A pioneering project to promote female entrepreneurs in Togo.
What is it about?
Empowering women in the economy is crucial for achieving gender equality and plays a central role in the sustainable development of societies worldwide. This is particularly true for Togo and the entire African continent, where women often face structural barriers and low literacy rates despite their considerable potential. Their empowerment is therefore of fundamental importance. Women are indispensable actors in the local economy and contribute significantly to the common good. However, they often face challenges in accessing financial resources, educational opportunities and digital technologies.
The FemPreneur project was set up to address these specific challenges and provide targeted support to female entrepreneurs in Togo to promote their economic and social participation. Through the collaboration of GIZ (atingi, ProDED Togo), GOPA Worldwide Consultants, common sense as well as local partner networks, the project aims to improve financial and digital literacy among women.
The goal is to overcome the gender digital divide and to foster financial and societal inclusion while emphasising the importance of local savings and credit groups, the so-called "tontines". This initiative aims to give women more control over their financial future and provide them with the tools to grow both personally and professionally.
Project profile
Customer | atingi / GIZ Togo |
Period | May 2023 - November 2023 |
Target groups | female entrepreneurs in Togo |
Our work | Development, localisation and production of 3 courses (Finance, Digital Marketing, Business Development) |
Languages | French & local languages |
Learning time | approx. 30min per module (3 modules per course) |
Tools used | Articulate Rise, Adobe Suite, atingi (Moodle), Raspberry Pi |
Enabling learning!
The project followed a human-centred design approach to ensure that the learning experiences created were perfectly aligned with the needs, experiences and expectations of the users. This approach was linked to the atingi Learning Design Model, which places the learner at the centre of the design process.
In May 2023, the FemPreneur project started with a co-creation workshop that involved key participants to deeply understand their needs and define learning challenges. This foundation led to the ideation phase, where the production team and all partners involved, including local partners, brainstormed together and agreed on the best ways to design and refine the learning experiences. The additional support of a Togolese video production company, which produced interviews in three local languages and screencasts, contributed significantly to the authenticity and practical relevance of the courses. This collaborative effort resulted in the creation of three course prototypes, which were tested and iterated to meet the diverse needs of learners, and culminated in the launch of the final digital learning content with a train-the-trainer workshop in November.
The productive and close co-operation of all project partners and local stakeholders was crucial for the successful implementation of the courses and the achievement of effective learning outcomes for women entrepreneurs in Togo.
Insights into the online course
Our highlights and learnings from this project
The FemPreneur project has produced numerous successes and lessons learnt. Here are our three most important highlights:
Human-centred design approach as the key to empowerment: The consistent use of the human-centred design approach enabled the creation of learning content that was perfectly tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs in Togo, resulting in an increased sense of empowerment.
Strengthening community and networking: Promoting community building and networking among the women contributed significantly to strengthening their role as entrepreneurs and fostered a supportive environment.
Accessibility on several levels: Providing the courses via Raspberry Pi micro servers (here called “atingiBox”) improved technical accessibility even in areas without good/stable internet infrastructure. The consideration of different reading and digital competences through multimodal learning methods created an inclusive learning environment that gave all women access to valuable resources.
This project impressively demonstrates how the economic and social prospects of womenin Togo can be sustainably improved through targeted educational initiatives.