In a small farming community in Northern Ghana in the Savelegu District, where most women rely on subsistence agriculture to support their families, Salima Yakubu is rewriting the narrative of economic opportunity for rural women. Thanks to the Price Discount scheme under the GROW2 project, Salima was able to acquire a groundnut sheller at a 50% discount. A simple yet powerful machine that has transformed her livelihood and that of many women in and around her community.

Before this intervention, Salima, like many others, spent long hours manually shelling groundnuts, a labour-intensive process that limited the quantity she could process, affected the quality, and left her with little time to pursue other income-generating activities.

When the opportunity came through for women entrepreneurs under the project to purchase technology supplies, Salima didn’t hesitate. With the knowledge she gained and financial support provided through the project, she invested in a groundnut shelling machine and launched her small business. Currently, with support from her husband, she runs a groundnut shelling venture for people within and around her community, aside from her own groundnut.

“I used to process just a few bags in a week, but now I can shell out ten bags a day,” Salima shares proudly. “Women from surrounding communities now bring their groundnuts to me, and I charge a small fee per bag. The income is steady and allows me to support my children’s education and reinvest in the business.”

The impact of her business is not only personal. Salima’s groundnut shelling service has relieved other women of hours of manual work, enabling them to focus on farming, trading, and resting. She has also begun training two young women in the community to operate the machine, creating opportunities for skills development and job creation.

Salima’s story is a testament to how targeted investments in women’s access to technology, skills, and markets can transform lives and communities. It is also an example of the opportunities URBANET provides as part of its aim to economically empower women. Salima and many other women are changing the narratives of women smallholder farmers; they have proven that with the needed push, women will not only own farms but also industries. And through the GROW2 and many other projects and interventions by URBANET, we are making this a reality, one technology at a time.

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