Karaffa Business Academy concerns itself with improving the lives of vulnerable poor women living in the Kibera slum. Through partnering with like minded individuals and organizations. It visualizes a situation under which those needy and very desperate lives will one day glow in light of immeasurable opportunity. The project aims at facilitating intervention for holistic human development of the target beneficiaries through focused trainings on social and economic issues and further goes on to provide small credit facilities for women who would otherwise not have been able to access such facilities through conventional financial institutions. The project also proposes to intervene in rehabilitating women currently engaged in socially unaccepted behaviors due to lack of alternative income generating activities such women will be rehabilitated and reintegrated back to their society and provide them with better skills and methods of income generation.

The project also addresses the problem of poverty particularly as it is related to high unemployed levels in Kenya and particularly among women in Kibera slum by training suitably selected women to start their own viable businesses in the community.

The struggle to survive captures all the creative energy of people living in abject poverty, while aid and food may help temporarily what is needed is long term change that comes from not simply meeting people’s immediate needs but empowerment through income generating skills,

There is no real development without developing people themselves. Our focus is to overcome vulnerability and dependency of the poor households by focusing on empowering people with necessary business skills and confidence to break out of the cycle of poverty into economic freedom with sustainable solutions that truly enhance human dignity

The second level of training is designed to expand the vision each woman has for the personal growth and of her business. This is undertaken together with follow ups aimed at ensuring the success of their businesses. It also involves creating awareness and linkages to the existing microfinance institutions to enhance access to loans and business knowledge – Unaitas, Kenya Women Finance Trust, Faulu Kenya, Women Enterprise Fund etc. After the training the women in the groups are assisted with seed capital to help them start income generating activities of their choice. Women with prior business skills are attached to successful business women for mentorship and acquiring practical skills in running a business.

Each of the beneficiaries is attached to a middle class business woman with a similar business like the one for the Kibera woman for example saloon business, tailor business, hotel business etc. located in an environment out of the slum.

The beneficiary from the Kibera slum is placed to a business which is larger than hers, has more resources than hers and has the ability to give the woman from the Kibera slum the inspiration, that at some point her business will grow and become the size of that one of the middle class business woman. If certain ideas are put in place and with determination and hard work she can become a very successful entrepreneur.

Having been equipped with the basic training, successful women are given loans of Kshs. 20,000 (235 USD) paid back at an interest rate of up to 7.5. Upon repayment of their first loan each woman is entitled to a second loan at double the amount of the first loan. If this second loan is repaid the women are entitled to a third loan at double the amount of the second loan and so forth. About 15 of the most successful business women on our programme have worked their way out of the slum they serve as role models to the rest of their colleagues who are still living in the slum.