Self Help Development Foundation

Self Help Development Foundation (SHDF) works in the area of community development particularly in rural areas with a direct focus on building women’s capacities to become economically self-reliant. The organization was established in 1963 and has gone through continued re-focusing to remain relevant to its members and the operating environment.

SHDF is a capacity building institute with vast experience, expertise and capacity to assist persons of diverse backgrounds in very wide ranging subjects namely, strategic management for businesses, business management for farmers and small enterprises, financial mobilization for small enterprises, internal savings and lending, vocational skills development, and advisory services for agribusinesses. The institution provides various business development services to a varied target group, these include small and medium scale farmers, farmer associations, commodity associations, women’s clubs and associations, leaders of community projects, agro-dealers and communities at large. SHDF has a pool of highly qualified officers who are spread out throughout the country thereby allowing us to conduct several activities simultaneously.

As an organization we work hands on for the development of women and communities through the promotion of self-reliance. 80% of our members are in the rural areas, with 20% in the urban areas. Of the 20 000 club members, 97% are female.

Currently, our focus is on improving the viability of agriculture sector as a whole with a particular focus on increasing incomes from agriculture. To this end we are providing capacity building to various actors along different agricultural value chains, such as mentoring of agro-dealers, assisting agro-dealers in financial mobilization, training farmers in farming as a business, providing horticultural marketers with business management skills, securing business loans for farmers, promotion of food processing, output marketing, exposing processors of dried vegetables and fruits to regional export markets.

We are working in thirty districts of Zimbabwe and we have field trainers working from each district. The districts that we are working in are; Chimanimani, Mutare, Buhera, Mutasa, Makoni, Nyanga, Wedza, Mutoko, Murewa, Goromonzi, Manyame/Seke, Guruve, Maowe, Bindura, Hurungwe, Zhombe, Shurugwi, Mvuma, Gokwe North, Chivi, Masvingo, Gweru, Tsholotsho, Lupane, Nkayi, Umzingwane, Gwanda, Bulilima, Harare and Bulawayo.

We have a very strong gender focus with a fully-fledged gender program and have mainstreamed issues around the gender, environment and natural resources management in all our activities.

We are involved with Ini Newe/Mina Lawe as a partner in women empowerment and development. This communication platform will have access to our members and projects across the country. Ini  Newe/Mina Lawe will document our members activities bringing out the best that can inspire other women.  Our members, some in deep rural areas will have their untold stories narrated to the world through traditional and new media, at this platform.

We are happy to partner with this Ini Newe/Mina Lawe communication platform for the realisation of our vision to see an economically empowered community that respects human rights, especially women’s rights.

These are responsible for

• Formation of Self Help groups (savings clubs)
• Providing training to savings club members in various disciplines
• Formation of study circle committees and monitoring the implementation of study circles
• Community mobilization

A list of contact persons is available upon request for your area. Please use the contact form below for further information.

NB: These courses range from 2 – 5 days in length depending on the specific request.  Training fees vary with the type of course and are available on request. A training venue for a maximum of 50 – 60 people is also available charged separately.