Eramet and Women in Africa Continue Their Program to Support Women’s Entrepreneurship in Africa, Inaugurating the First Class of Femmes d’Avenir in Senegal.

Dakar, October 19, 2023 – Eramet and Women In Africa (WIA) officially inaugurated the Femmes d’Avenir program at an opening ceremony at the Cercle de l’Union in Dakar. This event marks a significant step in the partnership between Eramet and Women In Africa (WIA) to support economic and social development by encouraging women’s entrepreneurship on the African continent.

The Femmes d’Avenir program is part of the “Eramet Beyond for Contributive Impacts” Program, which aims to support local economic development through the creation of sustainable jobs outside of the mining sector.

In Senegal, the Femmes d’Avenir program offers two distinct pathways between 2023 and 2025 designed to meet the specific needs of the Senegalese entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The “young shoots” program offers a comprehensive 208-hour training course in soft skills to 200 women entrepreneurs, divided into groups of 50 women. This support will give them the keys to dare to be authentic, dare to negotiate successfully and dare to shine.

In parallel, the “confirmed entrepreneurs” program will offer one year of tailor-made support to 5 high-potential women entrepreneurs, particularly on the job creation component, with the support of experts from the WIA network.

The opening ceremony took place under the auspices of the event’s godmothers, Victorine Ndeye, Minister of Microfinance and Social and Solidarity Economy of Senegal, and Virginie de Chassey, Director of Sustainable Development and Corporate Engagement of the Eramet group, in the presence of representatives of the WIA network and Eramet in Gabon, Senegal and France, as well as two entrepreneurs who won the first prize of the first edition of the program in Gabon last June.

On this occasion, Ms. Victorine Anquediche Ndeye, Minister of Microfinance and Social and Solidarity Economy, said: “Beyond our common and continuous desire to build a fairer and more equitable world, it seems necessary to take a moment, as women, to reflect our actions and thoughts on the issues that challenge our future. The economic and social empowerment of women cannot be achieved without an adapted response to our entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Virginie de Chassey, Director of Sustainable Development and Corporate Engagement at Eramet, said: “Eramet is accelerating its position as a contributing player to the economic development of the territories in which the group is present. After Gabon, Senegalese women entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from strategic support through the “Femmes d’Avenir” program, which will enable them to develop their activities over the long term and take their full place, thanks to their dynamism and their spirit of initiative.”

The first 50 beneficiaries of the Senegalese “young shoots” program were invited to the program’s launch ceremony in Dakar. From October 2023 to June 2024, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes will start successively in Dakar and in the regions.

Each class will be composed of 50 people and will benefit from 3 bootcamps. The 5 best beneficiaries of each of the 4 classes, identified on the basis of their motivation, their active participation in the program and their results, will benefit from a “bonus”:

  • An additional bootcamp for these 20 women to “go further” in the development of their business and job creation
  • A one-minute video capsule highlighting their journeys and achievements.

The 5 high-potential entrepreneurs were also announced at the ceremony.

The “confirmed entrepreneurs” program will provide them with a company diagnostic phase, at the end of which the WIA network experts and the participants will work hand in hand to define their personalized objectives and roadmaps. Each month, they will benefit from specific follow-up on their strategy, their operations and their personal development. Each participant will be assigned a high-level mentor to provide long-term support.