Empower 300 women entrepreneurs in rural Nigeria

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.