Rebooting of NGOs for financial sustainability

On October 18-21, Almaty will host the third session for leaders of NGOs - participants of the School of Social Entrepreneurship.

The third and final meeting at the SE school is aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills and developing a strategic plan for their organization. For example, participants will learn how to find resources to finance the project, how to participate in public procurement, will understand in detail the process of strategic planning and learn the basics of marketing. On the final day of training, they will have the opportunity to communicate with the current social entrepreneur who created a successful business, previously engaged in non-profit activities.

For the first time, 15 NGO leaders have met and they gathered for an orientation training lasting from 4-6 May in ALMAU at the NGO Expert Center. During the meeting, they learned what social entrepreneurship is and what are the methods of searching for business ideas and resources, got acquainted with the training program at the School of Social Entrepreneurship, and began to develop their business projects.

The second meeting was aimed at developing a business plan for the future of their company on the basis of the strategic plan. The project participants received not only theoretical knowledge in the Kazakh and Russian languages, but also were supported with practical tasks. The coordinators assigned to each participant advised them in methods of writing the business plan and on other issues necessary for the development of the organization's potential and social entrepreneurship.

"The project is very useful not only in terms of theory, but also practical skills. Step by step, with the help of our coordinators we are growing professionally and developing entrepreneurial skills! We have become one team and I hope we will be successful social entrepreneurs!!!"- says the participant of the school Natalia Murzina, NGO "ASYL Bolashak", Shymkent.

The third stage was reached by the most persistent 10 NGOs, which seriously approached the project conditions and developed business plans, and some have already launched their enterprises and are taking the first steps.

The School of Social Entrepreneurship was established by the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia on the basis of the NGO Expert center within the framework of the project "NGO Expert center sustainability Initiative", implemented with the support of Chevron. The school aims to teach the basics of social entrepreneurship and develop the capacity of NGOs to engage in social entrepreneurship.

"This project is aimed at teaching the basics of social entrepreneurship and developing the capacity of NGOs to engage in social entrepreneurship. To be financially stable, you need to learn how to earn money, and at the same time to solve social problems. About all this our project, and we hope with new knowledge participants will discover unexpected ways and solutions for the development of sustainability of their organizations", - says Alma Sholpankulova, Project Manager.

The project "Sustainability Initiative of the NGO Expert center" is aimed at improving the financial sustainability of the center, as well as the development of social entrepreneurship among NGOs with the potential and motivation for training.

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For further information, please contact Zhazira Zhunosova, EFCA project assistant zhazira@ef-ca.org call (727) 250-18-10, EXT.134. or 8 7012133205