Aliniha International

Aliniha International

a network of womens leaders of sustainable development

Already supprting 18 functional associations, Aliniha International represents more than 6,000 women that work daily in sustainable activities.

Currently active in the regions of Kayes in Mali and Tambacounda in Senegal, the network’s ambition is to gradually extend to other parts of the continent, by exporting a methodology that has been tried and tested over the past six years.

Objectives

Officially created in March 2012 so as to give a formal structure to an experiment that started in 2008, Aliniha International provides an anchor, structure and support for a self-managed women’s’ network that works towards sustainable human development in Africa.

Aliniha International strives not only to broaden the services it provides to existing members but also to support the increasing numbers of women that want to take hold of their destiny and contribute to the development of their region. One of its priorities is to equip its members so they can attain the goal of sustainable development that they have each set themselves.

Aliniha, a proven methodology

To realise its vision, Aliniha International spreads a methodology – Aliniha – that has been tried and tested over the past five years: consistently, step by step, the women progress according to their needs and capacities. Engaged in the network and working together in solidarity, they learn increasingly complex skills.

Meeting the objectives of sustainable development, women that join Aliniha open, for themselves and those near to them, clear paths to improvements in terms of society, economics and the environment. By taking on new responsibilities, they become potential examples for others that would also like to enter into the virtuous cycle of personal growth.

By signing the Aliniha Charter, each woman can access microfinance services that allow them to create revenue-generating activities (RGA). Alongside the credit, they receive three young trees that they promise to plant and care for in the long term. A package of training and awareness programmes are offered, set up by Aliniha International’s partners. Given the disparity of situations, capacities and vulnerabilities, the key word is to maintain flexibility and adaptability in the process. In this way, once needs are identified and expressed by the women, specific competencies are explored, fine-tuned and assimilated. Step by step, these lead to the next level of complexity, while inextricably incorporating the values of sustainable development.

Aliniha International, a structured network working closely with local partners

Operated as a network, Aliniha International groups and represents differents stakeholders:

- women, pillars of development: by subscribing to the Aliniha network, the women commit to activating development – that of both their families and community. Access to knowledge and means is provided so they can reach self-management, conserve natural resources and increase their well-being.

- the self-managed Aliniha Associations (AAA): first level of mutual support in the Aliniha network, the AAAs enable women to reach financial and operational autonomy economic, social and environmental initiatives.

- the Inter-AAA, Jeduman and Arafat, second level of mutual support in the Aliniha network, the Inter-AAA strive also for financial and operational autonomy. They not only offer various trainings and advices to their members, they also manage micro-enterprises providing local products that meet the needs of the women as well as a broader local market.

Depending on the precise topic, a series of favoured partners provide outside help:

- the Micro-Finance Institutions, Benso Jamanun and Jekabara - grouping and representing respectively the Mali's AAA and the Senegal's AAA, offer savings and credit services not only to Aliniha women and self-managed Aliniha associations, but also more broadly to the populations of the regions in which they work.

- Camide, expert consultants in economic development, supports and advices he differents network's members.

Our support

Since 2008, the Fondation has accompanied the associations that initiated and founded Aliniha International. We have supported and closely followed them in their desire to test a methodology that combines all their respective experience and competences. Considered by some as a utopia, the mechanism of "A woman, a tree, a credit" opened the possibility for poor women in the region to become leaders of sustainable development. Given the results obtained over these past three years of work, the many opportunities still to be exploited and the motivation that continues to grow, the Fondation decided to renew its partnership in 2015. It has signed new contracts with Aliniha International 's members and partners in which it commits to advise the association, partially finance their structural and operational costs for a period of three years. This enables these associations to accompany, train, advise and serve the sixteen self-managed Aliniha associations. In 2015, the Fondation granted an investment fund to finance investments made by micro-enterprise initiated by AAA and Inter-AAA. Its has also granted a fund to support the development of documented and reality-checked business plan. Furthermore, the Fondation subsidises Aliniha International so it can call on the services of Virtue Ventures, represented by Vincent Dawans.

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Contact

Aliniha International
contact@aliniha.org
www.aliniha.org