CARE Kenya

Providing New Opportunities Through
Empowering Individuals and Communities

CARE International is a non-political, non-religious global network of humanitarian organizations with a goal to reduce poverty. It was founded in 1946 with a mission to help individuals and families living in the poorest communities in the world get out of poverty. According to Tom Ewart (2005), CARE also helps to promote innovative solutions and lasting change by strengthening capacity for self-help, providing economic opportunities, and delivering relief in emergencies to more than 45 million people every year. Some of the countries that CARE operates projects in are Indonesia, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe. According to Ewart’s 2005 case study, in 2003 CARE’s budget was $1.08 million. Most money came from federal governments, multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations, and the International Fund for Agriculture and Developments (IFAD). One of the countries in Africa that CARE has managed to develop their project in is Kenya.
CARE Kenya is one of CARE International’s branches in Africa managing developments and humanitarian organizations. The largest goal of CARE Kenya is to reduce poverty at a household level and to provide relief in emergencies. In 2004, CARE Kenya employed about 300 people and had a budget of nearly $1.04 million (Ewart, 2005). Currently, CARE Kenya carries out significant initiatives in Health and HIV/AIDS, water and environmental sanitation and livelihoods. One of the biggest projects is to help small farmers living in poor areas by educating them and helping them gain access to market. CARE’s fundamental mission is to reduce poverty by helping individuals and poor families in poor communities (Ewart, 2005). Care Kenya’s core competency is being a great distributer in the world markets and knowing these global markets extremely well. This strong core competency gives us a competitive advantage over our competitors. CARE Kenya stands out because of their abilities to coordinate diverse production skills, their commitment to work across organization boundaries while helping people get out of poverty, and their worldwide movements and leadership to end poverty. Their dedication and willingness to work in different poor districts and individuals in Kenya and all over the world sets them apart from other organizations.
According to (Ewart,2005) George Odo ,senior manager in charge of CARE Kenya’s commercial sector development projects, suggested a strong opinion that, “the best way to help smallholders achieve their development agenda is to help them get access to market because this will help them will increase their income and improve their live as whole”. Most of the small farmers cannot afford to compete for markets because of small capital. Additionally, CARE Kenya has been progressing and expanding to different districts all over Kenya. This gives CARE Kenya an advantage over competitors because they will be as a primary source to people living within that area. Establishing these branches will give them a chance to realize and experience problems that surrounding people are facing and the best ways to improve and solve them including maintaining a close relationship between CARE Kenya and the community. According to Ewart (2005), CARE’s development strategies have been progressing overtime. CARE has been working with its volunteers by undertaking small-scale projects such as building schools, provide much needed infrastructures, (like large irrigation systems) and lending small amounts of money to small groups of poor entrepreneurs to help them succeed with their business (Ewart, 2005). In addition, it helps them to survive the market especial in large competitive markets.
MANAGEMENT
TRENDS
While CARE Kenya has produced many success stories externally with farmers and the community, internally there is turmoil. Overall, functioning of Care Kenya’s REAP project is negative. Central Management Units (CMU’s) are operating at a loss and are not expected to turn profit for the next two to three years despite great performance of the Production Units (PU). Reasons for operating at such a meek level are linked directly to the farmers. Empowered farmers are able to perform well in the projects given to them but disputes among farmers contracted in the PU are battered by strife and underperformance. It has come to the attention of CARE that operations that do not meet capacity or designated targets will deeply affect the success of CARE. Operations tied to management of CARE resources will have a significant and long term impact on the REAP project and sustainability of its CMU’s. CARE is an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) that decided during the micro finance revolution to have a market based approach to development. They sought to fill in what they called the missing middle by funding “small amounts of money to small groups of poor entrepreneurs – a market large financial institutions deemed too risky”(Ewart, 2005); a project dubbed REAP, the Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Promotion in the heart land of Kenya. REAP in essence paved the way for poor communities to enter and compete in markets many could never dream of reaching. Through Central Management Units CMUs, CARE plans and organizes farmers into production units PUs negotiates and secures trade contracts and gives them financial resources such as “micro-credit and working capital loans for inputs, term financing for irrigation equipment, market access and technical training in agronomy.” The hope was that once REAP was profitable it would be a self-sustaining unit but all did not go as expected despite the fact that “export companies began competing for the privilege of working with CARE” and the potential increase in capacity of production and welfare satisfied farmers. This financial burden that CARE takes on in the project explains the loss the CMU currently performs at. The CMU is fully liable to any debt farmers carry and has taken on bad debt over the years due to “relatively loose lending criteria”(Ewart, 2005). The current lending criteria sheds light the poor financial standing as evident in their financial statements but also reveals the inefficient management style of CARE. While considered a NGO, CARE must as George Odo say be “commercially viable without compromising its development agenda.”(Ewart, 2005) To do this CARE must be financial sustainability and able to compete like a private business with stringent business policies and a new mindset.
CARE Kenya is a complex organization due to trends and environments. The general environment of organizations consists of economic, legal political, technological, socio-cultural and natural environment conditions.
Kenya has the largest economy in East Africa, however it has experienced a decrease in economic growth in the last two decades. Factors that have contributed to this economic decline and the deteriorating business environment are poor infrastructure, a weak institutional framework, the poor performance of the Agricultural and manufacturing Sectors, crime, insecurity, and poor governance. On a positive note, real GDP growth is expected to rise to between 4 and 5 percent. The agricultural sector was greatly affected when the real GDP decreased but with the projected increase, CARE Kenya will benefit. In 2009, fresh horticulture exports rose to $947 million from $838 million in 2008. Another positive matter is that Kenya's financial system is among the more developed in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a large banking sector that includes more than 40 commercial banks. Kenya also has a business friendly tax system. The economy recovered swiftly, but not fully, from the election-related violence earlier this year (African Development Bank Group, 2010) CARE Kenya as a NGO is required by government to operate more transparently particularly in regard to their financial and human resource management systems. The organization is required to declare bank account details in their Annual Reports and to report any changes in address or changes in officers to the NGO Co-ordination Board. It must also submit an Annual Return to the NGOs Board by May 31 each year. Sources of funds and purposes for which the funds will be used must also be disclosed (Kameri-Mbote, 2002)
CARE Kenya is expected to respect the culture and traditions of the local people and communities in which they operate at all times. There are large gaps between the rich and poor in Kenya. Life expectancy has been decreasing (Ewart, 2005). Majority of the population live in rural areas. Also most city residents have strong relationships with their rural, extended families and leave the city periodically to help work on the family farm. About 75% of the work force is engaged in agriculture, mainly as subsistence farmers (Thaxton, 2007).
SWOT ANALYSIS
Agriculture is an opportunity in Kenya to make a better life for one another. There are four factors that make up a company’s entirety. A major goal in order to establish its strengths is to distinguish the core competencies. A few things that can develop a competitive advantage are resources such as brands, reputations, know how, market presence, team experience, cost advantages, and many more. Some of CARE Kenya’s strengths are its International Networks and Contacts, long history with developed policies, strong leadership, and desire to help local farmers. International networks are a strength because they are able to reach out to workers and volunteers around the world to help them develop (Ewart, 2005). CARE Kenya also has outstanding polices which they confirm with and have contracts among workers (Ewart 2005). CARE Kenya has developed micro credits, capital loans, and technical training. George Odo, senior manager of the commercial sector, has a passion for working with CARE (Ewart, 2005).
Next is to identify the weaknesses of an organization. These factors are what inhibit the performance of an organization and hold it back from its full potential. CARE Kenya’s weaknesses are the lack of technology, resources and equipment, the weather, and support from local farmers and from international governments. No support from local farmers and international governments would be harmful to CARE Kenya. They would not be able to conquer poverty without every local farmer committed. Also, it would be next to impossible for this non-profit organization to be successful without government support through finances and promotions that fuel the positive mission of CARE Kenya. In addition to weakness comes the weather (Ewart, 2005). Weather determines the success of the farmers. If there happen to be a drought the farming communities will be negatively affected in how well ones crop produces and how well they can be harvested. Assuming that the weather is not the greatest, the farmers will not earn enough profit to provide to their families. All weaknesses should be known even if they are next to impossible to fix. It is every company’s goal to eliminate or minimize the number of weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Both strengths and weaknesses are found within, unlike the next two parts of the analysis.
Third, is the external assessment of opportunities. Environmental opportunities that could exist are things such as customer changes in taste, untapped customer needs, advances in technology, new regulations, and removal of trade barriers. A handful of opportunities that exist with CARE Kenya are combating poverty, expanding the market, and improving technology and equipment. George Odo once said, “The best way to help smallholders achieve their development agenda is to help them get access to markets because doing so will increase their income, which then impacts their lives (Ewart, 2005).” If CARE Kenya could help Kenya farmers sell their produce in larger markets, they would boost their economy. We also have the opportunity to improve the technology and equipment in Kenya’s agriculture. Farmers often lack the knowledge and resources to improve their productivity. If we are able to do this the livelihood of the farmers will be drastic (Ewart, 2005). There is one more step to the basics of this strategic analysis.
Environmental threats may be made up of an emergence of new competitors, resource scarcities, product substitutes, and might ask when will the product window close. Other non-profits with the same cause, loss of leadership, and weather are all threats of CARE Kenya. Heifer International, one of our close competitors, is a notable threat to CARE. We must differentiate ourselves to stand out amongst the bunch. Loss of leadership is a big issue because if CARE loses great leaders such as George Odo and Mutulu Muthoka, CARE could be potentially lost in the shuffle.

Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities
Combating poverty-
• Decrease Kenya’s 55.4% population under the poverty line. (Ewart, 2005)
• Small farm holders able to make surplus produce to the local market (Ewart, 2005)
Expand Market-
• International networks Technology-
• Weakness - do not have proper up to date farming equipment to help achieve highest amount of output.
• Opportunity - room to grow and find the best solutions for equipment. (Ewart, 2005)
Threats Leadership-
• George Odo - Alternate leadership positions will be able to help minimize the threats of competitors by finding ways for CARE Kenya to stand out.
• Threat - Leadership could be considereddue to the fact of not knowing who is going to step in after Odo (Ewart, 2005). Weather-
• Lack of rain can cause danger to the farmer’s produce and harvest. Resulting in them not being able to support their families (Ewart, 2005).
• CARE Kenya would come up with a system of which produce grows best during specific temperatures and amount of precipitation.

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES
Porter’s five forces are a framework for identifying the strongest segments of competition in the “fight against poverty” industry. The bargaining power of Care Kenya’s farmers, our suppliers, plays a great roll in the functionality of the business because our operations rely on the dependability of these farmers to work and produce crops that will perform well in the market. One of the problems that Care Kenya is running into is the loss of revenue because the farmers have gradually decreased their production. There is now a sense of urgency to rekindle the motivation that the farmers had at the beginning of the operations in Kenya. Without the work of farmers, Care Kenya and the REAP project will not be able to function any longer because they along with the markets are the two sole interests Care Kenya plays liaison to.
The bargaining power of Care Kenya’s exporters, buyers, also plays a great role in the success of our work. Care Kenya acts as a middle man between helping the farmers to produce better crops with the right resources and training, and opening the doors of larger markets to the farmers so that they may begin the process of getting out of poverty while also providing valuable and worthy produce for the markets. If our farmers fail to meet the criteria needed to get into the larger markets (i.e. fail to produce appropriate quantity, poor products, etc.) we will quickly lose contracts to other, more valuable farmers. When our farmers in Kenya fail to produce, they do not lose out but Care Kenya does. In order for our farmers to understand the true value of their work, they must know what they lose when they do not meet the needs of Care Kenya.
Competition with large-scale commercial farms and independent contractors is also very intense for Care Kenya because they have the financial means and resources to assume contracts within the market with little trouble. It is in Care Kenya’s best interest to train our farmers well and provide them with the necessary resource so that they are able to actually compete within the market. One advantage that we do have over the larger farms is the relatively small size of our farms. Because of this, our farmers should be able to put forth great time to care and nurture their crops so that they may produce the best quality for the market, which will eventually lead to an increase in revenue for everyone.
There is always the threat of new entrants coming into the market, and they may very well have better more valuable products to offer than our farmers do. If the new entrants are large-scale farms, it can also be difficult to compete with them because we automatically become the underdog that has to fight for everything. This is why it is so vital that our farmers are motivated and feel the need to produce quality crops.
We must also always be aware of other potential substitute products that may enter into the market and drown our products out. One example is if canned goods go down in price, and the fresh produce that we provide either stays at the same rate or rises. In this situation, the canned goods would take over and the fresh produce market would fall out until prices change again. Once again, it is vital that we provide products of utmost quality and of solid quantity so that we may position ourselves in the market as a reliable and valuable contract.
Overall, Care Kenya needs to focus on motivating farmers to produce quality crops that will be sustainable in the market which will allow their products to perform well, and then farmers will begin the process of moving out of poverty which is the ultimate goal.

ACTION PLAN AND BENCHMARKS
As an organization, CARE Kenya is always looking to expand their commitment to service and empowering individuals. The next phase for CARE Kenya is to continue empowering Kenya’s people, with a new action plan – a community bank. In the past, CARE Kenya has provided resources to farmers to build their crops and income for the local economy. With a community bank, CARE Kenya will implement a plan that will encourage farmers to work harder on their individual farms while working together with members of their village or community to build funds.
A community bank will put new life into Kenyan farming. This will not be an over-night achievement, but will take time, energy, and commitment from community members to build up the funds. CARE Kenya will set up a community bank with a starting minimal balance. It is then up to farmers in the villages to work together to meet an annual goal of product produced. This program will greatly enhance the local economy and boost community morale – relating back to CARE International’s main goal – to serve individuals and families. By empowering farmers to work together, CARE will be building trusting relationships that had previously been hindered because of lack of trust between farmers and product brokers. In the example of Mutulu Muthoka, a smallholder farmer, who was taken advantage of by his broker because he had no information on market prices or any other options. (Ewart, 2005) Farmers feel that brokers take advantage of their product and profit because of their lack of knowledge in agriculture. With a community bank and annual goal in mind, farmers will begin to gain trust in each other and in their economy.
The community bank is a small developing program with the vision of helping to alleviate poverty and hunger through the CARE Kenya initiative. It empowers individuals to work together and believes in service to others and enabling individuals with knowledge and skills to better themselves and their communities. The program values the idea that everybody deserves the chance to work for themselves and that agriculture is a great teaching tool to help others. The target of the community bank in Kenyan villages is to match and exceed production by 10 percent each year. A specific goal within the community bank is to build leadership among community members.
By identifying and adapting certain practices from internally in the organization, as well as looking externally, progress can be made to improve performance and the new community bank in Kenyan villages. CARE Kenya will be able to set new attainable goals and grow as an organization, while helping communities expand as well. The first step to improvement is planning and identifying the needs of CARE Kenya and the community bank. The issues that need to be benchmarked for CARE Kenya are the idea of a community bank or a co-op. CARE Kenya wants to find ways to make Kenyan farmers responsible and enabled to run their farms on their own, but at the same time working together with community members. CARE Kenya decided on a community bank for villages because it requires all participants to actively seek improvement and also encourage others. The current performance gap for CARE Kenya is the lack of produce from farmers. While farmers have shown great improvement since the beginning of the CARE Kenya program, there is still great room for improvement. Farmers aren’t able to produce quality crops due to lack of funds. Less crops and products means less of a pay and profit – so farmers and their families continue to live in poverty. This leads to another issue or performance gap - CARE Kenya is losing money and is in debt. The CARE International organization receives only so much money each year and needs to allocate funds fairly among organizations. With the community bank movement through CARE Kenya, the projected future performance is self-sustenance for Kenyan farmers and communities. Slowly but surely, CARE Kenya should be able to take a step back from the communities, until they are completely responsible and funded on their own. Ideally, the community bank movement will have a successful startup with many farmers and communities participating. CARE Kenya has a goal for each individual – to produce 5 percent more crops each year. Each village has a production goal of 15 percent more crops. These are the functional goals of the community bank. When farmers reach their goal, CARE Kenya will fund more money ($500) into the community bank. It is up to the community to decide how to spend the money and for what. Possible ideas are new field equipment, high quality seeds, market-place equipment. The communities will also have to budget part of their earnings to CARE Kenya. This helps CARE Kenya with its performance gap of being in debt. As the community bank movement continues in the future, CARE Kenya will assess how the program is working for the communities. CARE Kenya has the option of increasing or decreasing the percentage for each village for each year, depending on their previous performance. There are issues factors that will make up this decision like weather and the global economy.
Another benefit to the community bank program is leadership. Naturally, a leader will present to the community the options and decisions for the funding. The hierarchy in the community will motivate others to produce increased crop percentages and to prove their helpfulness to the village. The community bank program will mature each year with strong responsible community leaders. The final goal is to eliminate CARE Kenya’s involvement with the bank and make communities be completely self-sustained with the funding. This will give CARE Kenya employees and volunteers to focus their attention and funding on other projects in the country. CARE Kenya is a communal culture, with employees and farmers working together in close-knit quarters, fast growing, and is truly a social entrepreneurial ship. (Goffee and Jones, 1996) CARE Kenya works to fight poverty and hunger in Kenya by empowering lower-class individuals with the skills to profit from their farm and crops. CARE Kenya’s actions ultimately give back to the community and local economy. CARE Kenya creates new opportunities everyday for individuals by giving them the gift of knowledge and the seeds of hope and change.

SOURCES

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Heifer International (2010). Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.201470/?msource=kw2871

International Environmental Law Research Centre Retrieved from http://www.ielrc.org/content/w0002.pdf

Kameri-Mbote, P. (2002). The Operational Environment and Constraints for NGOs in Kenya.
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Thaxton, M. (2007) Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Kenya. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/pdf07/phe-kenya.pdf

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