By Jerry Abuga

Through the partnership a total of 1,000 trainees will be empowered skills wise, mentorship, connection with salon networks and provided with financing for start-up capital, working capital and asset financing for their salon equipment, enabling them to set up individual businesses.

KCB Foundation and PZ Cussons East Africa have graduated the first batch of trainees under the hands-on-the job skills training programme dubbed ‘Venus Nywele Ni Mali’ that seeks to place 1,000 salon professionals in jobs over the next five years.

At the event held on 28th February 2019 at Azure Hotel, 25 graduates were handed capital and starter packs to enable them set up their own businesses. Launched last year, the partnership seeks to help the trainees establish sustainable enterprises in the beauty industry.

KCB Foundation Managing Director Jane Mwangi said the exponential growth of the beauty and personal care industry in Kenya calls for concerted efforts towards training and financing the youth to enable them get into business.

“Through this effort, we anticipate that the graduands will become self-employed and also create jobs for their peers,” said Ms Mwangi.

PZ Cussons East Africa Managing Director Sekar Ramamoorthy said the programme seeks to fill in the skills gap for modern hair dressers in Kenya.

The partnership aims to recruit 200 trainees annually and will have beneficiaries training in beauty and personal care within the KCB Foundation 2jiajiri programme. In the programme, they are taken through a 6-month on-the-job training in beauty, selling skills and entrepreneurship, courtesy of PZ Cussons’ flagship Venus Beauty Brand Programme.

Nationally, over 2,000 out of the over 23,000 beneficiaries of KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri programme have been supported in the beauty and personal care programme.

KCB Foundation has also partnered with beauty colleges and salons to empower and equip unemployed and out-of-school youth to grow micro enterprises in the beauty industry by providing them with technical skills and access to seed capital.