‘What gets measured gets managed’, as the saying goes and for Helen, a Wezesha Business Skills Project (WBSP) graduate, that’s her reminder to manage her small business with a growth mindset.

As a mother of 9 in the rural town Perkerra, about 100 km north of Nakuru in Kenya, the income that Helen’s small business generates is critical for her to be able to support her large family. Even so, she admits that since she started selling clothes 6 years ago she would often feel demotivated and her drive would waiver. ‘I would open and close depending on my mood. It felt like selling clothes was something that I did to pass time’, but then she participated in WBSP business skills training.

Helen recalls that ‘in September the So They Can team came to our village for three days and gave us business training in such a simple way. Learning about retail, agribusiness, business start-up, strategic planning and profit/loss really made sense to me and changed the way I now operate my business’.

Helen attributes the training, and its focus on women’s empowerment, in transforming her attitude, and her life. ‘After the training I realised that I was my own boss. For the first time I understood that I had great potential to improve my business, and my profits to support my children.’

‘We all have limits, and it may not be possible to achieve all of our dreams, but I know that with all of the business knowledge and skills that I’ve gained, I can and will reach my business goals. I’m going to be a bright light rising, and as I succeed in running my small business my blissful rays will lead the way for my fellow village women.’

Helen’s sales have increased by 400% since the training! With renewed enthusiasm and determination she has continued to expand her business. She now sells mens and children’s clothing, fruits, tea and snacks. She greets every customer with a smile, and a warm welcome – ‘karibu!’.