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Yahaya's family were struggling. She was a private school teacher for two years, but then the work stopped and she couldn’t pay for school fees, learning materials, and clothing. She and her husband Yamba, a farmer, even struggled to purchase food for themselves and their young son. And with Yamba out of work, there was tension between the couple.
Then, Yahaya became a Grameen Community Agent through an initiative we’re running in Northern Ghana. The Agents are trained to provide not just digital financial services, like mobile banking, but also health and gender-based violence reduction support. These are critical services in the rural village she lives in–where, across the country, only 10 percent of women have access to formal financial services, and where nearly a third experience gender-based violence.
And even though she’s just started, they have already begun to see positive change. "[My husband] has been very helpful," she says. "When I do household chores, he manages the business. He helps more now."
Grameen Agents like Yahaya are trained to provide not just digital financial services, like mobile banking, but also health and gender-based violence reduction support. These are critical services in the rural village she lives in–where, across the country, only 10 percent of women have access to formal financial services, and where nearly a third experience gender-based violence.
She wakes up early, tends to her child and the household chores, and then heads to her Agent kiosk. When she heads home to prepare lunch, her husband will mind the kiosk in her place. On a typical day, she helps a client who doesn’t know how to get cash from her account, and another who doesn't know her account number.
She’s started to earn some money, but more than that, Yahaya is gaining respect in her village. Elders in the village have started to visit her kiosk, discussing issues with her, asking for advice on their businesses. She’s able to share with them the skills she learned training with Grameen.
Yahaya’s goal as a Grameen Agent is to become financially independent. And Yamba is supportive in this goal, sharing that their relationship has improved–they’re now a team, working together to lift themselves out of their shared struggle and toward greater prosperity.