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Enterprise development is fundamental to supporting the ability of populations in our host countries to maintain sustainable livelihoods.
At Tullow, we have two core areas of focus: (1) to assist local enterprises to gain the skills and opportunities to develop and grow their income, and (2) to enhance their access to finance. These aims are aligned with our Shared Prosperity objectives and are an essential element of our positive impact in our host countries.
In Kenya, Tullow has partnered with the KCB Foundation to develop a social economic investment (SEI) programme for micro businesses to provide competence-based training, training on entrepreneurship and business development. Participants are required to write business plans and receive assistance to link them to finance to secure working capital for their businesses.
The SEI programme started in 2019 with 265 Tullow sponsored beneficiaries, drawn from the seven counties that are part of Project Oil Kenya, to study building, construction and automotive subjects. The courses included competence-based training in automotive, electrical technology, welding and plumbing and were held in schools in Nairobi. The beneficiaries completed their competence-based training and were able to sit exams in 2019.
“Local enterprise development was identified as a key focus area in our community engagements in Kenya and we are pleased with the success of the programme developed in partnership with the KCB Foundation. Enterprise development aligns with Tullow’s Shared Prosperity priorities and we are committed to social investment in education and skills development to enhance employability and enterprise development, including supporting agricultural livelihoods to increase local entrepreneurship.” Franklin Juma, General Counsel and External Affairs Manager, Tullow Kenya
Beneficiaries who had successfully passed their exams and graduated from their institutions of learning were onboarded to the Business Development Services (BDS) programme in late 2019. However, the engagements were delayed due to the pandemic and began from late 2020 and into 2021. The BDS services offered included marketing services to prepare a one-page business plan, legal services to register business names, accounting services to set up bank accounts, and established 151 businesses.
To support participants in setting up their businesses, Tullow also provided them with business start-up toolkits to enable them to shift from being job seekers to job creators. At the end of 2021, a total of 151 business start-up toolkits were issued, and a total of 155 jobs were created, both direct and indirect, from the SEI programme.
In June 2022, a further 43 business start-up kits were provided to students who had been supported in the past to study at Lodwar Vocational Training Centre, and a further 48 kits were donated to Lodwar Vocational Training Centre.
Tullow has a legacy of supporting micro businesses in Kenya. Between 2017 and 2019 we partnered with Technoserve on an SEI initiative to provide business skills training to 336 micro businesses.
Learn more about how Tullow supports micro businesses via our Sustainability Report.