The Ndieumbeutt project, a new lever for the empowerment of young women February 27, 2026

The Dekkandoo consortium launched the Ndieumbeutt project on Friday in Rao, an initiative intended to strengthen the economic autonomy of more than 400 young women in the Saint-Louis region thanks to zero-interest financing and structured support.

The Ndieumbeutt project was officially launched in Rao by the Dekkandoo consortium, in partnership with Teranga Capital Partners and BNDE. The initiative targets young women aged 18 to 35 working in the agriculture and livestock sectors.

According to Jean Mermoz Kouakou, in charge of the E4Y program at Teranga Capital Partners, this partnership aims to facilitate access to financing for young people. “We found a dynamic partner in Saint-Louis. An envelope of 200 million FCFA will make it possible to support more than 400 young people towards financial autonomy,” he indicated, specifying that the loans are granted at zero interest and repayable to finance other beneficiaries.

For his part, the global coordinator of Dekkandoo, Abdou Khadre Mbodj, emphasizes that the program is based on rigorous targeting. “We selected 400 women from a database of nearly 8,000. The performance criterion remains reimbursement,” he said.

The beneficiaries, notably from Rao, Gandon, Gandiol and Léona HLM Diameguène in the commune of Saint-Louis, must already have an income-generating activity, be members of a VSLA and participate in capacity building sessions.

Representing the mayor of Ndiébène Gandiol, deputy Mouhamadou Ndiaye welcomed an initiative which “will boost the economic level of women and young people” while calling for rigorous management of resources.

Through Ndieumbeutt, Dekkandoo and its partners aim to make female entrepreneurship a sustainable engine of local development in northern Senegal.