The women’s and youth economic empowerment program is still on course, and so far it’s training and employing women and youth with technical skills in the fashion and design industries, entrepreneurship, and creating a network for job linkages.
However, the month of July has been a slow month for Daraja 360 social enterprise, with no production taking place and only relying on walk-in clients for the uniform shop. This is as a result of children going back to school and the election period that slowed down economic activity across all sectors.
The production team had to down their tools but in turn, this presented an opportunity to up-skill both the trainees and the workers in quality, systems, speed, and designs to equip them for next season.
Training, Reskilling and Upskilling Workers
Some of the challenges we faced include inadequate training fabrics and lack of training professionals since some were sent home till next season. The management swung into action and decided to purchase training materials for the training program to continue.
We also made job referrals for one of our workers, Elizabeth, for a possible employment opportunity at Bedi Investments. During this period, the management also agreed to extend attachment for 4 trainees: 2 with hearing impairment from Kijiji Mission center and from Rift valley institution for industrial attachment.
We do this in the spirit of inclusiveness and giving the differently abled opportunity to learn and gain sustainable skill for their personal development.
How the Marketing Department Took Advantage of Slow Months to Get New Clients for the Social Enterprise
Due to low production and lack of sales thereof, the Daraja 360 marketing team vibrantly went out of their way to engage our potential customer majorly schools and corporate world. According to Esther Mwangi, Head of Marketing for Daraja 360 Uniform, this move was timely and it aimed at creating and maintaining demand of our unmatched uniform products. The team prepared themselves well and the following were the strategies applied.
Marketing strategy applied
Visiting schools
Social media –online marketing
Referrals from happy clients
Handouts fliers
Daraja booklets
Contacts
Sharing our success stories of women employed by the social enterprise.
Other strategies underway .
Erection of road signage
Application for tenders
At Daraja 360, we believe in innovation and adaptation. We expect more business towards the end of the year, and now that the team is being trained and upskilled, the quality of our products will be able to compete with the industry leaders.
Achievements
The team visited eighteen schools (primary and secondary) (public and private ) within the Daraja catchment area. Of the schools visited, the following achievements were realized:
The Daraja 360 retail shop has received many walk-in clients referred by the heads of the visited schools.
We acquired an order of 200 track suits from Kings Academy.
Obtained an order of 600 pieces of full uniform (tracksuits, sweaters, shirts, trousers, skirts, and PE kits ) for Flamingo Secondary School.
Obtained an order of 300 pieces of track suits from Bridgewater Girls’ High School.
Increased the number of retail clients referred due to our friendly prices and the proximity of the shop to schools.
Received overwhelming positive feedback from school heads.
