Ongoza in collaboration with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provided Business Development Services (BDS) to 25 SMEs in Kenya. This was a project implemented in partnership with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Association of Startup and SMEs Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK). 

The WIDU project was designed to promote and strengthen the economic empowerment of local SMEs in Kenya through coaching and BDS by utilizing the WIDU platform, a platform that connects the SMEs with access to finance from the Kenya Diasporas in German. The SMEs would receive between  $5,000 to $25,000 with a potential matching from the GIZ.

Through this project, Ongoza delivered a context-specific version of its data-proven core accelerator program to 25 SMEs from all 47 counties. Ongoza leveraged its model to provide the required support for this project; this includes the use of Ongoza’s learning platform, virtual/in-person workshops, and virtual or in-person advisory sessions. 

Ongoza offers coaching and mentorship services to SMEs and MSMEs upon agreement of a coaching framework and undergoing training for trainers sessions with GiZ & SCIO.

• Ongoza utilized its in-house team of trained Business Development Advisors who were matched with entrepreneurs through the WIDU platform.
• Each Ongoza Growth Partner mentored 8+ entrepreneurs across the project period, resulting in a total of 75 coaching and mentorship visits.
• Ongoza also leveraged its toolkits and experience to provide high-quality support to these SMEs. The Ongoza team has experience with this proposed model and provides up to four hours of advisory support to entrepreneurs every month. These meetings are sometimes visits to the SMEs’ business premises or done virtually depending on the needs