Dr. Adele Noudjilembaye
2024 IVLP Impact Award Project: Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA)Chad
Dr. Adele Noudjilembaye is Head of the Corporate Social Responsibility Department in Olam Agri/Cotontchad SN. After completing her Doctorate in Agricultural Entomology, she set up her own 100 per cent organic horticulture business, N Bio Solutions. She works in partnership with 10 women's groups, covering an area of seven hectares. Her long-term ambition is to become a benchmark on the international organic produce market, to be among the Top 10 African entrepreneurs, and to use her talents to shape the future of her community and Chad's place in the world through her company.
Adele created the Women of Sciences Initiative in Chad, an association to promote science among girls and women. In Chad, only 4.8 per cent of women work in science, innovation and technology. Through the association, more than 1,000 people (men, women, boys and girls) have been reached with awareness raising campaigns to keep girls in school; 48 girls have received training in web development; 60 girls and women have been supported with coaching and mentoring; and 17 scholarships have been awarded to girls for the 2023-2024 academic year.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA)
Adele’s project will implement a village savings and loans association (VSLA) model based on member savings in Bebalem, in the sub prefecture of Lac Wei, Logone Occidental province. VSLAs offer their members low-cost financial services, based on the principle of pooling funds. As such, they make a decisive contribution to meeting the needs of men and women who wish to access financial services to manage their household cash flow, cope with life's events, or invest in income generating activities. The overall aim of the VSLA is to offer savings and credit opportunities to people with irregular incomes who are deprived of formal financial services, and to help improve their living conditions by giving them access to finance and economic opportunities.
The project will develop training modules on the AVEC methodology; train identified groups in the methodology and in income generating activities; and support the groups during the first five months of operation in order to strengthen the governance capacity of members. An economic opportunities matrix will be drawn up for the groups, along with an action plan for each type of savings and loan according to the level of structuring of the organizations. The plans will improve the groups’ practices and governance and enable them to offer services that meet the needs of their members. Activities carried out by the groups will be monitored and evaluated.
So far, Adele has conducted a 10-day training for 52 rural community members savings, credit, innovative business development, leadership, and goal setting. As a result of the pooled community funds and training on income-generating activities, three women took out loans to set up small businesses, enabling one of them to pay for her daughter’s school fees for the year. Adele shared that, “The beneficiaries are very happy and can't stop thanking the IVLP program and the US Embassy in Chad.”
"The existing financial system is very restrictive and, in some cases, exclusive. Through this project, I want to invest in a new dynamic of financial inclusion through Village Savings and Loans Associations, with a view to making up for the shortcomings of the traditional financial system and enabling households to have access to low-cost financial services." - Dr. Adele Noudjilembaye
IVLP Exchange Experience
Adele participated in the IVLP Project Women and Entrepreneurship, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Mississippi Consortium for International Development, in partnership with Global New Orleans, International Citizen Diplomacy of Los Angeles, Tulsa Global Alliance, and World Trade Center Institute.
Adele’s exchange experience led to the creation of her project: “All the skills and experience I acquired during my time in the U.S. will be used in training and coaching sessions to build the capacity of young people, particularly women, and give them hope that anything is possible, you just have to work at it. [The meetings on] the topic of the different funding models for budding entrepreneurs...the meeting with the State Department representatives who spoke to us about AGOA in Washington; the experience of the couple who created the Arnold Packaging company in Baltimore; the leadership training in Los Angeles, the meeting with the President of the Chamber of Commerce with whom we discussed the organization's efforts to increase and help black businesses in Tulsa; as well as other exchanges in Louisiana [were] very motivating experiences to share with [my] community...”
“IVLP is a major opportunity for me, as I aim to become a reference for sustainable development in Africa... The different themes and exchanges we had from Washington to Louisiana all inspire me and motivate me to go beyond my dreams.” - Dr. Adele Noudjilembaye
U.S. Communities Visited
Los Angeles, CA; Washington, DC; New Orleans, LA; Baltimore, MD; Tulsa, OK