The Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) has partnered with Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship to transform social ministries into social enterprises in Eastern and Central Africa where more than 30,000 Catholic Sisters serve some of the most marginalized people on the planet.
The Sisters’ Blended Values Project (SBVP) will provide practical, hands-on learning experiences, apprenticeships, and start-up skills in social entrepreneurship for Catholic Sisters, enabling congregations to more effectively lead social enterprise initiatives. The end goals are for congregations to become self-sufficient and scale their own enterprises, for community members to improve their finances and their lives, and to spread entrepreneurial solutions to poverty with a special focus on women and youth.
“Catholic Sisters are uniquely positioned to unleash the potential of African women and youth in particular; they are trusted community-based leaders who solve complex social problems and have been at the forefront of building healthcare systems and social services in underserved areas,” according to Thane Kreiner, PhD, Executive Director of Miller Center.