KenyaX

Currently, KenyaX is the brand of The Economic Group (hereinafter, #The Group) for those services that are tailored to Kenya or inspired by Kenyan culture. WiseNxt is the first service to be launched; further, it would also be used for recruitment purposes. Organizationally, #The Group's strategy is to partner with local entities in order to grow #KenyaX up to a separate organization headquartered in Kenya.

With the "Kenya" name and "X" standing for "exchange", #KenyaX shall promote cross-cultural understanding, collaboration, and mutual benefit between Kenya and the global community. They can cater to both domestic and international markets, offering authentic experiences that celebrate the beauty, diversity, and heritage of Kenya.

Curriculum Project

For the purposes of this wikipage, Curriculum Project refers to WiseNxt services to be launched in Kenya.

Manager

#The Group is hiring a manager to disburse #Initial Budget for WiseNxt services in Kenya. Middle school diploma is required. If interested, please ask any questions and suggest what you do first when hired.

WiseNxt Specifics

With regards to Kenya, #The Group's goal is assisting youth in entering the workforce. According to "Youth Employment Initiatives in Kenya. Report of a Review Commissioned by the World Bank and Kenya Vision 2030",

Kenya faces a significant unemployment problem with youth being hit hardest. The high unemployment is related to the overall investment climate in the country and the economy’s low capacity to create new jobs. But youth find it particularly difficult to enter the labour market. Reasons for this are complex. They range from deficits in education and skills to lack of work experience, difficulties to obtain information about career options and job chances, irrational recruitment practices of employers, and the lack of necessary assets and attitudes to become self-employed. (Source: https://vision2030.go.ke/publication/youth-employment-initiatives-in-kenya/)

Initial Budget

Weekly practice¹ expenses (without technology and mentor expenses)

Scholar2 Tier
Scholar2 category	# of scholars2	Stipend3 per week	Stipend3 expense	WiFi4 expense	Overhead5 expense	Totals
Junior	16	2.50	40.00	56.00	28.80	124.80
Mid	8	5.00	40.00	28.00	20.40	88.40
Senior	4	10.00	40.00	14.00	16.20	70.20
Trainee6 Tier
Trainee6 category	# of trainees6	Wages7 per hour	Wage7 expense	WiFi4 expense	Overhead5 expense	Totals
Junior	4	1.00	40.00	14.00	16.20	70.20
Mid	2	2.00	40.00	7.00	14.10	61.10
Senior	1	4.00	40.00	3.50	13.05	56.55
Summary
Totals	35	n/a	240.00	122.50	108.75	471.25
Units	people	US$	US$	US$	US$	US$

¹ The best practice description is posted on the WiseNxt wikipage.

² The four scholar-tier roles are CNM Product Analyst, CNM Website Developer, CNM Event Organizer, and CNM Cloud Operator. Four junior, two mid, and one senior scholars in each role.

³ The scholars are volunteers; wages cannot be paid to them. However, nominal stipends are designed to cover some expenses. 10 hours of weekly commitment are expected.

⁴ The WiFi reimbursement is set at US$3.5 per participant.

⁵ The overhead expense is set as 30% of both stipend and WiFi expenses to cover (a) wages for the #Curriculum Project Manager who shall oversee the practice, (b) advertising and public relations expenses, and (c) unexpected costs.

⁶ The trainee-tier role is CNMCyber Coordinator. Four junior, two mid, and one senior coordinators.

⁷ The trainees undergo per-apprenticeship training. They practice in several areas with various professionals in order to choose their target occupation for their further apprenticeship. Normally, the trainees are pre-entry-level workers who are employed for 10 hours a week. If the trainees don't reach the age of majority and their parents don't support their employment arrangement, the trainees can be volunteers getting senior scholar stipend instead of the wages.

Ideas for services

Primary ideas

1. **Cultural Exchange Programs**: Facilitate cultural exchange programs that bring together people from Kenya and around the world. Participants can immerse themselves in Kenyan culture, language, and traditions while sharing their own cultural backgrounds.
2. **Language Exchange Workshops**: Offer language exchange workshops where individuals can learn Swahili, Kenya's national language, while teaching their native language to Kenyan participants. This fosters linguistic and cultural understanding on both sides.
3. **Volunteer Exchange Opportunities**: Coordinate volunteer exchange programs that allow individuals to contribute to community development projects in Kenya while gaining valuable cross-cultural experiences and perspectives.
4. **Student Exchange Programs**: Organize student exchange programs between Kenyan schools and international institutions, promoting educational exchange and fostering global citizenship among students.
5. **Business Exchange Initiatives**: Facilitate business exchange initiatives that connect Kenyan entrepreneurs with international counterparts for knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration opportunities.
6. **Artistic Exchange Events**: Curate artistic exchange events featuring performances, exhibitions, and workshops that showcase both Kenyan and international artists, fostering creativity and cultural dialogue.
7. **Environmental Exchange Projects**: Partner with environmental organizations to create exchange projects focused on sustainability, conservation, and eco-tourism, promoting cross-border collaboration in protecting the natural resources of Kenya.
8. **Professional Exchange Programs**: Develop professional exchange programs that enable professionals from various fields to exchange ideas, expertise, and best practices, contributing to skill development and capacity building in Kenya.
9. **Healthcare Exchange Initiatives**: Facilitate healthcare exchange initiatives that bring together medical professionals from Kenya and abroad to share knowledge, resources, and strategies for addressing healthcare challenges and improving healthcare delivery.
10. **Technology Exchange Forums**: Host technology exchange forums where innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts can exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, and drive technological advancement in Kenya and beyond.

Secondary ideas

1. **Kenyan Cultural Experiences**: Offer guided tours, workshops, and experiences that immerse visitors in Kenyan culture, including traditional music, dance, cuisine, and crafts.
2. **Kenyan Adventure Tours**: Organize adventure tours to explore Kenya's diverse landscapes, such as safaris in national parks, hiking Mount Kenya, or exploring coastal regions like Mombasa and Lamu.
3. **Kenyan Cuisine Catering**: Provide catering services specializing in Kenyan cuisine for events, parties, and corporate functions, showcasing the rich flavors and culinary traditions of Kenya.
4. **Kenyan Handicrafts Online Store**: Create an e-commerce platform to sell authentic Kenyan handicrafts, including beadwork, wood carvings, woven baskets, and Maasai blankets, supporting local artisans and promoting cultural heritage.
5. **Kenyan Language and Cultural Exchange Programs**: Offer language courses in Swahili, Kenya's national language, along with cultural exchange programs that allow participants to live with Kenyan families and immerse themselves in the local way of life.
6. **Kenyan Wellness Retreats**: Organize wellness retreats in scenic locations across Kenya, offering yoga, meditation, and holistic healing practices inspired by Kenyan traditions, coupled with eco-friendly accommodation and organic cuisine.
7. **Kenyan Wildlife Conservation Tours**: Partner with conservation organizations to offer tours focused on wildlife conservation efforts in Kenya, including visits to animal sanctuaries, participation in conservation projects, and educational programs on wildlife protection.
8. **Kenyan Fashion and Textiles**: Develop a fashion line featuring clothing and accessories inspired by Kenyan textiles, patterns, and traditional attire, promoting local designers and sustainable fashion practices.
9. **Kenyan Music and Dance Workshops**: Arrange workshops and classes led by Kenyan musicians and dancers, teaching traditional music instruments like the nyatiti or teaching dance styles like the Kikuyu Mugithi or the Luo Benga.
10. **Kenyan Eco-Tourism Initiatives**: Create eco-tourism initiatives focused on sustainable travel practices, such as community-based tourism, eco-friendly accommodations, and carbon-offsetting programs, to promote responsible tourism while supporting local communities and preserving natural resources.

Compliance

#We would like to make sure that #The services we build and #The practice we envision comply with existing laws.

Employment Act

Kenya's Employment Act regulates employment in that country. Although this law doesn't define employment directly, it may imply that employment in Kenya is a contract, either written or oral, in which one party, an employer, orders another party, an employee, who is an individual, to render specified services, for which the law requires the employer to compensate that individual with wages and salaries.

The law doesn't distinguish between employment, experiential learning, and volunteering. Taking that law literally, one may suggest that schools shouldn't assign any work to students below 13 years of age, as well as pay their students for, let say, homework when they are above 13 years of age. Both theoretical suggestions are nonsense only if ones assume that every work not necessarily requires wages and salaries.

Furthermore, the law doesn't seem to distinguish between a paid employee and independent contractor; for instance, this difference is clarified in the United States in details -- https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee

#We don't plan to hire any participant as an employee. Even if #We wanted so, #We are a group of volunteers, not a legal entity. Thus, #We cannot be an employer by definition.

As a group of volunteers, #We are affiliated with #The Group, which is incorporated in Michigan, United States, so Kenya's law may not apply. Unlike our experience with Kenyan laws, our expertise with the U.S. laws is solid. What is even more, #The Students would be practicing on CNM Lab Farm of #Opplet; this farm is physically located in Germany.

To sum up, #We are not going to employ #The Students as the labor law implies. To avoid any conflicts in complying with the Employment Act, #We would like to reach out to the Kenyan National Employment Authority.

Industrial Training Act

Kenya's Industrial Training Act regulates "industrial training", which it defines as "training for a specified industry". In the meanwhile, our training is not related to any specific industry.

Indeed, #The services we build have their limits. Simply put, #We don't plan to build anything beyond introductory work experience, career options, and guided entrances, normally, as apprentices, to the labour market.

For instance, #CNMCyber Bootcamps cover JavaScript, but do so barely to the extend for a participant to decide whether he or she likes to be a JavaScript developer or administrator. However, #We cannot provide and don't plan to provide #The Students with advanced training in that framework since #We deal with the #Learning sequence we use only.

If a graduate from #WiseNxt Academy would like to go to the upper stages of #The Pipeline, #VIT, which runs those stages, would connect him or her with advanced training providers. Once again, this matching and, consequently, professional training are beyond of our work's scope. #We develop and administer #CNMCyber and #Our offerings only.

To sum up, #We are not going to provide #The Students with "industrial training" as the law defines. To avoid any conflicts in complying with the Industrial Training Act, #We would like to reach out to the Kenyan National Industrial Training Authority.

Key Terms

The Group

The Economic Group