Foreword 1

1. Introduction 2

1.1 Organizational Background 2

1.2 The process of the Strategic Plan Development 3

2. The Context 3

2.1 The Operating Enviroment 3

2.2 Socio-economic Profile of the target group 5

2.3 Target community’s Perception of Poverty 6

3. Stakeholders’ Analysis 7

4. Performance during 2010-2014 7

5. Internal and External Analysis 10

6. Vision, Mission and Values 12

7. Strategic Objectives 13

8. Overarching Approach and Programme Strategies 15

8.1 Overarching Approach 15

8.2 Programme Strategies 16

9. Implementation /Guiding Principles 17

10. Target Groups 18

11. Area of Operation 19

12. Organizational Development 19

12.1 Human Resource Development 19

12.2 Funding 19

12.3 Documentation and Communication 20

12.4 International Networking 20

12.5 Training and Learning Manuals 20

13. Monitoring, Evaluation and Measuring Impact 21

14. Assumptions, Risks and Mitigating Measures 23

Theory of Change 25

In-country partnership 26

Network of Functional Teams of WISE 27

Center of Excellence 28

Major Supporters of WISE 29 A song Dedicated to WISE 30 Acknowledgement 31

Table of Contents

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Since its establishment in 1997, the Organization for Women in Self Employment has been working with low-income women and girls in their efforts to improve the quality of their lives. With a vision of seeing a nation where absolute poverty is eradicated and women are economically empowered, the Organization has been striving to make its contribution meaningful through designing a programme and interventions that address the core issues of poverty and dependence among the target members.

In the strategic plan developed for the 2010-2014 operational period, we identified two central aspira-tions: to evolve into a renowned national training center in the area of micro-enterprise development, and to continue building institutions that render lasting services to their members. We believed that refining our excellence in training and expanding our participation in collaborative partnerships would give us the organizational structure and character necessary for us to become a leading organization fo-cusing on women-led micro and small business development. Now, when I reflect on where we were in 2010 and how far we’ve come, I am confident that we are achieving our goals. I attribute this achievement to the support we have obtained from our partners, the unreserved commitment of our mission-driven staff, the will of our sister organizations, and the hard work of our target members. The driving motto, which has been the engine of our work during the past many years, has been excellence.

For the 2015 – 2019 operational period, we do not envision a major strategic shift. Instead, we will:

» Continue to demonstrate that we are a center of excellence in the focus of our work through producing visible results, innovation, availing reliable information, developing continually repli-cable strategy and programme, etc.

» Work closely with partners and build alliances in the provision of services, research, and knowl-edge sharing activities, both nationally and internationally;

» Strengthen our overarching approach using the concept of Asset Based Development; » Grow in terms of both outreach and excellence to record transformation in the lives of our tar-

gets.

Our accountability, both downward and upward, will be ensured through our value-driven staff and transparent systems. Implementing the planned activities of this strategic plan will require us to solicit funding and other support from our partners while strengthening our internal revenue generation ca-pacity.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all our supporters, Board members, and dedicated staff for their contributions during the past five years, and I look forward to earning their continued support during the next five years and beyond.

Tsigie HaileDirectorSeptember, 2014

Foreword

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1 Introduction

1.1 Organizational Background

Registered since 1997, the Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) has been working with low-income women and girls in their efforts to improve the quality of their lives. Since its founding, WISE has directly reached over 28,000 women and girls and 850 weavers’ households in seven of the ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa. Moreover, over 17,000 women and men have been provided with our training services through partnership with 180 like-minded sister organizations operating in different regions of the country. Furthermore, around 440 staff members of like-minded organizations have received WISE’s training of trainers (TOT) in Business, Life and Leadership skills. The direct target members are orga-nized into 64 saving and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in 55 woredas of the seven sub-cities. In addition to the SACCOs established by WISE, sister organizations that replicate our programme approach have supported the establishment of many SACCOs in their areas of operation. Thus, our aim of expanding outreach through strategic partnerships has been successfully achieved.

Because counting numbers only is not sufficient to demonstrate an organization’s contribution, a study was conducted at the end of 2011 to assess the rate of success among the direct target women and girls, and to document the factors that contributed to their success. The consultant who was commissioned to do the assessment on a sample size of 1000 determined that women and girls who had received WISE services enjoyed an 82.5% rate of success. “Success” was defined as:

• The ability to grow in income levels and to use the increased income to send children to better schools, cover medical expenses, live in an improved housing condition, etc.; and

• Growth in self-confidence, change in outlook, feeling of hopefulness.

According to the assessment, the factors that contributed to the success of these women and girls were ranked as follows:

1. The various trainings offered – in Business/entrepreneurship, Life Skills, Leadership and Man-agement, Health Education and Literacy & Numeracy.

2. The follow-up and support offered by WISE staff; and

3. The financial services that includes loan, saving and insurance

In terms of organizational development, the initial staff size of seven (1998) has grown to 120 (2014). The cooperatives, Union of cooperatives, and the business units that have been established cover the salaries of over 50% of the staff. This is a sign that the services provided by WISE are sustainable. In terms of physical assets, the Organization owns two, three-storey buildings, one of which is eight years old and one which was dedicated in 2013.. In addition, WISE rents three branch training centers to deliver our services in other parts of the city.

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1.2 The Process of the Strategic Plan Development

This strategic plan was produced through a participatory process involving key stakeholders. Staff at different levels were engaged in brainstorming sessions, a review of the performance of the past five years, Strength/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats (SWOT) analysis, and the actual creation of this document. Leaders of the savings and credit cooperatives were involved in SWOT analysis and propo-sitions for the plan period. Comments were collected from the Board members and different individ-uals and feedback was incorporated in the final document.

2 The Context

2.1 The Operating Environment

WISE operates primarily in Addis Ababa, the capital city of the country where poverty is widespread.

With over 80 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Af-rica, and the United Nations categorizes Ethiopia as one of the least developed countries in the world. The country’s per capita income of $410 is substantially lower than the regional average. It is estimated that approximately 35% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Addis Ababa has been expanding, both physically and in population, in the past several decades. A city of about half a million residents in 1961 (AABOFED 2009), the population in 2011 is stated to be more than 5 million (CSA 2011). While the decline in death rate has contributed to this increase in population, an equally important contributor to this increase in population is the rapid pace of rural urban migration. According to the 2007 Population and Housing Census, about 48% of the residents of the city were migrants. While it is true that the level of unemployment in the city has slowly declined over the years, the rate remains worryingly high. The results of a March 2011 survey by the Central Statistical Agency revealed that Addis Ababa had the highest level of unemployment in the Country (25%) (CSA 2011).

Like many of its counterparts in the developing world, Addis Ababa suffers from urban decay and the emergence of slums, particularly in the older, city center neighborhoods. According to the 2011 United Nations’ Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) report, 80% of Addis Ababa is considered a slum with 70% of this comprising government owned rental housing. Fortunately, this situation is improving with the government’s urban renewal programme.

WISE STAFF

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Ethiopia has recently exhibited rapid economic growth with average annual real Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 11% during 2004-2010 (International Monetary Fund, 2011). However, this double digit growth rate was accompanied by a double digit inflation rate (15% on average during the period), which appears to have had adverse impacts on the welfare of citizens (Alem & S¨oderbom, 2012). So, although ob-jective poverty declined over time, subjective poverty remained high, which suggests that economic growth was not followed by improvement in the welfare of the multidimensional poor.

In Ethiopia, urban poverty relative to rural poverty and national level poverty has increased over time. As a result, urban poverty reduction has emerged as an important area of intervention in urban development and planning. Urban poverty reduction policies and strategies have to be based on assets, capabilities, and activities of the urban poor for effective achievements. Policies also need to address the fact that the poor face different challenges and obstacles in different cities and towns.

The government of Ethiopia, together with development partners, has put poverty reduction strategies high on the national agenda in order to achieve broad-based and sustained economic growth. Despite the gov-ernment’s recent initiatives to tackle poverty, the country is still faced with widespread poverty. Unemploy-ment, malnutrition, homelessness, poor housing conditions, poor infrastructure, unhealthy environmental sanitation, and poor sewerage systems are prevalent. Evidence shows that while unemployment in urban areas remains widespread, it declined markedly since 1999 for the economy as a whole and for youth in particular. However, while the economy has demonstrat-ed impressive reductions in unemployment, women have not benefited as much as men. They have sig-nificantly higher unemployment rates than their male counterparts and are often confined to the informal sector. Women involved in this sector are subject to various constraints. For example, working conditions for women are poor, and failure to register as a formal business entity places them at a disadvantage. These women also endure harassment, and unsafe and non-secure work environments. Many have had sporadic trainings on different aspects of entrepreneurship, but these have largely been uncoordinated and thus did not benefit the trainees appropriately. Because of these challenges, and the lack of access to capital, women generally have low incomes and are often unable to pay for their basic needs.

Currently, the Ethiopian government is emphasizing the establishment of big, product-oriented manu-facturing enterprises, with a goal of finding employment for the younger generation. The first step in this direction requires moving people out of the “low competence in hard and soft skills and low productivity” to enhance employability. As a result, there is an increased need to provide job- and skills-based training for young adults to make them more employable. To this end, WISE intends to develop vocational training

Addis Ababa City View from WISE

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programs over the next five years to help ensure that young workers have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workplace of the future.

The legislation to regulate civil society organizations (CSOs) passed in January 2009 came in to effect in 2010. The law provides opportunities for the operation of organizations such as WISE, and allows orga-nizations to engage in income generating activities. However, the law also restricts the ability of orga-nizations to promote some activities related to gender equality and the promotion of individual rights. WISE re-registered as an Ethiopian Residents Charitable Organization in October, 2009, and continues to obtain funding from foreign sources.

2.2 Socio-economic Profile of the Target Group

The major target group members of WISE will continue to be low-income women and girls who are severely affected by poverty and marginalization. In keeping with the Organization’s core value of in-clusiveness, low-income women living with HIV/AIDS, illiterate women, single women, women with disabilities, women returnees, and women beggars are all included in the target group. The Organiza-tion will also focus on bringing in more female youth during this strategic plan period.

Baseline data shows that the rate of illiteracy among the target group is between 20-25%. Even among those who had some education many years ago, their reading and writing skills are not sufficient to allow them record their business transactions. While the current proportion of single women in the target group is approximately 40%, this percentage is likely to rise as additional, young females are targeted for inclusion. More than 60% of the target women have three or more dependents, and most live in pathetic housing conditions. These conditions vary from one area to the other, with women in peri-urban Woredas like Yeka sub-city faring worse than others.

Members at a meeting

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2.3 Target Community’s Perception of Poverty

For his Ph.D. dissertation, Family Resilience in Context: The Experiences of Impoverished Female Headed Urban Families Participating in Economic Cooperatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2014), Dr. Debebe Ero, Assistant Professor at the Addis Ababa University School of Social Work, drew his study group from WISE’s savings and credit cooperatives. Here are some interpretations of poverty given by the study group members.

“My poverty doesn’t have any equivalent symbol to describe. It was severe and beyond words to explain… when I wish to work, there is nothing to work with (no cents), so how can I work? When I don’t have money, the month runs faster than the normal time. House rent, electric and water bills … seem to come fast… even getting water to drink was a problem as a litre of water cost ten cents which I did not have.”

“Before I was supported by the cooperative, I was low. I used to feel that even my thinking ability is less than others. Belittled myself and felt that I am not equal to other human beings. I considered myself bad and useless who cannot do anything useful to change my life. When such thinking engrossed my mind, I usually cried with a feeling of hopelessness.

“It was a very bad experience for me. If a woman lacks the means to engage in some kind of activity, if a woman lacks to feed, clothe and care for her children, and if a woman is forced to helplessly stare at her children while they are crying for food, there is nothing scary that makes her feel lesser than other people. I lived in such a state of poverty.”

“I told you that poverty has been sickness for me. I was not better than a sick person. I was always in a depressed and shrunk feeling whenever I thought of providing food to my children. Some days, I pray inside/in my heart, the children not to ask me for food. I don’t think this is an indication of healthiness.”

“People in this area don’t like me. They say … rootless, her origin is not known…”.

Other interpretations include such phrases as: lack of access to information; lack of capability to initi-ate, manage, and sustain income generating activities to overcome poverty; limited opportunities due to low exposure, network, and entrepreneurship skills; short and long-term illnesses; deprivation; and low education.

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3 Stakeholders’ Analysis

Key stakeholders of WISE include the saving and credit cooperatives; the Union of WISE SACCOs; fund-ing partners and other supporters; government institutions, particularly Women, Children and Youth offices at different government structure levels and cooperatives organizing offices; the Charities and So-cieties Agency; the Finance and Economic offices; networks in which WISE participates; research institu-tions; staff; the General Assembly; and WISE Board members. The interests and level of influence of these stakeholders were analyzed and appropriate modalities for their participation were identified.

4 Performance during 2010-2014

The performance of WISE during the period 2010-2014 was guided by the strategic plan developed in 2009. The Programme Plan and Budget provided detailed activity and financial plans for performance. A number of assessments on performance were carried out during the period which were used as input for the final evaluation of the plan. In 2014, a review of the implementation of the plan was conducted in a participatory manner by in-house staff. Overall, the Organization has been implementing various activ-ities under three strategic pillars for promoting and attaining economic empowerment among its target low-income women and girls. The three strategic pillars are (1) Organizing and Institutions Development, (2) Enterprise Development, and (3) Learning and Strategic Partnerships.

Some of the key performance and results of the Organization during the 2010-2014 strategic plan period are summarized below:

• WISE has become increasingly successful in creating sustainable access to resources and services for its target members by developing institutions and groups such as saving and credit cooperatives (SAC-COs), a cooperatives union and producers/market groups. WISE has organized more than 10,500 low-income women and girls and around 850 male weavers during the five-year period, making the total direct target members reached since 1998 around over 29,000. In terms of SACCOs, 19 were established during the 5 years making the total 64. Of these, 39 are fully self-reliant, and 12 of which are able to partially cover their costs. Organizing women into strong producers and market groups continues to be a challenge; during the strategic period, only nine market groups and six producer groups were formed.

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• The Organization has trained close to 13,000 women, girls and male weavers, and provided business development services (BDS) to more than 1,500 during the 5-year period. Forty four percent of the target members who were earning no income before joining the programme are now self-employed. Ninety two percent, 87% and 92% of the target members have been able to increase their profit, saving, and capital, respectively. Although the women now own a business and make profit, many find it chal-lenging to grow their enterprises from micro to small levels, i.e. to business capital over Birr 50,000.

• Training and cooperative development practices of WISE have created pronounced interest among like-minded organizations. In this strategic period, over 80 organizations were given various services that enabled them replicate WISE’s good practices, mainly through training. Evaluation shows that most of these like-minded organizations have implemented the good practices, and that the lives of their target members have recorded positive changes. Of the 80 organizations, 25 replicated WISE’s program approach in their target areas through WISE-Union of Ethiopian Women Charitable Asso-ciations (UEWCA) partnership funding from Civil Society Support Program (CSSP). Twenty seven percent of the individuals these organizations targeted, who originally did not have any income, have become business operators. In addition, some of those who were already business operators were able to expand their businesses, and others have changed their businesses into profitable ventures.

• Tremendous changes have been recorded in the lives of the target members; women and girls have started to earn income above the poverty line, to easily pay for educational and medical expenses for their families, to improve their housing condition, and to make regular savings. More importantly, the target women have transformed lives; have become self-confident, and they are now active social and economic actors. A study commissioned in 2011 by a consultant confirms this information. The study looked into the proportion of successful members out of a sample of 1,000 women and girls who have been with the programme for two or more years. The results of the study indicate that 82.5% of the respondents believe that they are successful persons in terms of economic and non-economic basis. Factors that have contributed to their success were identified as the training services, the staff follow-up and support, and the financial services. (See Success Rate and Factors Contributing to Suc-cess among the Target Members of WISE, WISE, 2011)

• • • • • • •

Target Members

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• In terms of organizational development, WISE has been able to build and furnish its second training and women’s products display center with a cost of close to Birr 9.0 million. The center is currently fully functional with excellent furniture, wifi facilities, a resource center, a space for women to display their products, etc. The idle facilities are bringing in income for the business unit, Meleket Training Services, established as WISE’s business venture in 2012. The training programme of the Organization has also been accredited by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Department of Nefas Silk Lafto Sub-city Administration. In 2012, it was given accreditation for the provision of short cours-es in Business Skills, Leadership and Management, and Life Skills. In 2014, following the new TVET regulation, renewal of the license was obtained for three technical/vocational training subjects: Apparel Making, Basic Computer Skills, and Housekeeping.

• International networking has enhanced the capacity, image, and reputation of WISE during the stra-tegic period. In 2012, the Institute of International Education (IIE) decided to select one organization from each of four African countries to be developed as Centers of Excellence in Women’s Leadership, and WISE was the one organization selected from Ethiopia. Similarly, Coady International Institute of Canada coordinates three African organizations in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia, and selected one or-ganization from each county to include in their Strengthening Women’s Leadership for Economic Em-powerment and Food Security project. Again the one organization selected from Ethiopia was WISE. In addition, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) of India has selected WISE to be the focal point for the project SETU-Africa that is being implemented in five African countries. Moreover, part-nerships have been established with institutions in Germany and the Netherlands.

• WISE has further developed its strength in attracting new funding partners while maintaining rela-tionships with long-term donors.. ILO and Italian Development Cooperation have granted meaningful capacity building support for WISE, and the Royal Danish Embassy generously granted funds to fill gaps for the years 2013 and 2014. CAFOD, SCIAF, and Trocaire (CST) has extended its partnership for another five years . WISE was also able to obtain USD 130,000 from one family, Melissa Waggener and Kristo Zorkin, for the construction of the second building. And one donor who used to finance WISE through Concern Worldwide – Ethiopia from 2006-2010, the Louvre Leger Foundation, has decided to select WISE as the organization with which to work in Ethiopia. Income generated internally by WISE has also been significant in supporting the programme costs.

House Keeping Training

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5 Internal and External Analysis

Critical issues were identified through a SWOT analysis that looked at both internal and external factors. These issues were analyzed to evaluate the strengths of the Organization upon which it will build, the limitations it will address, the opportunities that can be exploited, and the challenges that may be faced. The analysis was carried out in a participatory way by allowing various stakeholders like Board members, staff, researchers, and cooperative leaders to take part. Participants contributed to this analysis through discussions and research findings. Discussions were held among various groups in Management meet-ings, Board meetings, Staff meetings, and a mid-year Participatory Review and Reflection Program. Crit-ical issues were identified based on the analysis. These include i) Capacity development of staff; ii) Co-operatives performance (withdrawals and inactive members in particular); iii) Attracting young women through appropriate interventions; iv) Funding issues. A summary of the analysis is presented below.

MAJOR STRENGTHs MAJOR WEAKNESSESMany committed and strong staff.

Expertise in organizing SACCOs.

Well-organized training programme and experienced trainers.

Internal revenue generation for flexible financial source.

Networking with governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Ownership of own buildings with suffi-cient space.

Organizational values internalized by most staff members.

Cost-sharing and graduation approach.

Focused programme emphasizing self- reliance and empowerment.

Tracing economically poor women/girls.

Excellent records of achievements on impact.

Market linkage programs – bazaars, weekend market in the compound and display center.

Good public image.

Weak system of handling out-going and incoming employees.

Staff turnover among Facilitators.

Mismatch between salary and workload.

High dependency on donor funding.

Inadequate documentation and communi-cation practice.

Inadequate promotion of WISE and the Business Unit.

Insufficient partnership with research and technology institutes.

Lack of appropriate collection space for cooperatives in many Woredas.

Under-utilization of building space for in-come generation, training, etc.

Low capacity utilization for technical and vocational training programmes.

High drop-out rate from cooperatives, the older ones mainly.

Lack of quick service in most cooperatives.

Lack of succession plan at higher positions.

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OPPORTUNITIES THREATSGovernment support to micro and small

enterprises and cooperatives.

Fast-growing economy of the country.

Fast-growing international manufactur-ing companies in the country.

Growing interest of young, economically poor women in self-employment.

Women’s issues still an agenda in the world.

Support from Regional and sub-city TVET offices.

ICT development opening opportunities for efficiency and growth.

Growing demand for business/entre-preneurship trainings and business development services.

Undesirable effects of inflation on purchas-ing power and fund utilization.

Changing government policies, rules and regulations, e.g. TVET banning license for soft and short courses.

Displacements of households due to city renewal.

Free handouts by organizations in project locations creating unhealthy competitions and promoting dependency and low zeal for hard work.

Constraining program cost rule of Chari-ties and Societies Agency for undertaking researches, assessments, adequate M&E, learning and staff development.

Duplication of services by various bodies in same localities.

Poor quality of education resulting in scar-city of competent employees.

Global funding shifts; aid to trade, regional and thematic interests, new developments like EBOLA, etc.

Man-made and natural calamities.

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8. Overarching Approach and Programme Strategies

8.1 Overarching Approach

i) Women’s economic empowerment. Economic advancement mainly through self-employment for self-reliance and access to business development services.

ii) Asset-based development. Starting from own capabilities, resources, strengths, etc., and building on them.

iii) Knowledge, skills, and attitude-based transformative women’s leadership in one’s household, busi-ness, community, and cooperative.

iv) Organizing SACCOs and other groups for sustainable services and collective action. Access to financial services to develop saving habit and to start or expand one’s business.

v) Reaching out through strategic partnerships. Promoting replication of WISE’s good practices and provision of services to like-minded organizations.

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8.2 Programme Strategies

WISE will employ a three-prong programme strategy to achieve the stated vision, mission, and strate-gic objectives. These are:

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9 Implementation/Guiding Principles

WISE will adopt the following implementation guidelines in its programme activities.

Self-reliance:

Focus on economic independence and working against free hand-outs and dependency syndrome. Iden-tifying own assets (strengths, opportunities, resources, etc.) and building on them. Bringing attitudinal changes among the low-income community and partners for achieving transformed lives.

Inclusion

Involving target groups, their spouses, families, and the community in the programme. Diversifying tar-get groups by including low-income women with disabilities, women with HIV/AIDS, illiterate women, women-headed households, migrant workers, returnees, and street beggars.

Learning and sharing

Continually learning from own experience as well as others and sharing good practices and information with a wider public so that the programme will have spill-over effects.

Sustainability

Ensuring the sustainability of the programme through capacity building of the institutions, cost sharing, leadership development, income generation, and SACCO membership with the Union.Partnership

Collaborating and networking with different organizations and participating in networks and forums to promote learning and replication of WISE’s programme as well as advancing implementation of action plan and excellence.

Synergy

Addressing, to the extent possible, the critical issues of development of the target group to ensure holistic development.

Continual improvement

Reflecting regularly on performance to learn from experience and enhance innovation and continual im-provement in the quality of services provided to the target group and partners. Excelling in performance in all regards.

Partnership

Collaborating and networking with different organizations and participating in networks and forums to promote learning and replication of WISE’s programme as well as advancing implementation of action plan and excellence.

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Synergy

Addressing, to the extent possible, the critical issues of development of the target group to ensure holistic development.

Continual improvement

Reflecting regularly on performance to learn from experience and enhance innovation and continual im-provement in the quality of services provided to the target group and partners. Excelling in performance in all regards.

Security, safety and health

Ensuring, to the extent possible, the security of employment of the target members. Promoting the concept of safety and health in one’s occupation both for staff and target group. Ensuring the protection of target members and their children in connection with their relationship with staff or visitors.

10 Target Groups

The strategic plan period will bring in 15,000 new women and girls into its direct programme. This will add to the number of target members reached since 1998, which stands close to 29,000. Female youth will be given special focus. Husbands and children will be included in certain interventions such as discussion forums, training in Reproductive Health, Kids Days, experience sharing and recognition events.

Thirty five-thirty eight (35-38) new savings and credit cooperatives will be established, making the total of approximately 100. Over 28,000 members will be able to access financial services from their cooperatives for their different needs.

At least 80 like-minded organizations will receive WISE’s services in order to replicate partly or fully the programme strategy of WISE. As a result, approximately 10,000 target members located in different parts of the country will be reached, making the total reached 27,000. Staff of the partner organizations will re-ceive Train the Trainer courses which will be held three times a year.

The cooperatives and Union will establish relationships with other financial service providers such as micro finance institutions, banks and insurance companies.

Security, safety and health training

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11 Area of Operation

All the ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa will be reached. This means three new sub-cities will be included during the strategic plan period. Moreover, efforts will continue to expand outreach to all regions of the country through strategic partnerships, which will include providing Train the Trainer training, direct training to target members of other organizations, experience sharing for programme replication, sharing of information, and similar activities.

12 Organizational Development

The following organizational development measures will be taken in order to achieve the plan of action for the five-year period and to further ensure WISE’s emergence as a Centre of Excellence.

12.1 Human Resource Development

A concerted effort in human resource development will be vital to ensure that competent, highly com-mitted, mission and value-driven staff are attracted, motivated, and retained. Development of a strong and visible culture will continue. Planned staff development in house, in country, and internationally will be implemented to ensure the required knowledge, skills, and attitude are prevalent. WISE’s staff salaries and benefits will be comparable in the sector. The minimum salary of an employee will not be less than USD 2/day. Incentive-based payment system will continue to be used. Succession planning will be given special focus.

12.2 Funding

The implementation cost estimation for this strategic plan is approximately Birr 70 - 80 million. WISE will continue to depend on external sources of funding to implement its plan of action for the five years. However, by the end of the fifth year, it will strive to cover at least 20% -30% of its programme cost from income generated through the business unit, Meleket Training Services. This will entail promoting the services of the business unit and building its capacity. The institutions established during the strategic period will be developed so that they evolve to cover their costs, and cost-sharing methods will be applied in certain activities. (The Programme Plan and Budget for 2015-2019, document presents the details of the budget requirement.)

Addis Ababa City

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12.3 Documentation and Communication

One of the gaps of the Organization has been in documentation and communication. During this planning period, WISE will develop a system for documenting its accomplishments, achievements, lessons learned, and experience. It will also improve its internal and external communication system to ensure efficiency and visibility. IT-based systems will be implemented using up-to-date services. Moreover, usage of social media will be enhanced.

12.4 International Networking

In addition to networking in-country, WISE will solicit enhanced international connections with like-mind-ed institutions. The current connections through EMPOWER (Coady International Institute, Canada), African Centers of Excellence (Institute of International Education, USA), SETU-Africa (SEWA, India) will continue, and others will be created.

12.5 Training and Learning Manuals

Some of the training and learning manuals will be digitalized. The contents will be revised at least once and at most twice during the five year period. Most of the manuals will be available in Amharic, English, Oromiffa, and Tigrigna. Training aids will also be improved. Thuse, WISE emerge as a well-known Centre of Excellence.

Training Manuals

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13 Monitoring, Evaluation and Measuring Impact

The planning, monitoring and evaluation system of WISE will be revised to include mainly tools such as the logic model, and result-based management. Baseline data and indicators will be collected and identified respectively for each funding partner and consolidated programme. The data will be used as an important means to measure the impact of the programme on the target members’ lives.

The monthly management staff meetings and quarterly all staff assemblies will continue to monitor prog-ress of accomplishments. The Board will meet quarterly to monitor the performance of the Organization. The General Assembly will meet to examine and approve annual plans, annual reports and annual audits. Moreover, the mid-year and year-end participatory review and reflection programme (PRRP) will be held with improved processes. The year-end PRRP participants will be drawn from all relevant stakeholders. They will evaluate the successes and challenges of the programme using a range of participatory tools. Feedback will be incorporated in the plan for the subsequent implementation period.

Quarterly, semi-annual, and annual narrative and financial reports will be sent to concerned stakeholders, detailing planned vs accomplished activities. Case studies, including stories developed using the Most Sig-nificant Change method, will continue to be produced and disseminated to illustrate the actual impact of initiatives on the lives of individual members and households.

A mid-term evaluation will be conducted half-way through the strategic plan period in order to assess how the programme is progressing in terms of achieving the intended results. The outcomes of the review will inform the Organization and stakeholders of the success and gaps of the programme. Timely action will be taken to fill the gaps and share the good practices with others. A comprehensive evaluation will be conducted at the end of the strategic plan period to document achievements of the programme objectives.

Key Outcome and Impact Indicators

A key measurement for the eradication of absolute poverty and economic self-reliance will be attainment of at least USD 2.00/day. The following will be indicators for each strategic objective that will be used to monitor and evaluate achievements.

a) Creation of employment opportunities.

• Engagement in employment of at least 95% of target members.• Growth in income by at least 50% from the baseline.• Growth in savings by at least 10% annually.• Ability to cover household expenses from one’s own income by at least 70% of target members.• Ability to create jobs for others by at least 20% of target members.

b) Development of transformational Women leaders.

• Demonstration of transformational leadership skills among 75% of target members.• Improvement in role of leadership in household, community institutions, business, etc. among 75%

of target members.• Improvement in understanding the role of women in leadership and participation among 75% of

target members.

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c) Building sustainable institutions of the target members.

• Establishment of planned number of savings and credit coopera tives and other forms of institutions that are able to manage their affairs independently.

• Financial self-reliance of the institutions established as per the exit strategy.

• Continuous healthy financial position of the institutions.

• Improvement in programme development, implementation and re sults by at least 70% of part-ners supported.

d) Promoting learning and the replication of good practices.

• Number of organizations replicating programme approach – at least 80% of plan.

• Number of target members of other organizations and others who improve their livelihood - at least 75%

Leaders of cooperatives

Experience sharing event

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14 Assumptions, Risks, and Mitigating Measures

A number of key assumptions and risk factors have been considered in the preparation of this strategic plan. These issues will receive the focused attention of WISE leadership, and mitigation measures will be implemented to reduce the impact of the risks.

Assumptions

Economic environment: improvement in the overall economic situation will continue to result in en-hanced purchasing power of the population, hence improved market outlets for the products and services of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Moreover, the current trend of job creation through the govern-ment’s industrial growth policy will create jobs in the formal and self-employment sectors.

Support from funding partners: current funding partners will continue their support to WISE in both programme and organizational capacity building. In addition, new partners will be identified to provide long-term support.

Enabling environment: the legal and policy environment will be conducive for charities and social ser-vice organizations to operate without major problems. Support to MSEs, women, and cooperatives will be steady.

Good governance: good governance at all levels of government will prevail to ensure efficiency of services, and the efforts of charities and other social service organizations will be recognized and receive increased acceptance.

Risks and Mitigation Measures

Funding: funding may not be secured for the planned activities, thus hampering the accomplishment. WISE will continue to ensure its accountability through transparent working modalities and influence cur-rent funding partners.

The Organization will also strive to increase revenue through its business unit by exerting extra efforts. Moreover, opportunities for funding will be explored through international connections by sharing this Strategic Plan with potential donors.

Recruiting and retaining target members: the modus operandi of some charity organizations that pro-mote free handouts and provide inflated allowances and thus dependency may negatively affect the recruit-ing and retaining of the planned number of target members. WISE will continue improving its services and disseminating impact of work through stories to influence potential target members. House-to-house targeting methods will be used to meet numbers and recruit the right members. WISE will attempt to in-fluence such organizations that promote dependency through various means.

Policy changes: government policy changes can happen at any time, and may affect our operations. In such cases, WISE will apply adaptive strategies to comply with regulations.

Natural and man-made disasters: the possible occurrence of disasters and drought in-country, as well as abroad, may force donors and charity organizations to shift their focus towards relief and rehabilitation instead of development activities. Promotion of savings during normal times can help mitigate problems of resource shortages during such conditions. For WISE, measures will be taken to enhance revenue genera-tion capacity and to promote cost-sharing systems.

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Displacements: the government’s city renewal implementation affects many poor households because they are displaced from their residential and business locations. This affects both the performance of the individuals as well as the cooperatives. In order to mitigate such risks, WISE will try to solicit prior infor-mation from the sub-city administration offices so that the cooperatives will not be affected by defaulters and withdrawals. Moreover, WISE will attempt to expand its presence in most of the Woredas so that the internally-displaced women will have a chance to transfer their membership rather than withdraw from the cooperatives.

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