Since its implementation in Dakar in 2023, the Graça Machel Trust’s Women Creating Wealth programme has grown into a powerful platform for women entrepreneurs in Senegal. Through capacity building, access to markets and finance, job creation and advocacy, the programme has supported women in strengthening their businesses, navigating barriers and positioning themselves as active contributors to Senegal’s economic development.

But behind every programme outcome are people, stories and journeys.

What does it actually mean for a woman entrepreneur to gain access to a new market? What changes when she acquires the knowledge and confidence to structure her business? How does access to finance influence the decisions she makes about growth? And what happens when women entrepreneurs begin to see themselves not only as business owners, but as job creators and voices capable of influencing their wider ecosystem?

These are some of the questions at the heart of Femmes Créatrices de Richesses, the official Women Creating Wealth podcast in Senegal. The title, a direct French translation of Women Creating Wealth, reflects the central idea behind the series: women entrepreneurs are not simply participants in economic programmes. They are creators of wealth, opportunities and impact within their communities.

From programme outcomes to real-life experiences

The podcast was conceived as a way of bringing the outcomes of the Women Creating Wealth programme to life through authentic conversations with the women and ecosystem actors who have experienced them first-hand.

Across the series, Awa Babou (Minawa), Adji Sylla (Mouhidine Transformation Agroalimentaire, MTA), Awa Ly Ndiaye (NBC Sénégal) and Fatou Ndiaye Seck (2KEVENT) share their journeys, from finding their first customers and building businesses that grow beyond their founders, to navigating finance and risk and turning a passion into a structured enterprise. Aminata Diop Samb, Director of the Municipal Development and Solidarity Fund (FODEM) and an active member of the Women Creating Wealth Senegal Advocacy Committee, moves the conversation from individual businesses to the wider entrepreneurial environment and the importance of advocacy. Together, these conversations offer a more human perspective on what programme outcomes actually look like in practice.

Awa Babou while talking about access to market in the WCW program:

“I believe this programme is quite comprehensive. I was able to find answers to my questions through the diverse range of modules.’’

More than documenting impact

While documenting the programme’s outcomes is an important purpose of the podcast, Femmes Créatrices de Richesses has evolved into something more.

The conversations have created a space where Women Creating Wealth entrepreneurs can speak openly about their experiences, challenges, decisions and growth. Rather than presenting entrepreneurship as a linear success story, the podcast gives listeners access to the realities behind building a business.

This is particularly meaningful within the Senegalese and wider West African context, where women entrepreneurs continue to navigate a range of social, economic and structural barriers. The ability to hear directly from another woman who has faced similar uncertainties – and found ways to move forward – can be as valuable as any technical lesson.

Adji Sylla, founder of MTA, on youth employment

“Young women today are fortunate because, years ago, it was not easy for women to cross certain barriers. But today, if they go for it, they can achieve it. So, they should never stop pushing forward.”

In this sense, the podcast has become a peer-learning platform. A woman listening to an episode may hear a story that reassures her that the difficulties she is experiencing are not unique, that growth takes time, or that there are different ways to approach a challenge.

Awa Ly Ndiaye, founder of NBC Sénégal, on access to finance

“I can never thank this programme enough for opening my eyes, because as entrepreneurs, we often have blinders on.”

The stories therefore extend beyond the Women Creating Wealth community itself, reaching entrepreneurs at an earlier stage of their journey, aspiring business owners looking for guidance, and members of the wider ecosystem seeking to understand the realities faced by women-led businesses.

Ultimately, Femmes Créatrices de Richesses is about making impact visible and making experience transferable. It tells the story of a programme that and also tells the stories of the women at the centre of that evolution: women building businesses, creating jobs, accessing new opportunities, strengthening their capabilities and finding their voices.

Fatou Ndiaye Seck, founder of 2KEVENT, on capacity building

“It was through this programme that I developed the mindset of looking further and pushing the boundaries of what I thought was possible for my business.”

Because when women entrepreneurs share not only what they have achieved, but how they got there, their stories become more than stories. They become knowledge. They become inspiration. And they become an invitation for another woman to believe that she, too, can create wealth.

Listen to the podcast here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbILjcTuESyc&si=43TZVT_Hsp70pjI5

https://open.spotify.com/show/033PeywzGK15bpCMQg1w51?si=94782a87b55045c6

https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/femmes-cr%C3%A9atrices-de-richesses/id6790708113