The
Coca-Cola Company is partnering with the UK Department for International
Development’s Girls Education Challenge in its Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises
(ENGINE) programme, an initiative to improve learning outcomes and the economic
status of marginalised adolescent girls aged 16-19 in the Northern Nigerian
states of Kano and Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the
metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria.
ENGINE is
guided by Coca-Cola’s 5by20 initiative to economically empower five million
women in their global value chain by 2020. The global humanitarian agency Mercy
Corps will manage the implementation of ENGINE, with support from the Nike Foundation,
Girl Hub Nigeria, solar social enterprise d.light and three Nigerian Civil
Society Organizations.
The project
will be evaluated by The Khana Group, an independent evaluator. GOAL To improve
the lives of 18,000 marginalised girls. THEORY OF CHANGE ENGINE’s Theory of
Change states that when marginalised Nigerian girls complete education and
training cycles and are supported by gatekeepers they will be more skilled
employees and have increased earning power and increased decision-making within
the household.
This Theory
of Change will be supported by ENGINE’s objectives and activities and will
contribute to GEC’s overall impact of improved life chances for marginalised
girls while simultaneously providing further evidence that improved female
education contributes to economic growth, reduced poverty and a range of other
social and environmental benefits.
OUTPUTS
ENGINE activities support three primary outputs: 1. Ensure marginalised
in-school girls improve their learning outcomes in a supportive environment by
participating in weekly Learning Space activities over a nine-month period to
receive academic tutoring as well as employment readiness skills including
financial education and leadership skills.
2.Increase
girls’ economic assets and their influence on household decision making through
access to education, increased learning, and direct linkages to economic
activities. ENGINE will enroll out-of school marginalised girls into nine-month
education cycles to increase their business and entrepreneurial skills.
After
completing the education cycle they can choose to enter the Coca-Cola value
chain as micro retailers or explore other business or employment avenues,
including with social enterprise d.light solar. Through direct receipt of
Coca-Cola assets (specialized training, direct receipt of Coca-Cola selling
infrastructure and on-going mentoring and support) girls will benefit from
increased incomes.
3. Work with gatekeepers to enable girls’
access to and involvement in learning and economic opportunities. These
interventions are critical to ensure girls can engage, enroll and stay in
education and actively participate in income-generating activities to increase
her standing in the household.
OUR APPROACH
Traditional
approaches focus on the supply side of education, by increasing girls’ learning
outcomes or employment skills. Such programmes may, in theory, lead to higher
earning potential but do not directly provide opportunities for integration
into jobs. ENGINE is unique in that it aims to address both the supply side and
the demand side, connecting older adolescent girls with market-driven economic
opportunities.
Between
October 2013-Jan 2016, ENGINE aims to improve the lives of 18,000 marginalized
girls drawn from Lagos and the northern states of Kano, Kaduna and the FCT by
improving the quality and reach of education and ensuring new educational
opportunities translate into real economic and social choices for girls.
This
includes a projected 5,400 marginalized girls currently enrolled in school and
more than 12,600 marginalized girls currently out of school.
OUTCOMES ENGINE
aims to deliver benefits at several levels. · Girl level: Adolescent girls will obtain skills
training that will help lead to increased wages and direct assets. We believe
these benefits and support from gatekeepers will increase their life choices
and influence over household decisions.
· Household level: ENGINE aims to develop more productive
households and communities with improved social and economic status of girls
and women, as well as reduced income poverty within the targeted communities
through increased savings for herself and her household and incentives around
increased learning outcomes. · School level:
ENGINE will
assess learning outcomes and supplement girls’ academic curriculum while
facilitating engagement as schools can adopt the Learning Space curriculum
within the formal school structure. · Business level: By learning and acquiring
demand-driven skills, girls can become more skilled employees and micro-retailers
and a better educated consumer base for products and services. · Community level: Our vision is that
educated ENGINE participants will eventually keep their own children in school
longer - breaking inter generational cycles of low educational achievement and
poverty.
· Government level: ENGINE will work to operationalize
policies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Financial Literacy Framework
included in the Financial Inclusion Strategy and National Youth Development
Policy. · Regional level: ENGINE can help
develop a more competitive and productive economy with more women holding
positions in the formal economy. For More Information Email:
press@mercycorps.org Or visit 5by20.com or mercycorps.org E
Mercy Corps
in Nigeria Building peace through economic development, access to financial
services and greater opportunities for adolescent girls MERCY CORPS SAVES AND
IMPROVES LIVES IN THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST PLACES When natural disasters strike,
economies collapse or conflicts flare, Mercy Corps is there to help people
survive and rebuild their lives. With a network of nearly 4,000 experienced
professionals in more than 40 countries, we are uniquely prepared and equipped
to meet people’s urgent needs – such as food, water and shelter. At the same
time, we start figuring out how to build back better.
OVERVIEW OF OUR NIGERIA PROGRAMS
Mercy Corps
is helping the people of Nigeria by: • Preventing and resolving conflict. •
Building skills and opportunities for girls. • Increasing access to financial
services so people can earn higher incomes.
The Nigeria
Context With approximately 170 million people, Nigeria is the most populous
country in Africa. Its economic, sociocultural and political influence spreads
across the entire continent, yet roughly 70 percent of the population continues
to live in poverty. Income inequality and conflict over resources have
contributed to significant ethnic and religious violence throughout the
country.
OUR STRATEGY
Mercy Corps
believes that efforts to help Nigerians realize their full potential will have
a substantial effect on the economic development and stability of the region
and continent. Our strategy is to promote sustainable development through
partnerships and programing focused on conflict mitigation and economic
development, with particular attention on women and adolescent girls.
Our Work
Preventing and Resolving Conflict Recurring violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt
has consistently undermined the region’s development.
Conflict
between pastoralists and farmers has increasingly taken on religious overtones,
as predominantly Christian farmers clash with Muslim pastoralists over scarce
natural resources. Mercy Corps is working to prevent and resolve conflict
between pastoralists and farmers in four Middle Belt states, with an emphasis
on conflicts that cross religious lines and negatively affect local livelihoods
and economic growth.
Our
programing addresses underlying drivers of community conflict, preventing the
escalation of ethno-religious violence and creating incentives for the
government, the private sector and community members to take proactive measures
to promote stability. We work with communities to prevent and resolve conflict.
Photo: Mercy
Corps Building Skills and Opportunities for Girls In eight northern states, 80
percent of women are illiterate -- compared to 54 percent of men. In one state
women’s illiteracy is as high as 94 percent.
Yet many adolescent girls run
their own small businesses in the informal economy. Mercy Corps recognizes that around the world
adolescent girls are often marginalized and disengaged from household, local
and national decision-making. This leaves them isolated and vulnerable to risky
behavior and exploitation. Yet adolescent girls also present a huge
opportunity.
Mercy Corps
conducted a study profiling 1,800 adolescents to identify key barriers to
girls’ financial inclusion and opportunities for their economic advancement. We
found that one-quarter of girls aged 15 to 19 are working, mostly running their
own small businesses or taking part in small-scale economic activities, such as
handicrafts, home-based businesses and food sales.
We also found strong demand
for financial products and services.
Our projects
help vulnerable families find new ways to earn income. Photo: Mercy Corps.
Using this knowledge, we developed programs to help transform the lives of
adolescent girls.
We are ensuring that the education of marginalized girls is
equitable and scalable by enrolling more girls in school, supporting their
learning and helping them stay in school.
We work to
ensure that girls gain the fullest possible benefits of their education: making
healthy decisions for themselves and their families, earning higher income,
participating in and contributing to their communities in positive ways.
Two programs
support these goals. Our recently launched Girls Opportunity for Advancing
Literacy (GOAL) program works with 1,800 marginalized female junior and senior
school students (ages 15 to 19) in Ministry of Education and Islamiyya schools
in Kano State to improve their success in school and empower them economically.
A second
program will target 16- to 19-year-old girls in school. We aim to improve their
learning by establishing Safe Spaces where they receive academic tutoring,
financial education and leadership skills. We will also target out-of-school
teen girls, building their business, leadership and entrepreneurship skills,
and explore partnerships to expand girls’ access to savings. Improving Access
to Financial Services Mercy Corps provides technical direction for income
generating activities.
Our emphasis
is on identifying and developing appropriate financial services and leading
innovation on economic strengthening strategies. Working in the most financially
excluded region of the country, we are reducing the barriers that keep
vulnerable families from accessing financial services.
We connect these
families with more diverse income sources so they may create better prospects
for themselves. We’re helping girls gain access to financial services so they
can become entrepreneurs. Photo: Mercy Corps Mercy Corps also belongs to the
Central Bank of Nigeria Financial Literacy Implementation Group, through which
we are supporting the development of an effective financial literacy curriculum
for Nigerian schools -- and integrating into the school system the curriculum
that’s developed.
CONTACT Media Inquiries
press@mercycorps.org Mercy Corps Global Headquarters 45 S.W. Ankeny Street
Portland, OR 97204 503.896.5000 800.292.3355
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