Fall 2025 Update
- Anne Cheung
- Nov 25, 2025
- 4 min read
A2Empowerment is proud to support 198 high school scholarships, 7 post-secondary scholarships, business support for 30 female entrepreneurs, and multiple job opportunities for alumnae this year!
Program Highlights |
In our second year partnering with World Economy Skills and Agro Development, or WESAD, the Promoting Resilience, Empowerment, and Self-sufficiency project has more than doubled our impact since last year! To learn about our programs, please continue reading below: High School Scholarships On top of the 198 scholarships across 15 mentor groups, additional female peers are invited to join their monthly sessions. These clusters of up to 30 high school students total —made up of scholarship recipients and their peers— meet monthly to cover the Girl Boss Basics female-empowerment curriculum developed by our partners at Launch Girls. This means our program is currently benefiting over 450 young women in Cameroon! Each group is guided by two female co-mentors trained as Girl Boss Advisors through the Launch Girls program, and five of these groups are led by scholarship alumnae. The in-person mentor training took place in August and was led by WESAD’s dynamic founder, Dr. Helvecia Takwe.  Post-Secondary Scholarships Seven women are receiving scholarships, covering tuition, fees, and most expenses, to continue their post-secondary education through graduation. This past spring, Bouba received her University Diploma of Technology with honors and is continuing her graduate education.  |
Business Support for Female Entrepreneurs in the Southwest Region In the Southwest Region of Cameroon, a cohort of 30 female entrepreneurs who are survivors of gender-based violence was selected to receive three months of rigorous business training following the Girl Boss Professional curriculum. The training culminated in a business pitch to the community. Each participant received seed funding and will be closely guided over the next two years to ensure business success. Here are their stories and photos, as reported by WESAD (edited for brevity and clarity): Vicky (N.V. Braiding) has a well-equipped salon and has taken on three apprentices who are very satisfied with learning hairdressing from her. Additionally, her clients are very satisfied with her services. Instead of Vicky buying hair attachments from other salons around her, like she did previously, the hairdressers around her area now buy hair attachments from Vicky’s shop. She has increased her stock with money from her profit.  Favour (Kelly’s Braiding Boutique) is also a hair braider who is becoming more prominent and has seen an increase in customers. Favour offers in-home services, which is preferable for her customers so they don’t have to leave their houses and babies at home. These methods have attracted a lot of customers to Favour.  Business Support for Female Entrepreneurs in the Northwest Region Last year, A2Empowerment funded the first cohort of 27 female entrepreneurs in the Northwest Region. Since the program offers guidance for two years, we are currently supporting a total 57 female entrepreneurs through this life-skills program. Here is an update on their continued success, as reported by WESAD (edited for brevity and clarity): Tcala Mirabel (Mami Delicious Corn & Groundnut) is growing and diversifying her business with the season. At the moment, she buys Irish potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, and carrots. She received a prize from the microfinance division in her village for continuing to save funding from her business. Mirabel says sending her two children to school this year, paying for their school fees and basic needs, was less stressful than the previous years.  Taku Maurine has done harvesting from her farm and taken her product to the market. Selling her product with joy as she makes more profit than she did in the past by buying and selling products. She says her business has greatly helped her to better prepare her children for “back to school” than before.  Careers for Women A2Empowerment began almost 20 years ago with the intention of offering a path to independence for women in Cameroon through education, and now we are directly supporting their independence through stipends. Our all-female team of mentors and leaders, which includes nine alumnae, receives stipends for their work upon meeting the monthly requirements outlined in their contracts. |
A2Empowerment has awarded over 2,550 scholarships since 2008! We plan to support the current scholarship recipients through graduation and continue providing additional opportunities to empower women in Cameroon.  |
Support A2Empowerment |
A2Empowerment programs are funded through individual donations, and just $80 USD covers a year of high school in Cameroon this year. A2Empowerment hopes to raise $50,000 by next school year to cover our annual budget. To this end, we invite you to join the outstanding volunteers who have organized events to address this campaign! Longtime volunteer and honorary board member Ryan, and his partner Emma, pictured below, asked for A2Empowerment donations in place of gifts for their wedding in May!  The Wood family hosted an ‘80s dance party to raise awareness and expand our network of supporters. We thank all the rad hosts, volunteers, and attendees! Special thanks to the gnarly organizing committee of Launa, Deborah, Anne, Susi, and Johanna, for inviting their friends to the party and funding the event so that the full amount of admission and all donations collected could be put toward girls’ scholarships. Together, we raised over $9,300 for girls’ education!   If you are interested in helping us by hosting a similar fun event or volunteering, please contact us at info@a2empowerment.org. Our mission is to provide scholarships and educational support to girls and women in Cameroon so that they may increase their knowledge and empower themselves to lead healthier, more productive lives. To join us in supporting our mission, please consider making a donation and signing up for our bi-annual newsletters. To stay updated, please follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube  |