ZHI is implementing economic strengthening (ES) interventions under the DREAMS RISE project targeting eligible adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in nine districts of operation. The ES intervention is aimed at improving the AGYW’s resilience and strengthening their economic stability to enable them access basic social and economic needs thereby making them economically empowered. This will in turn promote positive health seeking behaviors amongst AGYW, reduce their susceptibility to HIV infection, and contribute towards reduction of new HIV infections.
ZHI is scaling up activities to economically empower AGYW by creating an enabling environment that promotes skills building, entrepreneurial abilities and employability for AGYW thus contributing to prevention of new HIV infections. Private sector engagement through forging partnerships is of paramount importance in creating sustainable opportunities for the AGYW and contributing to reduction of new HIV infections. In order to achieve this, ZHI RISE project has partnered with Old Mutual Eight2Five Innovation Hub to host an innovative and high-impact entrepreneurship and employability program targeting 45 AGYW from all the nine focused districts of implementation. The Hub will leverage off its networks of female founders to be mentors for the RISE program as well as providing the training facilities and delivering sessions for the Dare to Dream workshop, Speed Mentoring activity and the team building exercise. Hence, the development of the Empowered Girls Rock Summit which will be co-hosted with Old Mutual Eight2Five Hub from 7th to 10th June 2022. The first two days will be at the eight2five hub, third day at various companies for job shadowing and the fourth day at the hotel for the soft skills training and the networking dinner.
The whole event/summit will culminate in mentoring, coaching and a directory of companies willing to offer job placements and absorb AGYW in employment. The platform will also allow the private sector to have a better appreciation of the DREAMS RISE project and how they can contribute towards socio-economic empowerment of AGYW.