THE PROBLEM: Because of the country's long-standing patriarchy and high percentage of illiteracy, women make up most of those affected. Tradition and patriarchy expects women to work as stay-at-home parents. Girls are groomed from an early age to become future wives through their participation in daily chores alongside their mothers. Most of them end up widowed or divorced, with the children having no profession. While observing my country and doing fieldwork, I realized that this is causing a great problem of vulnerability among women. Why we created Yamafrik, a fashion project that will help these girls and women find a job that will improve their lifestyle for tomorrow.’’

SOLUTION: YAMAFRIK is a fashion project for transforming local fabric into different items as high-quality products of African styles such as Shoes, Jewelry, Clothes, Belt hats, etc. It will involve young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, and widows with children who have no profession, all from rural areas. By training the categories mentioned, ranging from rural areas to urban cities, poverty can be transformed into professionalism, allowing a better understanding of their lives. There will be a mini-factory for production, along with a training workshop for the three categories mentioned to join the industry or pursue their own careers.

OPPORTUNITY OFFER: YAMAFRIK will offer free tuition and vocational training courses to young girls in vulnerable situations, marginalized people, and handicapped people in the community (e.g., apprenticeships in ICT, tailoring, fashion design, and other trainings related to fashion).

PROJECT GOALS:

maintain economic growth per woman and girl in accordance with national conditions, with Guinea seeing annual GDP growth of at least 8%.
-Increase economic productivity through innovation, technological advancement, and diversification, with a focus on labor-intensive and high-value small industries.
Encourage development-oriented policies that boost the formalization and expansion of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, including through access to financial services as well as productive activities, the creation of decent jobs, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.