Note from our Executive Director, Madeleine Freeland
How We Started
She-Empowers Women & Girls Initiative was born from a clear and bold vision: to turn the ambitions and dreams of women and girls in Nigeria into lasting realities. Realizing the need for training and resources as well as the local support from She-Empowers' country director, Glory Dadi, I was inspired to create an organization that would provide the necessary funds and mentorship for women in business and break down the barriers to education facing girls.
At She-Empowers, we use a comprehensive and community-centered approach to address the ongoing challenges hindering women’s economic empowerment and girls’ schooling in Nigeria. Unlike traditional interventions that focus on either education or entrepreneurship separately, our initiative addresses both issues, recognizing their interconnectedness in breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering long-term societal change. Our programs ensure that women and girls are equipped to share their gained knowledge with others, fostering an environment built on female success.
Mission
To empower women and girls in entrepreneurship, fostering their economic independence and developing their leadership potential.
Vision
To inspire women and girls through innovation and economic development to achieve positive societal change
Volunteer Capacity Building
To ensure that our work will be effective, we have held multiple trainings for our volunteers to ensure that they understand their duties and responsibilities as field officers.
Business Survey
Inspired to help struggling business women in Nigerian communities, we distributed a business questionnaire to better understand and discern areas that lack development within women-run Nigerian businesses.
We wanted to understand the challenges women running small scale business face especially those who do not have access to all the basic needs in life and to provide the needed support to help them grow their business and ensure sustainability for the long-term period.
The results we found spoke for themselves.
• 60% of the women had received no training prior to starting their businesses
• 64% of the women don't receive a sufficient income to cover their basic needs (water/rent/electricity)
• 71% of the women do not track their finances
Through our training programs, the She-Empowers Initiative is addressing the need for financial support and business training. With the support of our passionate volunteers, we have the opportunity to make a significant impact in the community. We invite you to join us in our mission to create a better future for all women.
