In Focus: Some resources that are available for women entrepreneurs in Senegal like – policies, initiatives & funding
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Senegal, known as “The Lions” is often celebrated for its vibrant culture and resilient people. It also stands at a transformative crossroad in its development journey. While the country has seen steady economic growth for over five decades, poverty reduction, particularly in rural areas, remains a pressing challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic added further strain, disproportionately affecting women’s livelihoods, especially in marginalized communities. It was significant that in a survey by ElleSolaire in 2021, every woman in its Savings Groups reported a sharp decline in income and economic opportunities due to the pandemic! This was actually underscoring the urgent need for targeted support.
Senegal’s Women Rising: From Homefront to Frontline Entrepreneurs
But a new era of opportunities is opening up.
Senegal is working towards a more inclusive and equitable environment for women entrepreneurs – by fostering access to resources, skills, networks and by challenging gender stereotypes.
Despite deep-rooted patriarchal norms that often relegate women to traditional household roles, Senegalese women are now emerging as powerful agents of ‘change’. From managing household energy to leading microenterprises, women play a pivotal role in the country’s informal & formal economies. Recognizing this, Senegal has launched several progressive initiatives aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs.
These include government-backed programmes under the 20-year old plan – “Emerging Senegal Plan” (PES), which promotes inclusive growth through access to finance, technical training, renewable energy awareness & integration into key value chains. Moreover, international organizations and NGOs are increasingly offering women-focused programs that improve financial literacy, mentorship, and market access.
Senegal’s vision to become an emerging economy by 2035 hinges on building a just society where men and women enjoy equal opportunity and prosperity. Unlocking the full potential of women entrepreneurs is not just an economic imperative – it’s the key to a more equitable and resilient future.
Let us now explore some resources that are available for women entrepreneurs in Senegal like – policies, initiative and funding.
- Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Senegal – through Clean Energy
In Senegal, Mercy Corps advanced women’s economic participation and environmental sustainability through the ENERGIA (supported by Sida, funded Foyré Rewbé 3 programme). This initiative promotes the productive use of energy in sectors with high female representation – such as dairy, livestock, fisheries, market gardening & the production and processing of rice and bananas. By integrating clean energy technologies across various stages of value chains like production, processing, packaging & marketing, the programme unleashes opportunities for women to join the workforce, establish businesses & drive local economic development.
Aligned with Senegal’s energy transformation plan, which aims for universal electrification by 2025 and a renewable energy share of 40% by 2035, the project also addresses systemic barriers to women’s economic participation. By fostering equal access to clean energy and supporting inclusive policies, the initiative empowers women to lead climate-smart development while promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Mercy Corps accelerates market-based innovations that improve energy access, driving localized solutions to support climate-resilient development in communities globally.
ENERGIA is an international network championing women as ‘change agents’ in the energy transition. They work at the intersection of energy access, gender equality, climate justice and women’s empowerment.
Mercy Corps’ Foyré Rewbé 3 programme promotes the productive use of clean energy in sectors with high female representation – like dairy, livestock & fisheries.
https://energia.org/empowering-women-entrepreneurs-in-senegal-through-clean-energy/
- The Pareel Project
The first cohort of the Pareel project, a dedicated capacity-building and mentoring project within the World Bank Group We-Fi programme was launched in Senegal.
This is a three-month support programme for women entrepreneurs – to improve their access to markets and finance through a combination of technical and leadership skills training, coaching & networking, implemented by Deloitte.
Women who participated noted that the training helped to improve soft skills such as – emotional intelligence (EI), leadership & public speaking while they also received personal coaching in business processes. These skills, combined with technical training on growth strategies, should assist them further to access external financing.
https://we-fi.org/female-entrepreneurs-challenge-social-norms-in-senegal
- The “Femmes d’Avenir” Mentoring Programme
After its successful launch in Gabon in 2022, the “Femmes d’Avenir” mentoring programme with Women In Africa is being continued in Senegal. The group’s contribution to socio-economic development in the countries where it operates, goes beyond the sphere of mining activity.
The “Femmes d’Avenir” programme was inaugurated in Senegal, an initiative supported by Women in Africa and Eramet in October, 2023 in Dakar. It aimed to support over 600 Senegalese women entrepreneurs over a three-year period, through dedicated mentoring programmes.
The programme is made up of two tracks: “Jeunes pousses”, through which 200 female entrepreneurs will develop their soft skills each year; and “Entrepreneures confirmées”, tailor-made support for five high-potential female entrepreneurs.
“Femmes d’Avenir” is part of the Group’s “Eramet Beyond for Contributive Impacts” CSR programme, dedicated to local economic development through the creation of sustainable jobs outside the mining sector.
https://www.eramet.com/en/news/eramet-supports-615-women-entrepreneurs-in-senegal
- ElleSolaire
Creating opportunities for women to become ElleSolaire entrepreneurs, they supply affordable breakthrough technologies to even the remotest areas of West Africa.
In West Africa, the reality is that 200 million people live in energy poverty with no access to electricity. Yet, they are surrounded by an abundant source of natural energy – sunlight. Simple, proven, affordable technologies exist to harness the power of the sun to generate energy for domestic use. What is missing is – a distribution channel for these products.
By investing in an empowered women-led distribution network, they created a supply chain for products like solar lamps, home solar systems and clean cook stoves, that otherwise cannot reach those who most need them.
The Signify Foundation supports ElleSolaire’s women entrepreneur distribution network: The Women Saving 4 Resilience (WS4R) project with a grant for training and working capital. WS4R contributes to innovative COVID-19 response and recovery efforts related to Savings Groups, in the areas of women’s livelihoods, voice and leadership and clean energy in Senegal.
ElleSolaire’s mission is – to empower women in West Africa through clean energy entrepreneurship and community-based capacity building. The organization partners with the women’s Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), working together in response to gender inequalities and energy poverty. In West Africa 200 million people have no access to energy and women and girls are disproportionately affected.
Through WS4R, ElleSolaire’s women entrepreneur distribution network – strives to create a path that drives towards self-reliance, professional inclusion, resilience & sustainable energy poverty alleviation. These pathways were initiated as the organization makes life-changing solar technologies increasingly accessible & also harnesses the innate capacities of its women entrepreneurs.
What does ElleSolaire endorse? They believe in a number of important things:
· Women’s potential as a force for positive change in communities and caring for Creation.
· Clean, sustainable energy brought about by community-anchored approaches.
· Women helping women to help themselves through entrepreneurship.
· Gender equality in education and economic opportunity bringing women confidence, dignity and choice
· Local entrepreneurship ecosystems founded on equity, integrity and trust.
- ElleSolaire Academy
ElleSolaire empowers women in rural West Africa through clean energy entrepreneurship, offering technical and business skills training and opportunities to become local entrepreneurs and technicians. They are into empowering women through clean energy entrepreneurship.
To help the women grow in skills and autonomy and to help shift the perception of women in their communities, ElleSolaire launched the ElleSolaire Academy – the first certified solar entrepreneurship training for marginalized women in rural Senegal. The academy offers business and technical skills empowering women’s professional integration, economic inclusion and social empowerment.
The ElleSolaire Academy is the first certified solar entrepreneurship training for women in Senegal, offering business and technical skills training to marginalized women from the most remote communities empowering their professional integration, economic inclusion and social empowerment.
In Senegal, where 51.8% of the 16,7M population is rural and female literacy is at 29.2%, facilitating training for female entrepreneurship where women are creating their own economic independence – is critical to progressing towards gender equality. Female entrepreneurship also ensures the wellbeing of communities because over 90% of women’s earnings are reinvested in their community.
Solar energy entrepreneurship is particularly effective. 59% Senegal’s rural population are off-grid and there is a real demand for light and power; for studying after hours, cooking at night, powering commercial activities, charging and lighting medical centres. Meanwhile, Senegal has an omnipresent reliable source of energy with an average of 3010 hours of sunlight annually (compared to 1493 in UK).
Education is a critical factor for productive female entrepreneurship. In rural Senegal where only 13% of women are educated; 15.83% of the rural population are likely to have started a business by necessity and yet only the 13% with a secondary education are likely to have a bank account or save.
The ElleSolaire Academy helps educate women and equip them with the valuable skills they need to effectively capitalize on economic opportunity and close the gender gap over time. Professional training provides not only skills but also elevates a woman’s position in the community and bolsters her self-esteem.
Once certified, each woman has the opportunity to become a local entrepreneur and technician for ElleSolaire, thus securing supplementary income for her own family and the whole women’s savings group, as well as a sustainable and affordable energy source for her community. Each of the women certified by the Academy in 2022 got to join ElleSolaire as entrepreneurs and technicians. Their work would contribute to taking the number of people positively impacted by ElleSolaire, either in the home or in health clinics, from 97 500 to 1 000 000 in 2025.
- Project PAVIE
Businesses tried to recover from the impact of Covid-19 in Dakar and elsewhere in Senegal, like all over the world. But before the health crisis, the private sector’s contribution to growth was already limited here, with less than 30 percent of GDP generated by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These account for 90% of the private economic base.
As part of its development strategy, in 2017 the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE, 2014-2023), the Senegalese government created the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship (DER). With an annual budget of 30 billion CFA francs (€46 million), the DER was designed to promote entrepreneurship and employment for women and youth by combining financial support and assistance services.
To achieve the objectives of job creation and MSMEs, a project was set up for supporting and promoting entrepreneurial initiatives (PAVIE), financed by the government, AFD, and the African Development Bank (ADB). Later, Senegal launched PAVIE II to empower women and youth, drive food security.
The objective was to contribute to give a boost to entrepreneurial initiatives, to the development and consolidation of businesses led by women and youth through the structuring of agricultural, industrial, and artisanal value chains, providing sustainable, decent jobs. SMEs in other priority sectors are also being supported.
Senegal has several plans and initiatives that include a focus on women (eg Plan for an Emerging Senegal [PES] targeting women entrepreneurs). Given high levels of informal work, improved female labour force participation/outcomes is crucial for the inclusive economic transformation envisioned in Agenda 2030. Social protection for and increased productivity of informal businesses/workers are also key.
- EU, Germany Support Female Entrepreneurship in Senegal
The European Union and Germany have launched the Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (WE4A) project – to support female entrepreneurship, operating within the framework of green transformation in Senegal.
The project is part of a regional initiative, “Investing in Young Businesses in Africa,” funded by the European Union. The goal is – to foster economic empowerment and financial inclusion for female entrepreneurs in sectors that contribute to green transformation.
With the project running from 2024 to 2027, selected women-owned businesses can receive support of $5,000. WE4A – whose pilot phase was carried out in 2021 – has implemented similar initiatives in seven other African countries like – Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Cameroon and Togo. The aim is to empower women entrepreneurs, who want to simultaneously help the environment through ‘green’ projects. And, it is significant that women entrepreneurs can participate in this project, and get funded to the tune of €40 million.
https://energycapitalpower.com/eu-germany-women-entrepreneurship-green-energy-senegal/
Avtar Madan
Shree Lahiri
Himanshu
