WOMEN FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SUMMARY

EFA Cameroon through a pilot project “Women for Small Business” (WOSB) is engaged to empower vulnerable women and young girls in a bit to reduce gender inequalities among men and women. The main objective is to assist at least 1000 vulnerable women and girls out of financial dependency through small business schemes in communities of Diamare Division, Far North region of Cameroon. And specifically, to: i- reduce the women and young girls’ dependency vis-a-vis their spouses ; ii- increase beneficiaries’ revenue through income generating activities ;iii- reinforce women rights to lucrative activities of their choices; and iv- stimulate feminine creative potentials in the wealth creation processes.

Activities Realize

1-      Discussion with the group of women in Kodek to check their progress and impact of the activity.

2-      Site visits for first hand results on progress of businesses and individual challenges encountered.

Takeaways

-          Routine meetings were regular and each group member respected loaning and refund terms.

-          Women of Kodek and Missinggleo were reminded of coordinating with the women of Palar and Gakley to acquire a uniform at their convenience.

Human Interest Story

A beneficiary testified that her capital has grown and she now has savings thanks to the loan system that allows her to make enough profit to cater for the needs of her 04 children. She also testified to haven supported her mother in lifting her business that had been redundant for a couple of years. Haoua was pparticularly grateful to EFA Cameroon and GlobalGiving for the financial assistance and called on them to do more given the progressive rise in prices of comodity comodity good and the presence of more vulnerable women and girls in her locality.

Project Impact

Group members showed a change in mentality and demonstrated a high degree of empowerment and because of this, the community including men were becoming more relaxed about the empowerment of women. This was a great milestone towards gender equality in the Far North Region Cameroon where the gender gap had been significantly wide for the past decades.  

Future Activity

The activity in view is the visit of the Mbalgare to evaluate progress and challenges and propose solutions.