The New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) Expanding Health Partnerships—NPI EXPAND Project—is a global five-year (2019-2024) U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project that supports locally-driven efforts to increase the availability and utilization of high-quality health and education services. In line with USAID’s local capacity development strategy, NPI EXPAND invests in new and underutilized local partners (NUPs) and strengthens their capacity to strategize, plan, and implement programs with USAID funds.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania, NPI EXPAND implemented a grants program that supported three new and underutilized local partner NGOs for about 6-8 months from July 2020-April 2021: Mwanza Outreach Care and Support Organization (MOCSO), Network Against Female Genital Mutilation (NAFGEM), and Pastoral Activities and Services to People with AIDS Dar es Salaam Archdiocese (PASADA). The three NGOs supported 25 WORTH Yetu community groups to add to their income generating activities by producing, promoting, and selling non-medical masks and sanitation products (liquid soap, hand sanitizer). The NGOs also supported the groups to implement risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their communities. The WORTH Yetu Groups, composed of caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), operate as self-help groups engaged in income-generating activities, with the secondary goal of assisting orphaned and vulnerable children in their communities using funds they generate from their activities. NPI EXPAND also provided a subaward to T-MARC Tanzania to support the WORTH Yetu groups in business planning and social marketing of respective masks and sanitation products. NPI EXPAND’s support for RCCE activities ended in February 2021; support for mask and soap production and sales ended in April 2021; and the T-MARC sub-award ended on June 30, 2021. Most of the WORTH Yetu groups continued with their production and sales activities after the end of the project.

By April 2021, the project had significantly achieved its targets. The WORTH Yetu groups made 8,090 non-medical masks, out of which they sold 4,837 masks and earned TZS 4,433,000, reaching 80.6% of the project’s revenue target. In addition, the groups produced a total of 7,863 litres of liquid soap and sold 6,929 litres earning TZS 15, 4451,000, reaching 115% of the project’s revenue target.

However, due to a significant fall in demand for face masks, many of the mask-making ventures could not be sustained. On the other hand, most WORTH Yetu groups have been able to sustain their soap making ventures, earning extra income that they use to support the groups’ business and social activities.

The following is a compilation of lessons learnt from the COVID-19 response activities implemented by the WORTH Yetu Groups. Three success stories from the program are linked at the bottom of this page.

To compile and document the lessons learnt and success stories, a literature review was conducted that included end-of-project reports from the three local partner organizations and an overall project report, as well as in-depth interviews with relevant staff members at NPI EXPAND (Palladium), T-MARC, PASADA, MOSCO, and NAFGEM in July 2022. Focus group discussions were also held with nine WORTH Yetu groups, three from each region where the initiatives were carried out.

The lessons learned are divided into three categories: project design, project management, and achievement of results.

The project supported NGOs to engage existing WORTH Yetu groups, an approach that contributed to achievement of outcomes. While before the COVID-19 activities the groups had varying degrees of success in their savings and loan activities, there were similar patterns among them that led to their success in NPI EXPAND project activities:

• The WORTH Yetu group members lived in close proximity to one another and were well acquainted with each other. This was extremely helpful in getting them oriented to the new tasks presented in the project. When asked how they selected members to send for training, they almost consistently stated that they relied on past knowledge of their colleagues and trusted them to have the correct attitudes for obtaining new expertise and transmitting skills back to the groups.
• The WORTH Yetu group members were all concerned about their collective well-being as well as the well-being of the OVCs they regularly helped. Some of the groups had not participated in the group business with their savings but were open to the notion of growing their funds via the new business initiatives introduced by the project because they believed in the concept of communal effort for collective gain.

Those with prior experience in such organizations mentioned challenges such as unequal commitment and motivation among group members as major impediments to groups beginning new enterprises or activities to benefit the community.

Under uncertain conditions, NPI EXPAND partners were flexible in devising alternate strategies that allowed them to continue with COVID-19 project execution with the WORTH Yetu groups. For example, when political announcements made it difficult to use public platforms such as social media to undertake risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities, the project used posters and pamphlets to increase awareness about the need for COVID-19 prevention. WORTH Yetu members traveled around distributing leaflets and selling masks and soap in hospitals, churches, and schools, where unofficial mask mandates were enforced. This allowed the projects to operate relatively discreetly and escape state-sanctioned retaliation for defying the official narrative.

While centralized branding support helped in the development of consumer trust and product differentiation, the WORTH Yetu groups could have obtained more revenue with better insight into sales strategies to convert price-sensitive buyers.

T-MARC, a social marketing firm, received a sub-award to support the NGOs with business planning, marketing, and the design and registration of the “PAMONA” brand name. The Juhudi Group in Kilimanjaro and the Pilikapilika Group in Mwanza mandated that group members wear PAMONA t-shirts on marketing days. Because of how effectively branded they were, both groups received excellent feedback from potential buyers.

The groups were required to follow recommended face mask and soap-making standards, which meant that their manufacturing costs were greater than those of many other lower-quality ‘home-made’ face masks and sanitary products. Some groups found it difficult to give a persuasive argument to their consumers for why their products were 20-50 percent more expensive than similar products. For example, none of the organizations marketed the unique benefits of their products, such as superior mask fits and soap that is gentler on sensitive skin. Additional training on sales strategies suited for price-sensitive buyers could have helped the less successful groups move their merchandise much faster.

The majority of the group members were aware of the fundamental COVID-19 infection prevention methods. However, in a market rife with myths and misconceptions, many prospective buyers were suspicious about the use of masks. The political climate limited the RCCE initiatives that were to be carried out by the NGOs, which would have addressed some of these myths and misconceptions and helped to establish an environment that supported the selling of masks and soap. Group members who actively promoted masks reported needing to engage in conversations with many individuals who questioned or dismissed the masks’ use.

While a few days of training were unlikely to have made the group members subject matter experts, specific training on dealing with myths and misconceptions about COVID-19 prevention might have made them more confident champions of risk communication around the pandemic. Equipping them with resources such as fliers and posters with a uniform list of commonly asked questions and associated answers authorized by the necessary authorities, for example, would have given the group members more confidence in selling to their more hesitant and skeptical consumers.

Locally based livelihood volunteers play a crucial role, not only because they mobilize and keep groups together, but also because they are seen as trusted advisors. Although their levels of influence and authority varied, most groups reported that they valued the volunteers’ ideas as well as their capacity to connect the groups to key stakeholders in the project. In other cases, the volunteers have a higher degree of education and expertise, resulting in their status as the group members’ advisors.

Some training on the technical aspects of the project would have allowed these volunteers to serve as the first line of assistance when the group members needed it. The volunteers could also have played a role in establishing an extra layer of accountability by verifying that the groups were adhering to the correct production standards and advising them where they were falling short.

Training livelihood volunteers may also be useful in meeting the needs of individuals and organizations who require longer training hours. Their presence on the ground may allow them to provide continuous training when they identify learning gaps as the business ventures evolve.

NPI EXPAND awarded MOCSO, NAFGEM, and PASADA fixed amount awards (FAAs) to support the production and sale of non-medical face masks and liquid soap through WORTH Yetu groups, and to implement RCCE activities aimed at reducing the transmission and spread of COVID-19 in Tanzania. The partners received agreed-upon sums under this funding model based on completion of milestones. While this system was novel to NAFGEM and PASADA, it was somewhat familiar to MOSCO. All organizations agreed that the FAA gave a greater incentive to complete all project requirements on time to avoid cash-flow difficulties caused by delayed or denied disbursements.

All three groups have extensive experience working with USAID-funded programs. This experience was critical in enabling them to meet USAID and NPI EXPAND’s administrative and programmatic requirements. The organizations’ executives also stated that adhering to FAA rules would be extremely difficult for local organizations with no USAID expertise.

The FAA mechanism must take into consideration external factors that are beyond individual partners’ control. For example, if partners are interdependent in meeting project objectives, any delays in achieving a particular milestone by one partner may have a domino effect on other partners’ milestones and related payments. Some deliverables under the NPI EXPAND project for which PASADA, MOCSO, and NAFGEM were responsible were contingent on T-MARC completing their branding and training deliverables. This was mentioned as a possible risk at the start of the project, but it was addressed during implementation when biweekly partner meetings were introduced in the second quarter of the project which allowed the partners to align their activities and avoid delays.

MOSCO, PASADA, and NAFGEM, the local partners, each held activities with the selected WORTH Yetu groups in their regions, while T-MARC conducted activities with all groups in the three regions. Since all activities contributed to overall project objectives, continuous communication was required to ensure that the sequencing of activities and minimum quality criteria were agreed upon. Biweekly partner meetings were initiated a few months after project implementation, which played an important role in strengthening project coordination.

Packaging, branding, and quality control flaws may jeopardize a company’s long-term viability. While the project did not encounter any substantial challenges in these areas following the inclusion of T-MARC, an experienced social marketing firm, there was considerable risk emanating from lax quality control measures during implementation. When asked about the relative advantages and disadvantages of having the same brand of sanitation products made by different groups, some group members said that any negative market response to the quality of one group’s products may have a negative impact on other groups.

While the NGOs partnered with the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) to train the WORTH Yetu groups on the production of non-medical masks and soap to ensure the government’s quality standards were met, future efforts could incorporate an ongoing, central quality control mechanism to avoid brand risk exposure. Periodic inspections on production days would support group members in maintaining quality standards and avoiding flaws that may harm consumers’ perception of the common brand.

MOCSO, PASADA, and NAFGEM, are all organizations rooted in their communities. Their local presence gives them extensive local expertise, which was vital to the success of the NPI EXPAND project. T-MARC, a national organization, has significant expertise in business and marketing of health products, which needed to be translated into different contexts with local partners. Their inclusion in the project enabled the application of standard practices in marketing and business management. NPI EXPAND’s engagement (through Palladium, an international firm) helped ensure that the project was adequately resourced, managed and monitored to help ensure its success. Each organization in this partnership had a distinct strength that, when coupled with the strengths of the other companies, resulted in a strong alliance. This setup exemplified mutual accountability and collaboration, values that are emphasized in USAID’s localization agenda.

In a number of project locations, special ‘soap-making days’ were introduced during which all members of the group without exception were required to participate. During these days, the soap-making procedure was presided over by individuals who had received direct technical training from SIDO. This enabled the members to support each other and ensure that the correct ingredients are used at the right time, in the appropriate quantities. This collectivism added an additional layer of quality assurance, allowing the groups to produce sanitation products of better quality than many locally accessible, home-made alternatives.

Transport expenses accounted for one of the most significant variances in the business strategies of the WORTH Yetu groups who participated in the project. While people in urban regions had access to public transportation that allowed them to readily transfer their products from their manufacturing locations to the market, those in rural areas did not have the benefit of affordable public transit to traverse long distances. In this aspect, a one-size-fits-all business strategy was not likely to succeed since it would not have accounted for contextual factors such as the varying commuting costs between groups. T-MARC offered appropriate contextualization of the business plans, allowing rural groups such as the Juhudi Group in Kilimanjaro to understand the necessity of cutting costs by reinvesting their revenues from the sale of sanitation products to acquire their own motorbike.

Most project teams had at least one member with prior tailoring experience. This was essential since the majority of groups nominated such individuals for mask-making training, allowing for more effective skills transfer from SIDO trainers to trainee members and from trainee members to other group members. The Lukundane Group in Dar es Salaam exhibited the most effective use of the tailoring skills and equipment they received. They opted to scale up a tailoring company by recruiting trainees, launching new product lines, and expanding the garment market, thanks to the presence of a member who ran an active tailoring shop. While many of the face-mask manufacturing ventures could not be sustained as the demand for face masks fell significantly, a group’s capacity to transition to more lucrative tailoring product lines was determined by the amount of previous industry knowledge available as well as the strength of its existing business networks.

Members’ commitment to other group activities had a direct correlation with the amount of financial resources they invested in their group. Groups that disbursed savings every six months or annually had lower finances overall and could only provide small loans. Groups that had kept the fund operating for a longer time tended to have more committed and active membership. For example, the Juhudi Group imposed a no-show penalty for all group activities, including those initiated through NPI EXPAND. This has resulted in all members being committed to the group’s collective vision. While old or ailing members of the group are permitted to refrain from participating in demanding physical activities, their presence in such activities is still required as a display of solidarity. This type of structure has made group members in this specific group much more active and enthusiastic, which is considered a key aspect in safeguarding long-term investment in the group.

In addition to training and equipment, the project provided raw starter materials for making face masks and sanitation products. This was an important strategy for facilitating the adoption of new company ventures since it allowed group members to experience revenue without incurring large production and operational expenditures from their own savings. For example, Lukundane Group used the full earnings from their pilot production to acquire raw materials for their next production. The fact that they did not need to spend their own resources to develop confidence in their production capacity and the market feasibility of their goods encouraged group members’ eagerness to embark on the newly introduced business initiatives.

Therefore, where the perception of expected financial loss is one of the barriers preventing community groups from adopting new business ventures, startup funds or equipment can serve the dual purpose of shielding groups from losses and giving them time to obtain proof of concept before committing their own resources.

In addition to the lessons documented in the preceding sections, the project generally achieved its purpose of introducing WORTH Yetu groups to viable income-generating activities. A number of the 25 organizations included in the initiative demonstrated exceptional marketing and income generation, as well as downstream impact to their communities. The following success stories showcase their achievements:

• Lukundane group spreading positive impact to the community in Yombo Vituka
• New health-related business enterprises improve the well-being of Pilikapilika Group members
• Group solidarity brings immense business success: The story of Juhudi Group