EmpowHER – Women’s Entrepreneurship in Cape Verde
Enhancing economic opportunities and strengthening women’s position in society remain key priorities for Cape Verde, where 27.4% of the population still lives in poverty (INE). On the island of Santiago, rural women, face specific social and economic barriers, from limited access to finance and training to high rates of informal work.
To address these challenges faced by women on the island Santiago, this project led by Avenir Écoles Cap-Vert (AECV) and the Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional’s (IEFP) offers an integrated solution combining mindset change, capacity building, personalized support, and mobilization of the Cape Verdean diaspora.
It aims to provide tailored entrepreneurship workshops to a pool of 50 women and girls, in addition to mentorship and equipment support to selected entrepreneurs who wish to start or expand their individual businesses. In parallel, the project also seeks to inspire high school girls on Santiago Island to create an environment conducive to women’s economic empowerment and the emergence of a new generation of confident and ambitious young girls. By focusing on collective intelligence, female leadership, and the strategic contribution of the diaspora, the project offers a replicable model for sustainable economic inclusion in Cape Verde.
Budget
€ 75,691
In partnership with
This activity aims to inspire women and girls on Santiago Island by showcasing role models from Cape Verde and its diaspora in France. A networking event will be organised in the nine municipalities, in partnership with local entrepreneurship offices, featuring project presentations, testimonies from local entrepreneurs, and calls for participation in the Women EmpowHER event and training program. At the same time, women entrepreneurs from Cape Verde and the diaspora will share their journeys and experiences with the audience. By combining direct interaction with inspirational testimonies and broader outreach, the initiative seeks to encourage ambition, foster positive identification, and build lasting engagement among women, especially young girls who lack professional role models.
200 girls in their final year of high school will participate to a series of sensitisation sessions, which will be presented through a mix of testimonials, participatory workshops, meetings with inspiring women, and awareness sessions on entrepreneurship and leadership. During these sessions, they will be able to meet and learn from inspiring female role models sharing their entrepreneurial journeys.
On October 31, 2025, the Escola Universitária Católica de Cabo Verde in Praia will host a flagship event, bringing together around 150 participants, including students, women entrepreneurs, diaspora members, associations, and institutional partners. The day will feature entrepreneur testimonials, roundtables on female entrepreneurship, workshops on self-confidence, screenings of project videos, and spaces for intergenerational exchange. The event aims to highlight women’s initiatives, strengthen networks, inspire new projects, and engage participants for the next phases of the program.
Between November and December 2025, fifty women will take part in a structured training program at the IEFP’s agri-food processing center, covering soft skills, financial management, and technical aspects of food processing. An additional session led by a diaspora representative will focus on customer approaches and digital communication. The program targets women in precarious situations with strong entrepreneurial potential, aiming to equip them with the skills needed for the pre-incubation of their business projects.
This activity supports women in achieving sustainable economic independence by guiding them from training to project development. Each of the 50 participants will draft a business plan, upon which, 20 will be selected for mentoring and seed funding based on feasibility, innovation, and market potential. Through hybrid mentorship sessions with the support of diaspora entrepreneurs, the selected women will receive technical guidance, visibility support, and access to professional networks to help launch their businesses.
This activity provides 20 selected women with seed capital to acquire the equipment, services, or tools needed to launch or expand their businesses. Funding will be based on detailed applications and business plans, while IEFP will offer technical support to their businesses and will ensure proper use of the equipment provided. The approach guarantees transparency and monitoring while helping beneficiaries turn their training and mentoring into concrete economic activities.
This activity aims to promote the supported businesses and strengthen the social recognition of women entrepreneurs, helping to shift perceptions of female leadership in rural areas and build connections with Cape Verdean institutions and the diaspora. Each selected woman will receive an illustrated project sheet, a portrait shared on social media, and a bilingual (French-Portuguese) flyer distributed digitally and in print to professional and institutional networks. Visibility will be further enhanced through a digital promotion campaign during a closing event which will take place in Cape Verde with around 200 participants, and a similar event in France which in turn, will engage diaspora communities, local authorities, EU representatives, and partners. These efforts will showcase results, amplify women’s voices, inspire others, and foster new support and partnerships for the selected entrepreneurial projects.