The Support Project for Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises in Africa (SP-SSEEA) is supported by the Pan African Institute for Development in West Africa and the Sahel (PAID-WAS). SP-SSEEA aims to contribute to capacity building and promoting African SSE enterprises through training and providing an SSE Laboratory platform. This platform is supported by the Yam Pukri Association, which has been working in the field of technology development for the past twenty years , as well as an International and Local Support Service. The project emerged from two “hubs” in Ouagadougou and Douala. These hubs are seen as incubators for SSE enterprises in urban and rural areas.
The strategy involves strengthening the managerial skills of SSE African enterprise leaders and managers to ensure the continuous improvement of the governance of these enterprises. The SSE Laboratory platform not only offers informatory resources to support the understanding and work of African SSE enterprises, but also management tools and an interaction space to exchange successful experiences in each key project country.
This programme is coupled with training: market research to launch an SSE product, sourcing funding, financial management, SSE product quality etc. After the training, the SP-SSEEA project is expected to monitor its partner enterprises in order to meet their needs. Every year, fifteen SSE structures (associations, women’s groups, cooperatives, foundations and mutual funds) join the programme.
Capacity building has a very big impact on the lives of the poor or marginalised, particularly women and young, urban and rural people who are the main people involved in the social and solidarity economy. These efforts will aid in promoting social cohesion, increasing livelihoods, the population’s financial autonomy, the emergence of entrepreneurship, and especially in the creation of employment. Further information here.
