In the rural areas of San, a town in Mali, the light of hope now shines for Korotimi Traoré, a 66-year-old married mother of five.
Like many others, she had set out to build a better life for herself by entering the promising but fraught rice processing business. For 12 long years, Korotimi struggled to keep her business on its feet despite the many challenges. Accessing the market was a challenge, obtaining financing was an obstacle course, and adequate equipment and quality raw materials remained out of reach. Each month, she struggled to make an income of 150,000 CFA francs, a budget insufficient to provide a decent living for her family.