Maryam Al Hammadi: Social finance and practical planning transform community initiatives into stable income models.

Sharjah: NAMA Women Advancement Establishment followed up on social entrepreneurship projects run by women in Zanzibar, during a field visit aimed at reviewing the results and growth stages of projects supported by the “Civil Society Organizations Empowerment Program”, which is dedicated to providing direct support to 25 organizations, in addition to incubating 400 women working in the business sector.

The visit included a number of non-governmental organizations and women’s civil society organizations that are part of the program in Zanzibar, with the aim of building capacities, transferring practical experiences, and strengthening social financing pathways, to develop projects and make them capable of generating income and increasing revenues, thereby supporting their financial sustainability and enhancing their long-term societal impact.

A program based on social finance and capacity building

NAMA Women Advancement Foundation launched the “Civil Society Organizations Empowerment Program” in 2024 in partnership with NAMA Foundation in Malaysia and the “Nice Tanzania” Development Foundation. The program combines social financing, represented by interest-free social loans, with capacity building, training, and strategic planning support, enabling NGOs to diversify their sources of income and enhance their operational efficiency and institutional capacity.

Practical initiatives that achieve measurable results

Her Excellency Mariam Al Hammadi, Director General of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, confirmed that the visit comes within NAMA’s vision aimed at empowering women through training, funding and partnership initiatives.

Her Excellency Mariam Al Hammadi said: “The NAMA Women Advancement Establishment believes in the importance of providing civil society organizations and women-led NGOs that focus on women’s empowerment in Zanzibar with the tools for sustainability that are embodied on the ground through responsible social financing and practical strategic planning that transforms initiatives into stable, sustainable, and scalable income models. Through this program, we contribute directly to enabling these organizations to build long-term financial sustainability that makes them independent of short-term, temporary support and helps them find solutions that solidify their impact in the communities they serve.”

Field visits to Tanzania and Zanzibar: Successful female role models

The visit included a series of field stops, most notably a visit to the Zanzibar Women's Chamber of Commerce (ZWCC ), along with the Utalii Women's Foundation, to learn about their Women's Tourist Guiding project. This was followed by a visit to the Peace Community Foundation in Kizimkazi township, to learn about their Village Women's Empowerment project.

The delegation visited the Zanzibar Gender Coalition for Equality and Justice, where they learned about the Clean Cooking Business Project, which combines environmental solutions with income-generating opportunities. The delegation's final stop was the Zawosa organization, where they were briefed on the Women's Seafaring Tourist Boat Project, a model that opens doors for women in non-traditional sectors.

Setting priorities for the next phase

The visit’s outcomes included strengthening coordination channels with local partners, identifying priorities for technical support for the next phase of the program, linking training to building viable income models, and establishing follow-up pathways that ensure social funding aligns with project needs and growth plans, and measuring institutional development in the medium and long term.

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