Summary

Unleashing the potential of local youth to transform social challenges into social enterprises. Njombe Innovation Academy replicates the social innovation academy (SINA) model in Njombe (Tanzania).

Latest activities

• Yohana and Ester are almost done with their learning journey at SINA in Uganda. In this video they explain their experience in the replication journey

• Back in Njombe, we have been looking for land where NIA will be based. Ludewa is well positioned. This video presents our dream

• We published this post about our experience being Panvala league members.

• The latest Panvala stamps (NFT) was with Govrn and NIA is testing it as a way to keep track of member contributions :)

• We hosted an intro to ReFi session with our partners Climate Action Njombe

• We are getting ready for this year´s Innovation week Tanzania together with our partners Chatafisha and ReFi Spring

• NIA has been selected by People DAO Africa to receive part of the proceedings from their latest NFT collection: The Afro piece

Description

Njombe region´s main economic activities are agriculture (76.3% of GDP) and livestock keeping. Local youth have few employment opportunities. Around 10% are unemployed and face unfavourable conditions to become entrepreneurs; hence, they usually engage in informal and unstable income-generating activities such as “mishe mishe” (daily small jobs) or seasonal farming. Youth who have not completed secondary or higher education (41% are out of school in secondary) are the most affected since they lack the skills and network to create or find decent income-generating activities. At the same time, Njombe faces social challenges such as malnutrition (levels of stunting are 49.4 %), HIV (11.4% prevalence) or poverty (GDP/capita 10% lower than the national level).

Could we create an environment where local youth gain the tools and mindset to transform the challenges that surround them into social enterprises? SINA has the answer.

The SINA model (short documentary about SINA) has proven that through a cost-effective and “freesponsible” community approach, marginalized youth can become self-reliant and can create a future for themselves through social enterprises, which in turn disrupt the root causes of social problems. Skills are gained by taking up responsibilities within self-organization in a SINA community. Youth grow personally and professionally while putting learned tools immediately into practice.

Social enterprises which emerged range from organic mosquito repellant soap to construction out of plastic bottles or a flooring solution from plastic bags and eggshells. SINA scholars have gone as far as being recognized by the Queen of England, Obama or Ban Ki-moon as changemakers and social entrepreneurs.

This model has already been replicated in countries other than its origin, Uganda; thus, planting a “SINA model seed” in Njombe will probably lead to additional self-organized spaces for social entrepreneurship across Tanzania.

The ecosystem in Njombe is ready for SINA: there is political will, learning spaces and technologies, innovators and the interest of local youth who are already paying to attend training offered by Mzee Pwagu and SHIPO. A social innovation academy will be the space to bring together local (young) actors, provide them with additional skills and create a self-sustaining ecosystem that turns local challenges into social enterprises.

Theory of Change

The desired impact is an increased number of social challenges tackled in Njombe by youth-led enterprises with locally available resources and web 3 tools (whenever they fit) . In order to achieve that we will bootstrap a self-organised community of youth in Njombe who commonly owns and manages resources (material, knowledge, financial, social) to create social enterprises out of challenges (outcome). It is assumed that the potential and leadership to create positive social and environmental impact of local youth will be unleashed through the SINA model.

Expected outputs after 2 years:

10 local youth (scholars) are capacitated to become coaches and mentors of future cohorts (3 in Uganda and 7 in Njombe). It is assumed that scholars trained in Uganda have incentives to create a SINA community in Njombe. At least 20 scholars trained per year who create 5 social enterprises per year. It is assumed that successful scholars and enterprises have incentives to continue to contribute to the SINA community in Njombe. Mechanisms for the sustainability of the academy are in place. It is assumed that those mechanisms create the required culture (freedom and responsibility, knowledge sharing and mutual support, shared finances, shared materials and space, teamwork & collaboration) for the sustainability of the community.

Milestones & budget (2 years)

• 2 young people from Njombe complete SINA´s 5 stage replication process in Uganda - 7000 USD DONE
• Space and materials ready in Njombe, including water, food and electricity provision systems - 20,000 USD
• 1st and 2nd cohorts of scholars in Njombe - 15,000 USD + Coaches and facilitators 25,000 USD
• 1st social enterprise registered in Njombe
• An enterprise has a 2 million TZS turnover
• 1st cohort of certified trainers
• Secured funding to run another year

Strategic approach & sustainability

2-3 youth (at least 1 woman) will stay at SINA in Uganda for 9 months to become equipped with all the skills and tools necessary to replicate the model in Njombe. In the meantime, in Njombe, the learning space will be arranged, materials will be procured, SINA Njombe will be registered, local mentors and coaches will be selected and a selection process will be carried out to select 20 participants of the first cohort in Njombe. At least 50% of the selected participants will be women, 15% will be people with disabilities and all of them will come from marginalised and/or poor backgrounds.

Within NIA´s first 2 years, two cohorts of scholars will undergo SINA´s empowerment process (one cohort each year) while living together and co-creating a self-organised, commons-based, feminist and transparent community with open source principles, benefiting from the experience of those youth who stayed in Uganda. Their enterprises will then move into the incubation phase. Before the second cohort starts a “train-the-trainer” training will take place where scholars will get ready to become the life-coaches, mentors, training facilitators and self-management trainers of the second cohort.

In the short term we will look for donations (e.g. local business people). In the medium term social enterprises "born" at NIA will be the main source of income, with donations matched by Panvala and we will experiment with tokenisation or community currencies.

Implementation arrangements

Local youth are the key project agents: they are not “passive beneficiaries” but active agents who lead the creation of a SINA community in Njombe. The other agents offer a conducive environment and provide support and expertise in required topics. This arrangement has already been successfully implemented to replicate SINA communities in Zimbabwe or DRC, to mention a few. It allows youth to gain skills by taking up responsibilities within self-organization in a SINA community and to grow personally and professionally while putting learned tools immediately into practice.

All the agents will walk the talk and self-organise with Holacracy. Hence, decision-making (including the channeling of funds) will be consent-based and transparent.

Transparency

• Gnosis safe main multisig wallet: 0x308Fd8FB79379dEAD5A360FFb6Dd2D1AFf9F5EE4
• Wallet addres for Giveth: 0xAb2456B5758C0d7f4272151eFb56cb7643CA7E30
• Open Collective

Team:

• TEACH: implementing agency, project coordination. Workshop and learning space. Expertise on simple technologies and circular economy
• Local youth (scholars): learn and experience the SINA model and replicate a self-organised community in Njombe.
• SINA (Uganda and other SINA communities): the whole project mentoring and support. International network. Expertise on empowerment process and Holacracy.
• Mzee Pwagu: technological innovation knowledge. Workshop, tools and machines
• Aexie: mentoring and coaching of scholars. Expertise on innovation processes. Learning space in Njombe
• Local and national mentors and coaches
• Buni hub: mentoring for scholars and the whole project. Expertise on innovation processes and incubation. National level network (mentors & coaches, events, business and industry connections) and funding.

Want to contribute?

Check our issues, Simbi or Trusted Seed help wanted board ;)

Karibuni sana!