Norec 2023 - Business Skills Course in Nairobi, Kenya
In January 2023, Leandra Fobe and Nomawethu Matiwana were sent to Kenya to gain new skills within the entrepreneurial space with Day Africa, an NGO based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Inkululeko and Day Africa have collaborated for the last four years on a project funded by Norec. Norec forms partnerships with organizations, institutions, and companies across the world including Norway, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. They solve global problems based on local needs and conditions and provide grants, training, and access to knowledge and experiences to return home and become active members in their own community.
“The Norec exchange gives us an opportunity to have colleagues travel to another part of the world, engage with their counterparts overseas, and bring those valuable skills back to our organization in South Africa,” said Jason Torreano, CEO of Inkululeko. “We are most grateful for this partnership.”
The idea of this project is to enhance their entrepreneurial abilities for when they return to South Africa. Within the past month in Kenya, Noma and Leandra have been obtaining knowledge and skills within business and diving deep into entrepreneurship.
Noma describes learning about the importance of development and how it can aid in expanding the future of Kenyan youth through skills that Day Africa offers towards both the youth and the unemployed.
She emphasizes the benefits that the Entrepreneurial Skills course has for upcoming entrepreneurs and describes the importance of reaching those who already have their own established businesses.
“One skill I have learned is cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability of a person to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of various backgrounds.”
Noma describes the Kenyan environment as being business minded, as she goes on to say that, “There is no time for the laziest here as people are self motivated, go-getters, and when they see an opportunity, they grab it with both of their hands.”
Noma plans to utilize these newly established skills when she is back in South Africa and become an entrepreneur that includes people of all cultures and backgrounds.
Leandra speaks on the same topics, as she also describes learning about entrepreneurial skills within the business skills course and how this program goes deep into explaining the topics in a more understanding way. “With the business skills course, we can go broader in a perspective that the learners will understand better than what is taught within the books.”
She goes on to describe the importance of proper communication and honesty in the workplace as both qualities build trust and a sense of understanding, transparency, and liability.
“I have learned to build a close relationship with the team you are working with along with creating a solid relationship with sponsors and stakeholders as it helps not only myself, but also enables the work space to grow wiser and creates a reason to wake up each day to continue on.”
Leandra plans on using these new skills when she returns to South Africa to create an open and friendly space built on communication and transparency within the entrepreneurial sphere.
Noma and Leandra continue their work in Kenya in order to gain entrepreneurial skills to bring back with them to South Africa and lead monumental change within their communities.