Niger Women's Literacy & Economic Empowerment

The Niger Tribal Women’s Literacy and Economic Empowerment Project will provide support for approximately 200 women per year to learn to read and write with the goal of starting a micro-enterprise. Women will gain literacy skills in their native languages of Hausa and Djerma while simultaneously learning basic principles of starting or growing a small business. ProLiteracy will work with our partner in Niger, MICA, to localize and translate our business training manual into Hausa.

Micro-Credit in Africa

Micro-Credit in Africa (MICA) devotes itself to the education and empowerment of women in Niger. As an organization, it works to improve the socioeconomic status of women by helping them gain economic autonomy through micro-credit, health, and literacy education projects. MICA’s flagship program is its Oxcart Project. As an income-generating project, MICA rents oxcarts to women in its programs. The women in turn rent their transportation services to people in their community. With these rental revenues, the women can then purchase the oxcart from MICA.

“Through learning assistance, I am now somebody and I make enough money to depend on no one. I want to use my life to tell all people not to give up hope. Where there is a will, there is a way.”

-MICA learner

“Before MICA’s intervention, things were very tough – especially with Zenaibou’s (Abdou’s daughter’s) school fees; I couldn’t bear to take her out of school but there was no other way. I have seen women lawyers, teachers, doctors, and I dreamed the same for my daughter because I knew she had the potential, but how could we keep from starving without her help?”

-Hamsatou Abdou

(Now the President of MICA’s Mothers Club)

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