Jiwo Paro

Kenya

A dusk to dawn curfew has been installed nationwide by President Uhuru Kenyatta. In addition, travel restrictions increased to ban movement in and out of Nairobi, Mombasa, and two counties. Other restrictions include: closed borders; schools, pubs, entertainments venues, churches and mosques shut; everyone is required to wear face masks (arrest possible if not worn).

Concerns, Challenges, and Adaptation Measures

Understanding the risks and preventative measures of COVID-19 are of utmost importance. Jiwo Paro recognized this and quickly arranged for a public health official to train their staff and beneficiaries on correct protocols.

Additionally, beneficiaries were urged to work from home whenever possible.

More training sessions are planned for the future, including a face mask sewing workshop.

Emergency Fund

The support from our Emergency Fund has helped purchase food packages, of flour, cooking oil and soap for handwashing, for 40 women entrepreneurs.

Rockflower partner Jiwo Paro Receives Multiple Recognitions

Jiwo Paro and their co-founder, Dancan Onyango,have received a number of recognitions recently. In August, Dancan Onyango was selected alongside 13 other entrepreneurs across five countries in east Africa, to attend a Startup Collaborator Event by Enpact in Berlin, Germany. Rockflower has continued to provide professional development investment to Dancan and his team by covering the cost of transportation to Germany. The investment proved significant as Jiwo Paro won the Pitch Contest and will be participating in a year-long startup mentoring program.

Dancan was also awarded the prestigious Diversity Leadership Fellowship for 2018/19 at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, Massachusetts. Dancan provided some thoughts as to why he believes an MBA will impact his personal and professional development as well as gain him credibility in his respective field. “ I anticipate that on completion of the programme, I will have gained instruction from top notch professionals on how best to contribute to the regional and global discussion. I am also certain that the interaction with fellow counterparts from the programme will enrich my learning experience and further reinvigorate my drive to influence and be part of change in my community.”

Building on the Rockflower partnership, Dancan Onyango will be connecting with another of Rockflower’s partners Women’s World Banking at their event in New York on November 7th, Making Finance Work for Women.

We are excited to see what comes next for Dancan and Jiwo Paro.

“In identifying me as a change maker, Rockflower has shown me that I can continue to believe that I am part of an emerging world community, whereby my actions contribute to building good and sustainable community practices. I am perfectly aware of the world beyond me. In distinguishing myself from the rest, I have learned to respect diverse values and practices. I am eager to shift my paradigm in solving world issues. Furthermore, I acknowledge that it is by working collectively to tackle issues that I can live to see many of the ideals I strive for in my community.”

— Dancan Onyango