I thought the activity of teaching children was only for teachers who are well-trained and psychologically prepared to teach young children at school,” Juma…
Read MoreFacilitating a More Enabling Environment
This post was written by Karla Yoder, Economic Development Specialist at Global Communities and originally appeared on Feed the Future Agrilinks As market systems development practitioners, we take a holistic approach to project implementation. Our value chain projects address market constraints at many levels including within the enabling environment. However, the focus of our facilitation…
Read MoreEnterprising Africa: Where Strong Systems Boost Business
Enterprising Africa: Where Strong Systems Boost Business By David A. Weiss, President and CEO of Global Communities | This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post. This year in Tanzania, a business-to-business forum brought together nine buyers and processors, 15 sellers of non-refined sunflower oil and oil seeds, and 14 representatives from two agricultural cooperatives.…
Read MoreBuilding Small Agribusinesses in East Africa
Building Small Agribusinesses in East Africa Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) is a five-year initiative of Global Communities to bolster trade in key agricultural sectors, grains, pulses, dairy, and horticulture in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi by increasing access to financing and markets for small and medium-sized agribusinesses. AIMS is funded by the U.S. Department…
Read MoreCombating Food Insecurity in Kenya
Combating Food Insecurity in Kenya Earlier this month, the Government of Kenya declared a drought emergency, placing the number affected by food insecurity at more than 2.7 million. With maize production down by more than 99%, rural farming communities and pastoralists have been severely affected. Global Communities’ Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) program is…
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