Clare Convey

Disseminating information about inclusive business and the Business Innovation Facility

Uganda: Keeping marginalised girls in school by economically empowering their parents

BoP as distributor
Gender
Inclusive business models and strategy
Energy
Uganda
Sub-Saharan Africa
11. Nov 2015

The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC), launched in 2012, is investing £300 million in the education of a million of the world’s poorest girls to expand their opportunities and improve their lives. 37 projects are working in 18 countries to enable girls to learn, through improved schools, better teaching and greater community engagement.

A number of these projects were selected on criteria that related to the innovation that they would introduce to tackling the barriers that keep girls out of school, or learning well when they are in school.

One such project is being led by Eco-Fuel Africa (EFA) and is working to economically empower 2,100 marginalised mothers in Uganda by turning them into micro-retailers of their clean burning fuel briquettes. Each of these mothers now earns at least $152/month from retailing EFA’s briquettes. The beneficiary mothers have been contractually obliged to spend the income they generate from selling the fuel briquettes on sending and keeping their daughters in school and already over 15,000 girls have been able to enrol and stay in school since the launch of the project in Uganda

By turning parents into micro-retailers of their briquettes, EFA enables them to afford to keep their daughters in school when the project ends. An on-going local supply of briquettes eliminates the need for other marginalised girls to drop out of school to gather fuel-wood for their families in the future.

African Mothers
Mothers that are part of EFA´s project

EFA is teaming this approach with community and school-based campaigns to enlighten parents, teachers and community leaders about the importance of educating girls and to inform them about government laws that prohibit early marriages. They are also training teachers and working with girls to raise self-esteem and awareness of issues such as sexual abuse and codes of conduct.

A short clip featuring the Sanga Moses, the Founder and CEO of EFA, and Christine and her daughter Doreen who are taking part in the scheme can be accessed here (not longer available).