Powered by IFAD

Elimane Dramé is a small businessman and a resident of the Casamance region of Senegal, whose economy has been depressed for years due to the insecurity of civil war. When EnterpriseWorks, backed by USAID, appeared in the Casamance in July 2001 to promote new economic opportunities in one of the region's biggest production sectors - cashew nuts - Mr. Dramé was one of the first to seize the idea.

In most of Senegal's 12,355 villages, people still fetch water for drinking, bathing, and washing clothes the old-fashioned way-from hand-dug wells. The difficult and time-consuming chore of drawing and transporting it falls mainly to women and girls, many of whom walk long distances with buckets of up to 25 liters balanced on their heads. Getting water is often deemed a higher priority than school, homework, other chores, and play.

Senegalese are noted for serving up sumptuous fish and meat sauces on a bed of rice or millet, but a third staple seems poised to expand its modest market. Just ask Aya Ndiaye, 57, the president of "Koba Club" in Kedougou, the poorest administrative district of Senegal. Koba Club, a business run by 20 women, was set up 20 years ago to, among other things, produce and sell tie-dyed cloth. Koba Club has always sold fonio to a Senegalese connoisseur market, but until recently this market has been limited.

Historically, illegal tree cutting, charcoal production, land clearing and fires were rampant in Mampatim, a collectivity of nearly 100 villages over 303 square miles in southern Senegal. Mampatim's fertile soil and abundant forests have always been valuable resources. But over the past 10 years, the demands of a growing population brought about disorganized and sometimes abusive harvesting practices. Wild fruits and game, food crops, and wood for furniture and charcoal were under threat, and local government leaders and the state forest service were unable to protect them.

A widowed mother of 11, Bineta Diallo sells her merchandise at a market in a district on the outskirts of Dakar. For several years, she has been benefiting from the Savings and Credit Union Support Program (PAMECAS), implemented with the support of Développement international Desjardins (DID). With an initial loan in 1997 of 50,000 CFA francs-$125 in Canadian funds-Bineta was able to diversify her business by selling several types of foodstuffs at the market and at her home. Business was so good that the PAMECAS savings and credit union granted her a subsequent loan of 200,000 CFA francs (C$500) to develop her business and enlarge her home.