The technical and financial support program for women involved in the processing of agricultural, fisheries, and artisanal products, implemented by the EGDC since 2010, provides them with support through grants, equipment, and capacity building. The implementation of the support program is focused on economic activities that reduce poverty and help groups of women improve their livelihoods.

It aims to strengthen the economic empowerment of women and raise awareness among businesswomen about creating networks with other African businesswomen. It also creates spaces for the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of both financial and non-financial information, while also offering opportunities for market diversification.

In recent years, the scope of the program has been expanded to now include young women entrepreneurs in agro-industry, incubation centers, startups or digital jobs, and women working in the plastic recycling sector and green jobs.

Given the increasing involvement of women in the region in agro-industrial processing, the EGDC deemed it necessary to establish a Regional Steering Committee for the Transformation program to better coordinate the actions undertaken in its implementation. The role of the Regional Committee is to regularly assess the implementation of the Agricultural Transformation program in the four selected countries and to develop/update a roadmap and national execution strategies.

This program is also characterized by its ambition to promote the development of sustainable initiatives that would mobilize a variety of institutional and financial actors. This is evident in the EGDC’s 2025-2027 strategy, which places special emphasis on several very current themes, including climate change. Thus, the Transformation program, in its current dynamic, seeks to encourage women entrepreneurs to develop activities in sectors such as the economy and green transition (including startups or digital jobs, plastic recycling, and green jobs among others), energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy. These are indeed important and emerging sectors where women play a key role and which could be further supported to enhance their capacity and reduce their vulnerability to environmental challenges.

This new approach of the EGDC thus involves working in partnership with other organizations, including the West African Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), UN Women, and the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CEREEC/ECREEE), as well as other institutions committed to the economic empowerment of women and sensitive to climate issues and the green economy. The implementation methodology will continue to consist of capacity-building training supported by significant financial assistance provided to women following country-level project calls with wide dissemination to inform and engage a larger number of businesswomen.