USAID Empowers Self-Employed Women To Become Entrepreneurs

Five years ago, Hajira Beyene and her family of 12 became beneficiaries of the Ethiopian government’s safety net program—an initiative that supports residents in food-insecure districts of the country to help them meet their basic needs and become self-sufficient—in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). For 38-year-old Beyene, who is the head of her family, the $35 (750 ETB) she received a month from the safety net program, along with food rations, was helpful but far from enough. 

Beyene knew she had to take matters into her own hands to ensure that her family would survive and escape poverty. She decided to start rearing and selling goats, using one female goat that she received from a charitable organization known as Goal, and selling seasonal vegetables, which she planted in her yard when the rains allowed. Despite her efforts, a lack of technical and business skills hamstrung Beyene’s efforts and left her without a fair return, keeping her family reliant on the safety net program. 

Beyene is one of the 63 women from the Amhara, SNNPR, and Tigray regions who received a four-month training on business management and leadership skills organized by USAID’s Agricultural Growth Program-Livestock Market Development (AGP-LMD) project from February to May 2015. The training taught the women how to become successful business operators by offering training in resource management, as well as improving their participation in the leadership and decision-making process of their businesses. 

The knowledge I gained from the training has entered my bones, not just my head,” Beyene said.

The training has given Beyene the confidence to take immediate action in purchasing one more goat for rearing by better managing some cash she had. “I purchased a new goat for [$30.71] 650 ETB. She is expecting and will be giving birth in two months’ time, and the twin from the old goat will be ready for sale in a few months. Unlike before, I plan to sell them at a better price and save the income from one of the goats’ sales so that I can plan to build a better barn for the expansion,” said Beyene, who mentioned lack of capital as her main challenge. 

According to Beyene, before the training, she never considered borrowing from the savings and credit association in her village for fear of not being able to pay back the money.  

“Every 15 days, I contribute [$0.23] 5 ETB to the association. If I borrow money, I need to pay it back within three months, together with the interest based on the borrowed amount. My fear of doing so was always based on not having the source to pay back,” said Beyene, who thinks that the training has now given her the self-confidence to overcome this difficulty as she will practice better financial management thanks to the knowledge she gained from the training. 

As the safety net program of the government is set to terminate this year with a probability of being replaced with a different program, this training by USAID is a timely contribution to support Beyene’s transformation, and that of other women, into self-reliance.  

“There was a time when my firstborn had to drop out of school after he reached the ninth grade because I couldn’t put him a school uniform. Although he is a year behind his classmates, I was able to work hard and send him back to school,” Beyene, who herself dropped out of school in the sixth grade, said. She is firm in wanting to invest more in her children’s education, including her nine-year-old grandchild, who is in the first grade and whom she supports after he lost both of his parents at an early age.