In the Spotlight: Some enterprising women entrepreneurs from Mauritania
#WomenEntrepreneurs #MauritaniaRising #EmpowerHer #InnovationInAfrica #SHELeads
In Mauritania, “The Land of the Moors,” a country where vast deserts meet deep-rooted traditions, women entrepreneurs are quietly transforming the economic landscape. They are traders, innovators & leaders – defying cultural expectations and financial barriers to build sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their communities. Despite systemic challenges such as limited access to credit, gender-based restrictions, and social norms that often confine women to domestic roles, many Mauritanian women are finding creative paths to empowerment.
Mauritanian Women Turning Tradition into Opportunity
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the Mauritanian economy – accounting for nearly 80% of national business activity, 30% of GDP, and nearly half of total employment. Within this framework, women-led enterprises are increasingly visible, particularly in agriculture, artisanal crafts, and small-scale trade. In both rural and urban areas, women are launching ventures that blend tradition with innovation – whether through cooperatives in the River Valley region, digital marketplaces in Nouakchott, or agribusiness initiatives supported by development banks.
Economic necessity, coupled with growing international support, has pushed more women to embrace entrepreneurship. As male migration and economic shifts reshape family structures, women are stepping into leadership roles as primary earners. Their resilience, creativity, and collective spirit are redefining what it means to be a business leader in Mauritania. Yet, challenges persist – from restrictive laws to limited financial access, but these enterprising women continue to rise, proving that determination can bloom even in the harshest of deserts.
Let us now zero in on some inspiring women entrepreneurs from Mauritania.
- Safietou Kane, Founder, Maaro Njawaan
Safietou Kane is Founder of Maaro Njawaan. She founded Maaro Njawaan, at a young age, when she was just 23. Her company is an agri-business firm. And what is pertinent is that it is located in her hometown of Tékane that promotes local produce. She founded her startup, after completing her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business and Management at the University of Tampa in the United States.
The company addresses the issue of heavy reliance on imported goods – by creating commercial outlets for Mauritanian farmers. Private rice companies like Maaro Njawaan are unusual for Mauritania, where a few prominent families dominate the distribution of subsidized foodstuffs, including rice, particularly to the poor. However, she does not want her product to be seen as a last resort by consumers who cannot afford more expensive imports.
https://mr.linkedin.com/in/safietou-kane-2a620a1b1
- Fatima Mint Al-Fil, Head, Mauritanian Women’s Business Council (CMFA)
As Head of the Mauritanian Women’s Business Council (CMFA), Fatima Mint Al-Fil has consciously worked to empower women economically – by training them, helping them design projects, and also connecting them to funding.
CMFA is an organization she co-founded in 2017 to support women entrepreneurs through training and by connecting them with decision-makers in the business world. Her work with the CMFA includes – facilitating networks for businesswomen and promoting their participation in Mauritania’s financial and business market.
So, as Head of the Mauritanian Council of Businesswomen (CMFA), she works towards the Council’s mission which is – to empower women entrepreneurs in Mauritania through training and by providing them with business opportunities.
https://test.jinhaagency.com/en/actual/cmfa-empowers-women-entrepreneurs-in-mauritania-34545
- Benina Bint Yahya, Co-Founder, Start Your Business Next Door
Tracking back, just a few years ago, Benina Bint Yahya was barely making ends meet in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. Back then, she and her eight children relied mostly on her husband’s modest income. Today, she is a different woman: an independent entrepreneur full of hope!
Benina Bint Yahya is Co-Founder of the ‘Start Your Business Next Door’ cooperative. By launching this, she helped create a successful pastry shop with nine other women. Beyond personal income, the cooperative established a solidarity fund to help members in need.
And, ‘Tassamouh Lilhalawiyat’ – which means “case of delicacies” in Arabic, finally opened its doors in 2018 in Nouakchott.
- Dickel Dia, Founder of NGO, the Association for Women Potters of Hebbiya and Yirla (AFPHY)
What is really commendable is that Dickel Dia was the first person from her village to get a degree thanks to a scholarship. After a tragic personal assault, she has devoted her life to fighting violence and discrimination against women in her country.
By the age of 20, she had founded her NGO, the Association for Women Potters of Hebbiya and Yirla (AFPHY), in 2017, to combat gender-based violence and discrimination, particularly in rural areas. Knowing that many women are often trapped in abusive marriages and relationships because they lack the means to provide for themselves and their children if they leave, she purposely grounded her organization’s mission in – creating economic opportunity.
AFPHY provides basic skills to women and girls, including in traditional clay pottery, integrating them into the local and national economy and providing them with a means to provide for their families.
Aware of the high incidence of early marriage and teenage pregnancy in M’bagne and its surrounding villages, where the overall rate of child marriage among women in Mauritania is 30%, she feels that a lack of options for young women prevents them and their families from making better choices for their futures. So, she works hard to better this situation and open up new opportunities for young women.
https://mr.linkedin.com/in/dickel-dia-bb1700139
- Lalya Kamara, CEO & Investment Fund Manager
Lalya Kamara is CEO and Investment Fund Manager of her own investment fund company. Backed by more than 20 years’ experience in finance and investment, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, it was in 2018, that she returned to her home country of Mauritania to launch Sahel invest, an investment and private equity advisory company. Before founding her own investment fund, she was a Director at AFIG Funds, and Senior Financial Advisor to the CFO of Dakar-based ASECNA, a regional African aviation security institution. In total, she has worked or invested in more than 12 countries in Africa.
Today, she is proudly leading an international, multilingual team in Sahel invest – a first-of-its-kind company for Mauritania.
Previously she founded the Réseau FAM (Femmes Actives de Mauritanie – Working Women of Mauritania Network) – to encourage women entrepreneurs struggling to launch and run their businesses. As an investor, fostering a strong network between women entrepreneurs has also provided her with the opportunity to better understand the lending profile of these businesses. Organizing members into groups (of six or seven women), she has personally financed their small initiatives in order to better understand the local ecosystem.
She has indeed, emerged as a leader. She leads and participates in several boards and is Secretary General of the Mauritanian Entrepreneurs Club. She is also a guiding voice for budding entrepreneurs – offering strategic advice and moral support. She also regularly invests in and advises new start-ups on the market, including SmartTrash – the 2018 winner of World Bank-financed start-up competition, the Entrepreneur’s Marathon.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalya-kamara-a490bb1/?originalSubdomain=mr
Shree Lahiri
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
