Help that women can bank on
FROM AFRICA TO SOUTH AMERICA, A PROJECT SHOWS THE BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Do you have a bank account? Have you ever taken out a business loan or a mortgage? For millions of women around the globe, such financial services are simply out of reach. Yet improving access to finance could improve women’s lives immeasurably, as well as unlock US$330bn (£256bn) in annual global revenue, according to development organisation Care.
Research by Care documents the “enormous” economic and social potential of women who have been helped by Care’s project Access Approved. Among them is Yeo Nakoni, 51, a vegetable farmer from Korhogo in Ivory Coast. She is a mother of six and also takes care of two nieces. When her husband lost his job as a cook, she became the family’s sole breadwinner.
“I got married at the age of 20 and used to sell vegetables at the market until my mother-in-law advised me to grow these vegetables by myself and sell them for more profit,” said Nakoni. “That was a good idea, and she arranged a plot of land for me. I’ve worked this land now for 35 years, but it doesn’t belong to me. In our community women don’t own land, it belongs to men.”
Nakoni went on to establish a savings group, based on Care’s Village Savings and Loans Association
model. “Every Sunday we each put in 500 francs and from that we are able to give each other loans. We repay our loans with interest, so our fund can grow. What we can do as a group, you can’t do by yourself.”
As well as training, Care arranged for Madam Sekongo, a successful entrepreneur from the region, to give motivational talks to Nakoni’s and other groups. “Thanks to my fields I have been able to send my children to school and put food on the table,” said Nakoni.
“I am optimistic for my future. I see myself as a woman entrepreneur who makes decisions and contributes significantly to the expenses of her family. I see myself owning a home in five years and I know I am on the right track.”