Micro-Enterprise Project

My friend Fati has recently “finished” her embroidery apprenticeship in town – and last summer, Fati, her husband Abdoulaye, and I began to dream of her starting her own embroidery business.

Apprenticeship programs in Niger are slightly different than those in Canada. You work with a certified patron who teaches you to do all they know. For these few years, you pay 2,500 francs (~ $5.00 Cdn) per month for the privilege of learning. Once the training is complete, you receive a diploma which then certifies you to work.

My friend Fati lived with her aunt since childhood - after her father passed away, as per cultural custom, she went to live with the family of her father. This aunt made arrangements with an embroiderer to accept Fati as an apprentice without the monthly fee … and this would be paid when she finished her program at the time she received her diploma.

Though Fati has completed her training, she has not yet received her diploma – the patron now says that she cannot give out a diploma to one apprentice and not the others – so she must now wait until all the apprentices qualify before she will receive her paper work.

Traditionally, this means that Fati will work for this lady for free, earning no wages until she has her paperwork. In my mind, sometimes I feel this is equivalent to “sanctioned-modern-day-slavery”. Now a year following the completion of her apprenticeship program, she still does not have her diploma – and until July, Fati continued to work for her patron for no consistent wages (her patron gave her one lump sum of money in February).

The embroidery that Fati has learned is with a machine that does top stitching – so she can embroider bed sheet and pillowcase sets, tablecloths, chair covers, tv covers. What she did not learn to do is embroidery on clothes – as this is done with a machine that does bottom stitching (sorry –that is as technical as I can explain it!).

However, an encouraging moment this year was that Fati’s patron sent her to a month-long training course sponsored by an ONG. All the embroiderers in town can attend, and her patron decided instead of going herself, she would send Fati.  During this month, she was tested on her knowledge – but she also learned how to use a top-loading machine to embroider clothes – thus expanding her repertoire and earning capabilities! She also received a diploma from this course!

In July this year though, we finally realized the dream of Fati’s business – a planning stage that began last October. In order to start a business, she would need two machines – a sewing machine (with which to hem all the projects) and an embroidery machine. These two machines together would cost 230,000 cfa (~ $550). A requirement that our team had , in order for this micro-enterprise project to commence, was that Fati and Abdoulaye would need to save half the funds needed to purchase these machines. The remaining half would be sponsored by me as a loan – to be repaid on a monthly basis. 

They needed to raise the funds for a few purposes:

• demonstration of commitment
• contribution of 50% towards their livelihood
• decreases the loan needing to be repaid – which makes the monthly loan repayment more achievable and as the repayment period decreases, her total net profit is realized in one year versus two!

This 50% up-front contribution was suggested to me by a friend, who works with micro-enterprise groups in Niger, as a baseline for project start-ups. 

Fati was also responsible to purchase all her working implements: rulers, measuring tape, embroidery hoops, needles, pencils, carbon paper (for sketching her designs onto the cloth), oil … Basically any tool she needed to do her work.

I purchased what she would need for her “accounting” needs – a book to track her projects and income/expenses (as I taught her) and a cashbox. I also gifted her with the funds necessary to purchase materials and make 3 bed sheet set models to demonstrate her work to clients and ultimately sell as a way to kick-start her business.

I also would be teaching Fati on micro-enterprise and business principles using lesson plans that we have as a team. I started this teaching in April … and by July, we were ready to go! The money was saved, and I was satisfied with the training to date.

On July 14th …Fati, Abdoulaye and our team’s office assistant went downtown to a store to purchase the machines!!  These were set-up and Fati was in business!!

It turns out that Fati’s neighbour is a tailor without a machine – one who makes clothes. Together Fati and this neighbor can work together – the neighbour will make outfits and Fati can embroider them. As well, the neighbour is paying Fati for the use of her machine, which is another point of income for Fati!

Sneak Peek of work to come … two of the bedsheet set models that Fati has embroidered: