West Africa Governance and Economic Sustainability in Extractive Areas (WAGES)

To improve the economic opportunities for women and youth sustainably, the project aims both to enhance their skills and to guarantee real job or entrepreneurial opportunities. To this end, quality technical and entrepreneurial training, linked to real employment or entrepreneurship opportunities, is offered. Entrepreneurs receive specialized support through strengthened local support services and business incubators. They are therefore better equipped to conduct market studies, develop business plans, seek financing, and start their businesses.

To facilitate financing, small grant opportunities are piloted to inspire municipalities to offer such services through their management of mining funds for development. Community savings and credit mechanisms are also established with women’s groups to stimulate income-generating activities. Additionally, municipalities are supported in developing inclusive strategies in the most promising economic sectors. Simultaneously, awareness-raising efforts are made with companies and families to combat stereotypes that prevent women and young women from accessing non-traditional jobs. Finally, the project promotes the green and circular economy with a focus on sustainability. Thus, the use of compost and organic amendments is prioritized for all supported agricultural enterprises. Projects for organic waste recovery and biodigesters are being developed by local entrepreneurs.

The AGCEDE project facilitates the sharing of lessons learned and best practices in inclusive sustainable development to influence policies and management methods for revenues from the extractive sector in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Guinea. The dissemination of this knowledge is intended to feed into existing multi-stakeholder discussions to maximize the socio-economic benefits for women, youth, and all people living in areas where extractive industries are present. This component aims to ensure that the project's approaches and results can inspire similar initiatives beyond the project implementation areas, whether in the three currently targeted countries or other West African countries.