NAIROBI The hall is full of hiss and clatter as the machines squeeze plastic into new shapes. Shampoo bottle caps drip from one machine, the bottles themselves from another, rulers from the third.
A young woman in a white work coat goes from machine to machine, occasionally exchanging a few words with the workers using them.
With Trian Mwangi, 20, has a big responsibility for the operation of the data center, but he is not on the company’s payroll, at least not yet. He is completing his third apprenticeship at Haco Industries.
Watch the video how Trian Mwangi describes his job duties and studies.
Mwangi’s apprenticeships are a concrete example of what Finland has done with its development cooperation money in Kenya.
For four years, Finland finances the development of apprenticeship training in Kenya. Now the government has decided to end the Kenya land program. It means that this project will not be continued after 2026.
“I didn’t even know what an engine looked like”
Trian Mwangi studies at Kiambu University of Applied Sciences and will graduate this year as a mechanic.
The study method is exceptional for Kenyans. Mwangi and his classmates are three months at a time in school teaching and then three months on an apprenticeship contract to practice the reality of working life.
– When I came to the internship for the first time, I didn’t even know what an engine looked like. It wasn’t until the technician disassembled the engine that I understood what they had tried to teach us in class. In practical training, the information remains in the head. I feel confident that I can survive these jobs, says Trian Mwangi.
An investment of eight million euros
The cooperation between Kiambu University of Applied Sciences and Haco Industries is part of a project funded by Finland and Germany. Finland invests eight million euros in the promotion of apprenticeships over four years, Germany seven million.
The aim is to spread the idea of apprenticeship training to all vocational schools in Kenya. Currently, 33 educational institutions, almost 1000 students and 350 companies are involved in the project.
Principal, Nairobi Institute of Technology Chory K. Mutungi says the project has revolutionized the idea of vocational training in Kenya.
– Apprenticeship was a completely new idea for us. And the best thing that has happened to our students. In the internship, they gain self-confidence and learn a positive attitude towards work.
“It will be sad if Finland ends its support”
Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (ps) said farewell to this kind of development cooperation in January. Finland is ending the country program in Kenya, of which the professional training project has been a part.
At the same time, the country programs in Afghanistan, Mozambique and Myanmar will also be abolished.
Sanna Marini the government planned a clear increase in development cooperation allocations, but now that planned increase is being cut. The annual appropriations used for development cooperation will permanently decrease by around 150 million euros from last year’s level during this government term.
The graphic below shows how Marin’s government planned to increase development cooperation appropriations (turquoise columns) and how Petteri Orpon the government wants to reduce them (red columns).
The government’s goal is to cut a total of more than one billion euros from the planned development cooperation expenditures over the course of four years. Ending the four country programs will save around 40 million euros per year, around 15 percent of the target.
Minister Tavio justified the abandonment of Kenya’s land program with the country’s good economic development. Already in 2014, Kenya became a lower middle income country in the World Bank’s classification.
According to Tavio, Kenya is an example of how an old development cooperation partner can gradually move to trade relations that benefit Finnish companies.
The Kenyans involved in the vocational training project are grateful for Finland’s investment, but saddened by the end of the support.
– If Finland does not continue the project, it will take away this opportunity from many young people. And that is really sad, says the CEO of Haco Industries Mary-Ann Musangi.
Watch the video to see what the Kenyans involved in the vocational training project think about the end of Finnish funding.
“This is different from building toilets”
Another part of the country program has been the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights. In practice, it has meant training and seminars, organizing services for victims of domestic violence and maintaining shelters.
Projects have been built together with the Kenyan government, UN Women and the Kenyan Red Cross.
Finland has had a special relationship with the UN equality organization UN Women. The cooperation has continued for twenty years. UN Women Kenya Country Director Anna Mutavati appreciates the long-term nature of Finland’s support.
– We are working to change attitudes that have been formed over decades or centuries. This is different from, for example, building toilets or schools, the results cannot be seen in a year or two, says Mutavati.
Listen to what Anna Mutavati thinks about the end of Finland’s country program in the video.
“The time for gift aid is over”
Ambassador of Finland to Kenya Pirkka Tapiola does not consider the termination of the land program a great loss, rather a natural part of the development of relations between Finland and Kenya.
– Kenya has risen to the ranks of middle-income countries. The time of traditional development cooperation with Kenya based on gift aid is over. Now we are moving to a new and more equal relationship, says Tapiola.
Ambassador Tapiola says that the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs understands Finland’s decision to end the country program with understanding.
– The Kenyan authorities take this decision as recognition of Kenya’s economic development. Kenya is a proud country and wants to join the ranks of more developed countries. Giving up gift aid is a sign of success for them, says the ambassador.
Finland’s toolbox still has strong twisters in Kenya, even if the actual country program is abolished. For example, the development financier Finnfund has an investment portfolio of more than 40 million euros in Kenya.
Loan support and deals for Finnish companies
One of the cooperation tools shines with its novelty. Ambassador Tapiola is particularly enthusiastic about the new loan support instrument, which goes by the name PIF. With its help, it is possible to achieve major development effects in Kenya, but also to create a market for Finnish companies and technology.
The steak of the PIF is that Kenya defines a development target, for the implementation of which it is ready to take a significant amount of loan. Finland will pay part of the loan capital and the interest on the loan – but on the condition that the project agreement is made with a Finnish company or group of companies.
– The heart of such projects is mutual ownership. We help Kenyans realize something they really feel they need. And at the same time our own companies benefit, says ambassador Pirkka Tapiola.