Photo credit: Dramane Sessouma
Action Education is developing, with the support of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the FORSELF (Formation au Service du Leadership Féminin) project in Ouagadougou. On September 12, 2022, the association's teams handed out grants to finance the business plans of 30 women participating in the project.
In Burkina Faso, many obstacles hinder women's entrepreneurship (illiteracy, low level of education and qualification, difficulties in accessing credit, psychological barriers...). Action Education has set up a vocational training project in the tenth district of the capital, specifically dedicated to women deprived of education. FORSELF enables them to train for a trade and to engage in income-generating activities.
To give confidence and the desire to act
The technical trainings are organized around 9 trades (local product processing, fabric recycling, weaving, sewing, soap creation, stove making, hairdressing, catering and pastry making). Participants also see their skills reinforced in the areas of public relations, marketing, social networks as well as in management (development of business plans, financial services, etc.). The association's teams accompany the young women to give them confidence and the desire to act, but also raise awareness in the communities about the interest of developing women's work.
The presentation of grants totaling 9,770,500 FCFA (14,895€), which support the development of individual businesses, took place on September 12 at the Maison de la Femme in Ouagadougou. The 30 participants of phase 2 of the project (which provides for the training of 400 women in total) received these grants, enabling them to carry out their activities.
Highly committed participants who attend the training sessions
Mrs. Ouédraogo, president of CARTPL (Collectif des Associations des Restauratrices et Transformatrices de Produits Locaux) testifies: "We trained 5 women for a month in food processing. We trained five women for a month in food processing. They made juice from monkey bread [baobab fruit], tamarind and lianas. The training also included the production of monkey bread cookies, ice cream, peanut paste and salted and sweetened peanuts. The women were very engaged and diligent in the training sessions.
Félicité Compaoré, who works in the field of hairdressing, is very satisfied with the training she received: "The training concerned weaving, nail placement, matting, different cuts, mats, additions and plating. This allows me to improve my services and satisfy the increasingly demanding clientele. The amount received [from the grant] will be used for the acquisition of materials. I would like to thank the initiators of the project with all my heart".