| Participant | Rashidat Tauheed Isah |
| Location | Kuje, FCT Abuja |
| Business | Sale of charcoal and firewood |
| Disability | Physical disability |
| Programme | Empower Her Ability |
Before participating in the Empower Her Ability Project, Rashidat Tauheed Isah was running a charcoal and firewood business in Chikuku, Kuje, FCT Abuja. However, she experienced challenges managing her business finances and keeping proper financial records.
She also found it difficult to separate money generated from the business from her personal funds. This made it harder for her to monitor how the business was performing, manage her finances effectively and make informed decisions about the business.
Rashidat’s main challenge was limited financial management capacity. Poor record keeping and the lack of clear separation between business and personal funds affected how she handled money, planned her business expenses and assessed her profitability.
These challenges also affected her confidence in managing and promoting the business and limited her ability to make strategic financial decisions for growth.
Through the Empower Her Ability Project, Rashidat received entrepreneurship training, mentorship support, structured weekly record-keeping guidance and financial support.
The training strengthened her understanding of financial management, business organization and record keeping, while mentorship and weekly follow-up provided accountability and helped her apply these lessons to her business.
Rashidat reports improved financial discipline and is now better able to separate her personal funds from her business income. She also reports increased confidence in managing and promoting her business.
With greater confidence, she is better able to engage with customers, communicate about her products and independently manage her business operations.
Rashidat also used the financial support she received to invest directly in her business by purchasing a full truck of charcoal. This increased her stock capacity and strengthened her ability to operate and generate income from the business.
Janet still needs a secure shop space that can function as both a store and sales point. This would help protect Despite the progress she has made, access to sufficient capital remains a challenge for Rashidat. Additional funding would help her purchase charcoal in larger quantities more consistently and provide the capital needed to expand her business operations.
| Key change: Rashidat moved from struggling with financial management and business organization to demonstrating stronger financial discipline, greater confidence in managing her business and increased capacity to invest in her stock. The support she received enabled her to apply improved financial practices while making a significant investment in her charcoal business. |
