SHIFT Enterprise Academy, Inc a Texas based 501c3 non profit organization identifies promising young adults and helps them to solve problems in their community by using the SHIFT Approach.
In summer 2021, SHIFT expanded its services into Uganda, a small country in Eastern Africa with a new program called, "Launching into E-Commerce." Here is an overview of what's going on in the SHIFT world as of the end of Q1 2022; the good, the bad, and the future. A video presentation of these updates is also available here: 1Q Performance Updates Presentation
The Good
2021 Finalist Closes out 90 days - Our first pitch competition winner - Joel, the founder of Zebraville is up and running. He is already supporting African projects, including special projects supporting women in Uganda through his online digital media business.
Winter Cohort – 2021 – Our journey in East Africa continues to impact the lives of young people. At SHIFT, we are relentlessly focusing our efforts on creating an enabling environment for young people in East Africa to build, create and evolve in the Digital Age.
In March - 2022, at the conclusion of the winter cohort, SHIFT held its winter pitch competition and registered four finalists, all senior business administration students at LivingStone International University. Marceline, the winner of the winter cohort is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He currently lives in Uganda and he is building an online platform for African writers and literature.
Additionally, leveraging on our partnerships, Armand – our first runner up in the winter cohort pitch competitions secured an internship at AtkCo – one of the friends of SHIFT with whom we are building an eco-system of human - centered approaches.
Our 2021 Impact Report - If you haven't read it already, early this year, we published our 2021 Annual Report highlighting the milestones in East Africa.
Grants and Donations - With your support, SHIFT was able to raise $725 from three generous donors through Donor Box, our current online fundraising platform. Our monthly fundraising goal remains 1,000 USD. Thank you for journeying with us to make our vision of “a coalition of people and organizations helping the African diaspora define their own idea of success with a plan to achieve it” a reality.
The Bad
COVID-19 - Is there a Road to Recovery? - As many supporting organizations continue to feel the unprecedented brunt of COVID-19, Ethan Ellsworth, a key project supported by SHIFT, faces a hit due to financial strains. Currently, the school is closed due to lack of funding. This puts at stake the livelihoods of 200 young girls and 300 vulnerable boys who cannot continue acquiring the much-needed access to quality education through the Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training program.
The Digital SHIFT - It’s no secret that the digital age comes with change, some of which may not be easily within the means of the most vulnerable poor. Due to this shift, 5 /18 of the registered Enterprisers (27.8%) could not complete the “Launching into E-Commerce” professional training this winter.
This is primarily due to lack of internet and smartphones or laptops.
Also, we currently need three (3) laptops for our support team to coordinate access to services for Enterprisers across East Africa. The video captures Delilah's thoughts on the SHIFT impact in Uganda. She leads the support team in the region.
The Future
As an evolving organization, we have so much in store for you. Here is your chance to be a part of the change you want to see. Journey with us and look out for opportunities to join our future events including Trivia Night and T-Shirt Fundraisers.
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Networks & Partnerships - As we create our ecosystem, SHIFT is building and nurturing partnerships with key education institutions in East Africa, including Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya and LivingStone International University in Uganda. Both universities are large, with: over 10,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, taught by approximately 2,500 academic staff.
– The clues of success of such linkages have been traced in the USA, and we plan to replicate this in East Africa where there are fertile grounds to build, create and evolve with young Enterprisers. Ethan Brisby – Founder, SHIFT Enterprise Academy.
Spring cohort coming soon - Registration for our spring cohort will be open soon. However, this is dependent on the realization of our fundraising goal of $1,200 USD which is to underwrite the training of 15 Enterprisers and support the launch of four (4) more online businesses in East Africa this quarter.
SHIFT Launch pad coming soon 30 April.2022 - SHIFT Launch pad is the starting point for connecting like-minded individuals launching or growing online businesses. These monthly meet-ups will create opportunities for you to connect with our Enterprisers from East Africa and the USA.
Make your pledge now:
Cash App: $SHIFTEnterprises
Pay Pal: PayPal.Me/shiftenterprises
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