INVITATION TO AN INTERNATIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND MICRO FINANCE

Nurses Across the Borders is an NGO on Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations – ECOSOC, the Focal Point NGO in Nigeria for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC and the Coordinating NGO for the African Regional Committee for the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations – CONGO.

As part of its activities in community development, people empowerment and sustainable growth, Nurses Across the Borders in collaboration with the London Rebuilding Society, and Edo State Women Association will be executing an 18 month Project on: Social Enterprise and Microfinance under the auspices of the EC – UN Joint Migration Development Initiative.

PREAMBLE:  

After the successful LAUNCHING of the Diaspora Nurses Association of Nigeria at the 2008 NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA DAY in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Tinapa Calabar, a robust relationship was established between Nurses Across the Borders on behalf of the teeming Nigerian Nurses abroad with Bank PHB with a view to attracting their Capital flight from abroad back home in Nigeria to invest.

September of that Year, Nurses Across the Borders helped in coordinating the Nigerian Independence Day Parade in New York sponsored by Bank PHB. This attracted hundreds of Nigerians in New York registering to open the NIDA Accounts with Bank PHB.
March 2009, another event was organized by Nurses Across the Borders with the Nigerian Nurses in Minnesota, which further attracted more investors from the Nigerian community back home.

The above Project is being financed by the European Community through the EC-UN Joint Migration Development Initiative.

THE PROJECT:

TITLE:     Mutual Support for Economic Empowerment – (MUSE)

DURATION:    18 Months

COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS:  

Nurses Across the Borders Humanitarian Initiative Inc (USA & Nigeria), Edo State Women Association and London Rebuilding Society UK,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
Mutual Support for Economic Empowerment – (MUSE) is a proposed model for collective investment of remittances for the development of community programmes in Nigeria. The model is built on the principles of mutuality and self help and will entail mobilizing investment from Nigeria migrant organizations in the UK and then using this investment as collateral for leveraging further investment from ethical lenders in the UK. The aggregated investment will then be used to invest in the development of healthcare social enterprises and Micro – credit in Nigeria. The Concept of Social enterprises is relatively new in Nigeria (and Africa in general), and even newer is the notion of using the social enterprise business model to deliver health care. MUSE will thus be pioneering not only a new way of mobilizing remittances, but also a new way of doing business with remittances.

The main objectives of MUSE are:

-    To develop a replicable model for collective investments
-    To mobilize financial and human resources for investment in social enterprise and related activities
-    To develop skills among partner organizations in managing social enterprise and Micro lending
-    To use remittances to invest in microfinance and healthcare social enterprises in Nigeria.

It is expected that MUSE will raise a substantial fund in Co-financing, made up of some percentage as investment from Nigerian organizations in the UK and London Rebuilding Society providing up to 80% of the total sum as loan finance. The ability to attract co-financing is a unique attribute of the MUSE model that not only compounds the investment potential of remittances, but also contributes to building the sustainability of the “goose that lays the golden egg”, that is remittance sending organizations

The project will be delivered by London Rebuilding society based in the UK, Nurses Across the Borders Humanitarian Initiative and Edo State Women Association based in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND:

LONDON REBUILDING SOCIETY: (LRS) is a Community Development Finance Institution that provides innovative financial service to London’s social economy organizations in order to create sustainable employment, regenerate local economies and enhance social inclusion. For the last seven years, LRS has been working with Refugee and Migrant Communities in the UK, exploring models of harnessing the resources of these communities and developing innovative mechanisms for enhancing financial inclusion, building community assets and improving sustainability.

EDO STATE WOMEN ASSOCIATION:

Is a registered British Charity established in 1991 by groups of Women from Nigerian Home Town Associations who came together with shared goals. With limited resources and vastly challenging and complicated issues, ESWA focuses on key projects to improve the lives of mothers and children working in the markets in Edo State, Nigeria. ESWA also support important projects in the UK benefiting children from underprivileged backgrounds within the African Community in London.

ESWA works within communities in Nigeria and the UK to tackle issues at grassroots level and in the past ten years has made a difference to hundred’s of lives. ESWA’s support enables women to become empowered, to support themselves and give their children a change of achieving a better life.