Enterprise Development Programme

What it does

Business and trade skills training, followed by a grant or asset package to begin trading, six months of mentoring from someone who has done it, and introductions to actual buyers.

Grants are released in stages against agreed milestones rather than as a single lump sum, a control that protects the funds and the participant alike.

Who it is for

Displaced and indigent adults aged 18 and above, with priority to female-headed households, relocated households and persons with disability.

We do not describe this programme as an accelerator, and we do not use the language of investment readiness, that vocabulary draws a programme away from the households it exists to serve.

What success looks like

The enterprise is still trading twelve months later, and the household is earning measurably more than at baseline.

Where it operates

Nasarawa State (Keffi) and the Federal Capital Territory.

How it is delivered

Delivered directly by the Foundation, with mentoring drawn from experienced traders and business owners in the same market.

The three tiers

Start, for those with no business or trading under six months: skills, seed capital and entry to a savings group.

Grow, working capital, pricing and record-keeping, and buyer linkage for those already trading.

Scale, growth capital, formalisation support and aggregation for those employing others.

A participant progresses when ready, and is never enrolled in two tiers at once.

How this programme is measured

Outputs: participants trained; grants disbursed; savings groups formed; mentoring sessions delivered.

Outcomes: enterprises still trading at 6 and 12 months; median income change against baseline; active savings balance; repeat buyers secured.