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Our
Programmes Target MDGs No. 1 & 8
TORO DEVELOPMENT NETWORK PROGRAMMES:
ICT Research & Resource Centre
Programme:
The ICT Research
& Resource Centre is comprised of a Computerized
Information System that is aimed at
gathering, interpreting/processing, documenting
and disseminating of correct and relevant
information on sustainable rural development. The centre also houses an SME Business Incubation Centre. The incubation help upcoming businesses to thrive to reach high revenue margins. The innitiative provides training and consultancy services to upcoming entrepreneurs in the region.
The ICT Resource Centre shall be established on
three main departments:
1. The Research Department
2. The Documentation Department
3. The Publishing Department
4. SME Business Incubation Centre
The above
departments will be designed in a way that they
will be able to facilitate synergy and ensure
that the whole organization gains a competitive
advantage through training, providing access and
disseminating correct, relevant and timely
information that will accelerate sustainable
development of the rural men and women in Toro and
Uganda in general.
The ICT Research
& Resource Centre organizes activities
aimed at the sharing of ICT development
experiences via seminars, workshops and meetings
that bring together the rural men and women and other
stakeholders interested in a particular
substantive area. The Resource Centre further
is developing a web presence to mail
and publish both quarterly online and print
newsletters, for stakeholders who have access to
internet, with articles discussing development
issues pertinent to using ICTs in Toro and
Uganda in general. The website acts as a
tool of promoting awareness of the ToroDev
activities and the potential development impact
of ICTs locally, nationally and internationally.
Seminars and workshops cover a broad range
of issues, including the potential benefits of
using personal computers in the management of
rural socio-economic development information.
Specific Objectives of the ICT Resource
Centre:
1. To carryout research, provide training and access to
use Internet services and other ICT provided
opportunities to the rural men and women.
2. To collect, process and organize published
and unpublished resources and disseminate the
correct and relevant information to the young people.
3. To establish and maintain a Local Area
Network of like minded member organizations in
Fort portal town to facilitate efficient
information sharing on rural development activities.
4. To develop and maintain a website that
will provide all time access to ToroDev
published resources on the internet.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme:
Entrepreneurship
provides an important avenue for expanding the
economies of any developing community. Although
capital is needed to kick-start entrepreneurial
endeavors, an understanding of the marketplace,
application of sound business practices, and
effective technology use can help entrepreneurs
put investments to good use.
Toro region of
western Uganda is facing considerable challenges
in promoting and sustaining information and
communication technology (ICT) enabled
innovation and new business creation. Very few
Community Based and Non Governmental
Organizations, like KRC and EZT, are struggling
to support local, private self help projects.
They need to expand ICT services and
applications in order to grow ICT-enabled
businesses in all sectors of the economy.
Already established entrepreneurs need ICTs to
improve their product marketing, access to
donor/ funding opportunities and credit
facilities from micro finance institutions.
To help the rural people in Toro meet these challenges, ToroDev
seeks to facilitate innovative approaches to
expanding private initiatives by scaling up
successful ICT applications, expanding ICT
access, and harnessing ICTs as tools of broader
economic growth and efficiency.
ToroDev's main
business on this programme will be to promote
ICTs supported entrepreneurship education and
skills training targeted to the poorest groups
of rural men and women in Toro. Our belief is that an
entrepreneur who uses ICTs appropriately and
effectively can run a more efficient business
and reach markets that were previously
unimaginable, and we will provide an entry point
to business through ICTs use that many youth
poorest groups would otherwise not have access
to. We will also provide planning, practical and
management assistance to micro business
start-ups.
Specific objectives of Entrepreneurship
and Innovation Programme:
1. To provide relevant and correct
information on entrepreneurship skills,
training, best practices, market research and
expansion.
2. To promote cooperation and networking
between different entrepreneurs through sharing
experiences and resources.
3. To lobby and advocate for the rights of
private entrepreneurs and employees in Toro and
Uganda as a whole.
4. To provide planning, practical and
management assistance to micro business
initiatives.
Civil
Society Building Programme:
This is a new
lobbying and advocacy programme that is aimed at
building a free expression capacity of the local
population, especially young people, in
Toro; be able to demand accountabilty from the
local leadership. The programme also
campaigns for budgeting policy reforms which
favour youth empowerment at local government
levels, leadership skills training, adult
literacy and vocational training among the young
people. Avenues for implementing the above
include radio talk shows, focus group
discussions and training workshops, etc...
Specific
Objective of the Civil society Building:
1. To
empower the rural men and womenwith legal and ethical
communication skills required to establish a
cordial relationship with their leaders.
2. To equip
the rural people with leadership skills that
will enable them mobilize and sensitize their
local communities on socio-economic and
political development.
3. To promote
the spirit of transparency and accountability
between the rural men and women and their leaders both
at local and national levels.
4. To promote
adult literacy and vocational training that is a
requisite for socio-economic development of
individuals and Toro community at large.
Micro-Finance Credit Programme:
The micro finance
Credit programme will focus on expanding the
opportunities for rural people to have access to
financial credit facilities. ToroDev plan is to
mobilize funds from other loaning financial
institutions and its donor partners in order to
make these funds available for small scale
entrepreneurs.
The main purpose
of this programme is to facilitate the expansion
of the available capital resources of the rural men and women
initiated self help businesses by making small
loans available for them to access. These small
loans shall be charged an interest that is aimed
at sustaining the programme.
Specific objectives of the Micro-finance
Credit Programme:
1. To provide credit facilities to young and mature
entrepreneurs that are essential for capital and eventually business expansion.
2. To provide training to the rural men and women on
budgeting and saving skills that are key
elements of business growth and development.
3. To monitor the use of funds extended to
the young entrepreneurs in form of loans in
order to determine the impact of these loans on
both individual and community development.
4. To prepare accountabilities of the
interests received from ToroDev partners and
report back to donors and other stakeholders in
the community.
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NETWORK
