{"id":1254,"date":"2021-06-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.afrilabs.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/28\/afrilabs-and-covidaction-to-support-offline-community-ventures-in-kenya-nigeria-and-uganda\/"},"modified":"2021-06-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T00:00:00","slug":"afrilabs-and-covidaction-to-support-offline-community-ventures-in-kenya-nigeria-and-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.afrilabs.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/28\/afrilabs-and-covidaction-to-support-offline-community-ventures-in-kenya-nigeria-and-uganda\/","title":{"rendered":"AfriLabs and COVIDaction to Support Offline Community Ventures in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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* The partnership will help local offline producers increase their capacity in response to COVID-19<\/p>\n

* Workshops will target those with minimal internet access<\/p>\n

* Intervention runs from the 8th to 21st March 2021<\/p>\n

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(Abuja, Nigeria \u2013 March 8):<\/b>\u00a0Local offline community producers and manufacturers in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda are set to benefit from a partnership between AfriLabs and COVIDaction, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The intervention will deliver workshops to build and increase their capacity to create vital health and community resources in response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

In August 2020, AfriLabs, partnered with\u00a0COVIDaction\u2019s Local Production Local Solutions<\/a>\u00a0theme,\u00a0which focuses on crowdsourcing and mapping innovative responses dealing with the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other unavailable goods. Through the collaboration, AfriLabs helped lead the\u00a0successful scouting of viable offline applications from local producers in various communities across seven (7) focus countries in Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, and South Sudan (read about it\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Through a review by expert judges, we have identified capacity gaps and manufacturing challenges.\u00a0 The offline local producers told us they needed\u00a0capacity-building support\u00a0and access to\u00a0markets to scale their innovations and businesses.\u00a0To tackle these diagnosed constraints, COVIDaction, in partnership with AfriLabs, is leveraging AfriLabs\u2019 existing pipeline of innovation hubs across Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda to deliver tailored workshops to 30 offline producers to strengthen their operations and performance.<\/p>\n

The intervention aims to build the capacity of local offline producers who have limited internet connectivity, helping them improve their processes and scale production. The key objectives of the training are to help selected local producers build the necessary skills that will:<\/p>\n

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  1. Increase resilience to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and similar scenarios<\/li>\n
  2. Increase confidence in growing their businesses<\/li>\n
  3. Increase knowledge of local support systems and networks<\/li>\n
  4. Increase self-reliance to lower concerns about competing businesses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To facilitate this support to offline communities, AfriLabs has recruited 3 of its experienced member hubs to deliver localised workshops to 30 offline ventures across\u00a0 3 locations. The hubs are:<\/p>\n