This project is supported by the L'OCCITANE Foundation.
Context
According to the United Nations, access to economic opportunities is one of the key dimensions to the economic empowerment of women. These economic opportunities can be created in particular by increasing employability, improving entrepreneurship and promoting the development of a financial sector providing access to financial products and loans adapted to women. In Burkina Faso, few women in rural areas have access to suitable loans, even less to training allowing adequate management of these loans.
Supported project
This is why the L'OCCITANE Foundation supports in 2021-2022 the Entrepreneurs du Monde (EDM) project promoting rural women's self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial spirit. This project combinesawareness, training and access to microcredit to enable the poorest women to create and develop complementary income-generating activities. It therefore makes a significant contribution to reducing inequalities. For women, control over resources, access to credit and entrepreneurial knowledge leads to greater autonomy and recognition within their families and communities.
This year, one of the objectives of this project is to ensure the sustainability of the micro-credit agencies set up within the framework of this partnership.
Some figures
The objective is to enable rural women to have permanent access to financial and socio-economic services adapted to their needs. In the long term, the objective is to improve the living conditions of women living in rural areas in Burkina Faso.
Budget 111,824 euros
Goal 24,753 women to be supported
Partnership history
Project supported since 2009
The L'OCCITANE Foundation has been supporting the microfinance project developed by the EDM association since 2009. This project was greatly inspired by the recommendations of women from L'OCCITANE's partner shea unions, women with a better understanding of the living conditions of rural women in general.
The project, which initially followed a conventional model, has been restructured several times to produce a project that is now more adapted to the needs and realities of rural women:
- The interest rate has been revised to be less restrictive for borrowers
- The availability period and duration of loans have been made more flexible
- Different types of loans have been set up and linked to specific training courses (e.g. agricultural loans)
This project was first developed for the benefit of 600 rural women in 2 rural areas in Burkina Faso before opening up to other women who expressed a need for it*. Today, more than 24,000 women in the provinces of Houet, Sissili, Ziro, Sanguié, Bougouriba and the rural communes of Tanghin-Dassouri and Pabré benefit from the project's activities. It is estimated that by 2022, 26,753 women will have benefited from microcredit, training and advisory support, allowing them to effectively develop their income-generating activities.
1According to the PPI 2015 report, more than 80% of the women surveyed wanted to benefit from the project's activities
Testimonies
"My work brings in enough money to allow me to be financially autonomous and support my family. My projects: finding a permanent outlet from where to sell my cakes, buying the abandoned plots next to mine to grow onions in, and carrying on supporting my children's studies. I want to be able to give them the things I never had"
Assetou, a beneficiary
Click here to read Assetou's full testimony
"She warmly welcomes us to her backyard. I notice that it is beautifully decorated with shrubs. "That one's called yikri !" she exclaimed with a big smile. This climbing shrub is a well-chosen symbol to represent emergence. it never stops growing, "like my work and my purse", maminata laughinly told us."
Maminata, a beneficiary
Click here to read Maminata's full testimony
"My membership gives me access to training sessions and microcredits, which allow me to develop various income generating activities. I cultivate and prepare donuts too : i decided to invest for this particular activity. what an insight did i have !"
Safradia, a beneficiary
Click here to read Safradia's full testimony
"i've never been to school, so i pave my way with humbleness and courage. as a child, i used to herd my family's sheep. then when i was 19 years old, i got married. i have 4 ikds. At 30, i started selling yam to contribute to my family's finances."
Sarata, a beneficiary
Click here to read Sarata's full testimony
