Boutique Beatrix Wolou
A supermarket for the community and financial independence for a Togolese mother
International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8, 2023 celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. WIDU presents these achievements as part of #IWD2023. This success story is about Boutique Beatrix Wolou in Togo.
The boutique is a supermarket for her community and stands for financial independence for a mother: "I am Abla, mother of a big family and I want to be financially independent. To achieve this, my business idea was to open a shop. With the support of my brother and WIDU, I was able to start my business from scratch. Now, my shelfs are filled and I’m ready for my customers.” This is how entrepreneur Koutoglo Abla from Lomé, Togo introduced herself. Her cousin and diaspora donor, Houegnifioh Kwadzo Soussouley from Germany describes WIDU as "a good project that encourages not only donors but especially small businesses in poor countries”.
Even though Abla is a trained accountant and did multiple internships, she could not find a job. "At one point I decided: No more internships. I need to undertake something else. It was clear to me that I had to create my own job if I really wanted to achieve my goal of becoming financially independent. " she says today. Ambitious and dynamic, she has succeeded in realizing her goal of starting a corner shop in her neighborhood. In addition to contributing to her financial independence, her small supermarket will also help "reduce the population's travel to other towns to make purchases, enrich the area with new business and, above all, create local employment," said Abla. She is right about that and has already been able to create two new jobs. With the support of WIDU and her donor, she was able to rent her shop and buy computer equipment.
