Empower 300 women entrepreneurs in rural Nigeria

We smile every time we see and hear the impact of the work we do in the lives of our beneficiaries and we hope Regina, a vegetable farmer who grows vegetables, inspires you with her story and gives you a glimpse into the amazing impact your generous support is helping grow.

Before accessing the interest-free microcredit loan, getting a permanent place to farm her vegetables was a challenge for Regina as she could only afford to lease a space to farm during the farming season. After becoming a beneficiary of the Women Microcredit Programme; where we provide small-scale interest-free microcredit loans to rural women entrepreneurs, she was able to afford the down payment for her own piece of land as well as additional resources needed to better farm and grow her vegetables. She has said that by being able to have her own piece of land to farm on, her children can eat better because she can now afford to buy adequate food items from the profit she makes selling her vegetables. As at the end of the 3rd phase of the Women Microcredit Program, she had completed the payment for her land and can now permanently grow her crops without worry. 

Women like her fuel our commitment to provide rural women with the opportunity to sustainably provide for themselves and their families. Through their hard work, our dedication, and your support, we know we can continue to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. 

We thank you for being with us and our beneficiaries in 2023 and we hope you continue to be a part of our community in 2024 as we continue making an impact in the lives of many more women.

Since 2021, ACE Charity has been empowering rural women entrepreneurs through our Women Microcredit Programme (WMP); a sustainable economic empowerment scheme that provides interest-free microcredit loans and basic business management skills & financial literacy training. The program was initiated as a mitigant to problems of access to affordable funding usually faced by rural women entrepreneurs as well as equipping them with the basic knowledge and tools such as helping them open a bank account, access digital financial services, and have more savings. These skills enable them to sustain and grow their micro businesses.

For each community, ACE Charity executes the program in three (3) phases; first we train the women and then provide them with the interest-free microcredit loans to be paid back over a period of six (6) months in each phase.

During the 1st phase (March 2021 to October 2021), in Kuchingoro Community, Abuja, chosen as the program pilot community, 151 women were provided with loans ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 ($20 to $100) which they repaid by the end of the phase. The second phase started from January 2022 to July 2022 and the beneficiaries received loans ranging from 24,000 to 70,000 ($48 to $140), further growing their businesses for another six months. In the final and third phase, the beneficiaries were given increased loan amounts of 30,000 to 84,000 (($60 to $168). To close out the Women Microcredit Program in Kuchingoro community,  the beneficiaries received micro business grants ranging from 20000 to 40000 ($40 to $80). For three years, the women have been financially empowered to grow and sustain their businesses, and ACE Charity intends to replicate this in the next selected rural community. 

Beneficiary Impact Story

Grace, is a petty trader who sells a healthy Nigerian snack known as ‘Okpa’. Her husband is a security man and earns only so much. Before being a part of our programme and accessing our interest-free loans, Grace bought items for her business on credit. When buying her items, Grace was not prioritized and would often wait for people who were not buying on credit to buy their items first. This would be followed by Grace explaining her situation to the vendors for long periods of time before they released the items to her. Of course, she would always pay her debt after making sufficient sales. However, since she applied for and received our interest-free small-scale loan, she confidently goes to the market, makes her purchase and pays the vendors instantly. It has also helped her to expand her business; she added ‘Pap’ (a local cereal) to her stock and enjoys good patronage. That’s not all! Because of the success of her business, her children are now being better fed and also go to school. In her words; “All of this would not have been possible without you. I pray God blesses ACE Charity and the people sponsoring you as this has greatly helped me and saved me from shame”.

Following the successes achieved in the pilot community; an average loan repayment rate of 98.6%, 79% of the women experienced business expansion, 91% of the women beneficiaries now have savings either in their bank accounts, in a co-operative (peer-groups) or both, 42.5% of the women consistently using digital payment platforms for their businesses, and the beneficiaries in turn directly impacting the lives of 702 persons (spouses, children, parents, siblings, staff and other unspecified relatives and community members), our goal of reaching and empowering 300 rural women entrepreneurs with interest-free microcredit loans in two more rural communities is steadily becoming a reality.

With our commitment to ensuring rural women have the opportunity to sustainably provide for themselves and their families through their work and your support, we know we can continue to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

Kindly support our work by donating during the upcoming LittleXLittle campaign from the 18th-22nd of September where donations of up to $50 get a 50% match from GlobalGiving and sharing why you choose to support us with your community of family and friends.