Economic Growth Nigeria Project #64146

Empower 2000 female rural entrepreneurs in Nigeria

by Better Life Program for the African Rural Woman (BLPARW)

Project Report | Aug 31, 2026
Empowering 100 Cassava Farmers and Processors

By Aisha Ojone Abu | Project Leader

Group picture of some participants

Executive Summary

This quarter, the Better Life Program for the African Rural Woman (BLPARW) reached a major milestone in our mission to empower 2000 female entrepreneurs in Nigeria. In partnership with GIZ SEDIN, we delivered a hands-on Training-of-Trainers masterclass to 100 female cassava farmers and processors in Wako community, Kwali Area Council, Abuja, equipping them not just with new skills, but with the tools to pass those skills on. Thanks to your support, these entrepreneurs are now positioned to modernize their farming, strengthen their cooperatives, and unlock new income streams from a crop that has long been the backbone of their livelihoods.

Why This Matters

For many smallholder farmers in Kwali, cassava farming has meant hard work with little to show for it, outdated techniques, high post-harvest losses, and no easy way to access credit or bigger markets. Working alone, farmers have little bargaining power and few paths to grow. We know from experience that the fastest way to change this is to combine practical technical training with strong cooperative structures: when farmers organize together, they can pool resources, cut costs, and negotiate as a unified force. This quarter's masterclass was designed to do exactly that and to connect participants to a community-run processing center that keeps the value of their harvest right where it belongs: in their own hands.

What We Did

Over the course of the training, 100 participants took part in three core modules led by expert facilitators:

Agricultural Best Practices — Experts from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture walked farmers through higher-yield cultivation methods, disease prevention, and ways to cut down on post-harvest losses.
Cooperative Management & Governance — Facilitators from the Department of Cooperatives, Abuja, helped participants set up formal leadership structures, learn collective bargaining, and build transparent financial systems.
Financial Literacy & Enterprise Growth — A GIZ-certified trainer guided participants through bookkeeping, cash flow management, pricing, and how to access micro-credit.

The Difference This Is Making

100 farmers, trained to train others. Every participant is now equipped to bring these skills back to their own cooperatives — meaning this training's reach will keep multiplying long after the masterclass ended.
Less waste, more profit. Farmers are already applying improved post-harvest handling techniques, cutting down processing losses and boosting the market value of their cassava products.
A path to formal credit. With proper record-keeping now in place, participants are better positioned to access loans and connect with bigger buyers- a critical step out of subsistence farming.
Roots for the future. By pairing strong cooperative governance with a community-owned processing center, this program is laying the groundwork for growth that belongs to and stays with the Kwali community.

Looking Ahead

With this foundation in place, BLPARW will continue supporting these cooperatives as they put their new skills into practice, from expanding the processing center's capacity to helping more farmers access formal markets. Your continued support makes this next chapter possible.

Training session

Links:

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May 13, 2026
Empowering Women in the Shea Value Chain

By Aisha Ojone Abu | Project Leader

Executive Summary

We are thrilled to share that the first quarter of 2025 has been a season of growth and transformation. Our activities focused on the shea value chain in Niger State, where we worked directly with smallholder women processors and collectors.

By delivering a structured, hands-on training program, we equipped 70 women with the tools to turn traditional labor into a thriving, sustainable business. The curriculum covered everything from basic business development and financial literacy to international shea quality standards, ensuring these entrepreneurs can compete in a global market.

Story of the Quarter: From "Labor" to "Leadership"

In rural Niger State, the shea tree is known as "Women’s Gold." For generations, women have gathered and processed shea nuts, but without formal business training, much of the value was lost to middlemen or poor processing techniques.

This quarter, the atmosphere at the Zauna Beji Shea Cooperative was electric. For many of the 70 women gathered under the shade of the community meeting space, this was their first time receiving formal vocational training.

Key Activities & Achievements

1. Mastering the Business of Shea

We moved beyond the basics to help participants build actionable business plans. We focused on:

Profitability: Calculating true production costs to set competitive prices.
Quality Control: Training on sustainable harvesting and post-harvest handling to meet international organic and export standards.

2. Strengthening the Cooperative

A business is only as strong as its foundation. We worked with the Zauna Beji Cooperative to improve internal governance, teaching democratic decision-making and transparent record-keeping. This ensures the cooperative remains a stable, trusted vehicle for collective bargaining and growth.

3. Financial Inclusion

Many of our entrepreneurs have historically been excluded from formal banking. Our financial literacy sessions demystified budgeting, savings, and credit management. By using visual tools and peer-learning, we’ve opened a pathway for these women to access microfinance and build their own "savings circles."

Challenges & Learning

Timing the Harvest: We learned to be flexible with our schedule to accommodate peak periods of agricultural labor, ensuring that no woman had to choose between her current income and her future education.
Visual Learning: To bridge the gap in formal literacy levels, we pivoted to highly visual and oral instructional methods, which significantly increased engagement and retention.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Q2?

With a strong foundation laid, our goals for the next three months include:

Coaching & Mentorship: Field visits to reinforce the "best practices" learned this quarter.
Savings Circles: Formalizing internal lending groups to provide members with immediate access to capital.
Expanding Our Reach: Extending this capacity-building model to additional cooperatives in the region.
Market Links: Facilitating direct connections between our trained processors and microfinance institutions.

Thank You for Your Support!

Your generosity is the engine behind this progress. Because of you, 70 women in Niger State are now better equipped to provide for their families, educate their children, and lead their communities. You aren't just funding a training program; you are investing in the economic independence of Nigeria’s women entrepreneurs.

Together, we are turning "Women's Gold" into lasting prosperity.

Links:

Website

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Jan 13, 2026
Financial Literacy for 100 rural female MSMEs

By Aisha Abu | Project Leader

Executive Summary

This quarter marked a significant milestone in our mission to bridge the economic gap for women in rural Nigeria. Through a strategic partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), we successfully completed a high-impact intervention for 100 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Minna, Niger State. This initiative combines technical education with direct financial injection to ensure sustainable business growth.

Phase 1: Capacity Building (Financial Literacy Training)

In collaboration with SMEDAN, BLPARW hosted a 3-day intensive financial literacy workshop. The curriculum was specifically designed to address the unique challenges faced by rural female entrepreneurs. Key modules included:

Record Keeping: Transitioning from memory-based tracking to formal business ledgers.
Budgeting & Financial Planning: Strategies for managing seasonal income and household-vs-business expenses.
Savings and Loans: Navigating formal banking systems and understanding credit responsibly.
Product Packaging: Enhancing brand value and market appeal to increase profit margins.

Phase 2: Direct Financial Support

Upon successful completion of the training, each beneficiary received a grant of 100,000 naira

This seed capital allows these women to:

Purchase raw materials in bulk to reduce costs.
Invest in better equipment or tools.

Next Steps: The 3-Month Intensive Coaching

The project now enters a critical "Sustainability Phase." Over the next three months, these 100 rural female entrepreneurs will receive:

One-on-one mentorship sessions.
Bi-weekly check-ins to monitor the utilization of the grant.
Assistance in troubleshooting operational challenges.

This coaching ensures that the knowledge gained is not just learned, but lived. We look forward to sharing the growth metrics and success stories from this cohort in our next quarterly update.

BLPARW Chairperson, SMEDAN DG and a beneficiary

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