Women’s Club
Fostering economic independence is a core aspect of Mineke Foundation’s work. The Women’s Club is a hub for informal entrepreneurship and education for women and youth in Dabwe Town and surrounding areas.
Our Entrepreneurship program offers business training, access to microloans, and ongoing business coaching to help women and youth start and grow their businesses.
We also educate Club members about women’s rights, health & hygiene and preventing gender-based violence. Most of our members come from the Gardnersville, Barnersville and Johnsonville townships.
Focus areas
Skills & Business training and coaching
Skills training teaches marketable skills that are in demand, including making soap & bleach, beadwork, makeup services and baking. Business training covers essential business skills, from record-keeping to marketing and customer service. Coaching is done both at Mineke Foundation’s office and at participants’ businesses.
Microloans and Savings Club
Mineke Foundation provides microloans through a structured program, designed in close collaboration with the women to ensure that loan repayment is manageable and loans benefit their businesses. Our repayment rate stands at 100%. The Savings Club is an informal savings program where participants save small amounts on a monthly basis. They use the capital to give small loans to one another (peer-to-peer lending).
Education
We host regular educational workshops to address topics crucial to women’s wellbeing, including women's rights, reproductive health, leadership and violence prevention. We work with the Ministry of Gender and with District Health Officers from the Ministry of Health to organize meetings centered around health and SGBV. From time to time, we also work with other local organizations.
Future plans
70% of people in Liberia live on less than USD 2 per day.
An estimated 57 000 women aged 24 and older live in our working area. There are also approximately 62 000 young people (male and female) between the ages of 15 and 24, of whom, according to the UN, 65–85% are unemployed or have no source of income. They “hustle” to survive.
Women’s Club membership is growing and demand for microloans is steadily increasing. We believe it is important to keep this growth manageable, so we work closely with the women to ensure this.
In addition, we aim to expand the size of our microloan fund to meet the growing demand for microloans.
Also see these projects
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