Wonder Women’s Empowerment Collective

The “Wonder Women’s Empowerment Collective” has nine members with an average age of 35, and between them they support a total of 15 dependants including 12 children who attend the local school. All members of this Collective live and work in a rural area some 45 kilometres from the capital, Lomé. They operate in a diverse range of activities from seamstresses and sellers of fabrics, to retail vendors of small snacks, corn, clothing, onions, and ginger.

A member of this Collective is Adangbalo who is a 38-year-old seamstress with over 12 years experience. She has a workshop in front of her house where she works as a seamstress and also sells fabrics and clothing. Her husband works as a herbalist. Their combined income pays household expenses as well as enabling them to send all of their children to school. In the past her limited finances have restricted the range of fabric options that she has been able to offer, causing customers to shop elsewhere. Her share of this loan will be used to increase her stock range and thereby attract more customers and increase her profits.