Aspiring women leaders excelling in social entrepreurship projects

AS part of its goal to enhance women’s political participation, the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (Walpe) provided seed funding for small income-generating projects to aspiring women leaders trained in transformative feminist leadership and social entrepreneurship.

The women leaders are undertaking various projects which include poultry rearing, running a bakery and buying and selling various household goods.

Some of the beneficiaries have managed to revolve their funds every three months to enable other women aspiring leaders to benefit and create sources of income. The income-generating projects (IGPs) have been functional since November 2020.

The beneficiaries were also trained on how to produce washable face masks and hand sanitisers, which have been instrumental in combating the spread of COVID-19 in their communities.

A research conducted by Walpe in 2019 revealed that the participation of women in politics was being limited by lack of funds to facilitate political campaigns hence the need to give them an economic boost.

Women are also bearing the brunt of the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the economy as the burden of unpaid care and domestic work weigh heavily on them, hence the IGPs are helping in cushioning them and improving their livelihoods.

Some of the achievements recorded thus far:

Improved sources of income for beneficiaries which has resulted in raised standards of living at family level.

Women aspiring leaders are more visible in community development activities and actively and confidently participating in political leadership and decisionmaking processes.

Improved management of political campaigns.

Improved management of the COVID19 pandemic in their respective communities.