On May 16, 2017, a team from the United States Embassy in Ouagadougou visited the Women’s Entrepreneurship Seminar led by American citizen volunteer Rachel Almeida at the American Corner-Koudougou located on the campus of the University of Koudougou. This group of young, ambitious women, comprised of mostly University of Koudougou students, has been meeting weekly since January 2017 and will continue through the month of June. Organized as an extension of the US government’s English Fellow project at the American Corner-Koudougou, the group is covering Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) on-line courses on women’s rights and the fundamentals of business start-up and expansion. In addition, they are learning computer skills and honing their English and public speaking skills during this 6-month seminar. The program will culminate in a week-long camp at the end of June during which these young women will be training and mentoring local high school girls in leadership and entrepreneurship. This program is vital for empowering women in creating their own economic opportunities, a means of tipping the scales toward gender equality.
