By Ivan Karegeya, M&E Fellow
My tenure as a Monitoring and Evaluation fellow with Solar Sister over the past three and a half months has been an inspiring journey. I’ve had the opportunity to tackle new challenges and shoulder increased responsibilities, honing my skills and building a career in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research. Exposure to novel data systems like Salesforce and Taroworks, my debut with Canva, and the chance to contribute to a grant proposal have all enriched my experience. Most importantly, my work has directly impacted the lives of Solar Sister Entrepreneurs, which has been truly inspiring.
My biggest project completed during my fellowship is the Solar Sister Entrepreneur and Business Development Associate Listening Series Analysis Report. In May 2023, Solar Sister launched a Listening Series project, a collaborative effort conducted in three countries of operation– Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. The Listening Series aims to reach out to Solar Sister Entrepreneurs regularly to get a “pulse check” and monitor changes in their businesses over time. In my time at Solar Sister, I thoroughly analyzed the Listening Series feedback to date.
Working with a substantial data set, my task was to delve into the context, decipher the insights, and chart a course for action. This process of bringing data to life was both challenging and rewarding. Once the most challenging aspect of data use was completed, I employed descriptive and inferential analysis to identify trends across the data. Finally, I used Canva to create a comprehensive and visually appealing report, presenting the data in a compelling and informative manner.
The Listening Series report details much about the experiences of the Solar Sister entrepreneurs and current working conditions. It is a platform for them to convey their thoughts and ideas to improve their work and Solar Sister’s support. The intended results are to build a two-way communication system with Solar Sister, with an expected improvement in their work as entrepreneurs and climate change champions.
This will enable Solar Sister to adjust program-wise to create more value for the entrepreneurs. In addition, the report also provides more information about other factors or sequences of events beyond the organization’s control that are, in one way or another, positively or negatively influencing the outcomes. This serves as crucial information in evaluating the impact of the program. Some highlights from my report are depicted below.
- 67% of respondents report identifying a new income-generating opportunity in addition to the Solar Sister business they initially started with, such as agricultural pursuits, tailoring, or opening a new shop.
- Over ⅓ of respondents reported price fluctuations and market competition being the greatest challenges in their businesses.
- Nearly ⅔ of respondents spend their prior month’s income on family or home-related needs.
This offers the Solar Sister Entrepreneurs an opportunity to give feedback, discuss what they want in line with Solar Sister, and provide insights into what can be improved. They included product-related, line-of-work, training, and other needs that would better support them in their entrepreneurship journey.