In Sub-Saharan Africa, women face disproportionate economic challenges. According to the World Bank, women are more likely to live in poverty than men, with rural women and those in coastal communities experiencing some of the highest deprivation rates. Limited access to formal employment, constrained land rights, and inadequate financial inclusion mean that women often rely on informal or subsistence livelihoods. In coastal towns like Axim, these difficulties are compounded by a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy, which can force young women out of school and perpetuate intergenerational poverty.
The Haven Place Foundation’s After-School Programme in Axim, originally designed to improve educational outcomes for 448 Form 3 students, has also become an economic empowerment vehicle for local women. As part of the programme, three local caterers were contracted to cook and serve nutritious meals to students three times a week. These caterers are indigenous women entrepreneurs who not only earn income from the programme but also gain steady demand for their services, enabling them to reinvest in their businesses and households.
For women in such communities, consistent income can be transformative. It can mean keeping children in school, avoiding the financial pressures that push girls into early marriage, and building small enterprises into sustainable local businesses. The knock-on effect is significant: when women earn, they spend a higher proportion of their income on family welfare, education, and community needs, creating a multiplier effect that strengthens local economies.
Beyond the immediate contracts, the programme has potential to stimulate broader women-led economic activity. Local caterers purchase ingredients from nearby farmers and markets, creating secondary economic benefits. With strategic investment, donor funds could support value addition of local produce such as fish processing, fruit preservation, or cassava-based products turning the programme’s procurement needs into an anchor market for women-owned SMEs.
Such integration can address structural economic issues in coastal Axim by:
- Providing women entrepreneurs with predictable revenue streams.
- Encouraging formation of small cooperatives to meet programme supply needs.
- Creating local job opportunities for women beyond catering, including processing, packaging, and logistics.
- Reducing economic dependence on unstable fishing incomes.
At the social level, economically empowered women are better positioned to mentor younger girls, advocate for their continued education, and serve as community role models. This creates a protective effect against the drivers of teenage pregnancy and early school dropout. Girls in the After-School Programme not only benefit academically but also see practical examples of women achieving economic independence within their own community.
Donor involvement is critical to scaling this impact. By funding the programme’s expansion, donors can:
- Increase the number of contracted local women entrepreneurs.
- Support training and equipment for value-added food production.
- Fund microcredit or grant schemes for women-owned SMEs linked to the programme supply chain.
- Ensure that sanitary materials provision continues to eliminate gendered attendance barriers.
This dual-impact model educational empowerment for students and economic empowerment for women turns donor capital into a community-wide development lever. In Axim, it is possible to keep students well-fed and learning while simultaneously creating sustainable livelihoods for women. With strategic donor investment, the ripple effects will reach beyond the school gates, strengthening the local economy, reducing poverty, and building a resilient, self-sustaining community where women and youth both have the opportunity to thrive.