Empower 2000 female rural entrepreneurs in Nigeria

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

• 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.

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.

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.