Published: September 29, 2025
TODEE DISTRICT, Montserrado — The World Bank’s Country Manager for Liberia, Georgia Wallen, on Friday toured Zannah Town in rural Montserrado to meet women benefiting from the Liberia Women Empowerment Project (LWEP) — a flagship initiative that blends skills training, financial literacy and entrepreneurship to lift women and their communities out of poverty.
Wallen, standing in for Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie, who was unable to attend, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to expanding opportunities for Liberian women.
“There are a lot of people at headquarters watching and supporting this because they know when you invest in women, you invest in a nation’s future,” Wallen said.
She highlighted three pillars central to genuine empowerment: self-belief, unity and opportunity.
“Believing in yourself, coming together as an association, and seizing opportunities is at the heart of the Liberia Women Empowerment Project,” she told the gathering.
Women’s Stories of Change
Beneficiaries shared testimonies of how LWEP has helped them gain financial management skills, embrace savings practices and access investment tools that are improving both their businesses and household incomes.
“Projects come and go, but you are here empowered, united and moving Zannah Town — and Liberia — forward. This is just the beginning,” Wallen encouraged the women.
Partners Reaffirm Commitment
The project’s implementing partners — Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Plan International and ActionAid Liberia — reaffirmed their dedication to gender equality and preventing gender-based violence through community-centered approaches.
LWEP now operates in 298 communities across six counties, Grand Gedeh, Rivercess, Gbarpolu, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Rural Montserrado,Vaiming to economically empower women while promoting safer, more inclusive spaces.
A signature element is the SASA approach (Start, Awareness, Support and Action), a grassroots mobilization model to prevent violence against women and promote gender equity.
Focus on Economic Empowerment
Abdulai Sheriff, a lead service provider with LWEP, spotlighted Component 3, which centers on economic empowerment, enterprise growth and financial sustainability for women-led ventures.
Led by Plan International Liberia, the component is split into Segments 3A and 3B — the latter focusing on beneficiary assessment and grading, implemented with Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) and CRS.
Sheriff noted that implementation follows groundwork under Components 1 and 2, which address community mobilization, sensitization, grievance-redress training and committee formation.
“Component 3 targets Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), individual enterprises and livelihood groups, ensuring that financial support translates into sustainable improvements in women’s lives,” Sheriff explained.
He disclosed that US$18 million has been earmarked for the component to fund direct grants and material support to strengthen women’s businesses.
Women Embrace Financial Literacy
Several women leaders said LWEP’s training transformed their approach to money.
“We believed if we came together, we could save and help each other,” one participant said. “Now we know how to keep records, track sales and invest properly.”
They credited the program with helping them move from informal savings clubs to structured business practices.
Community Gratitude
Zannah Town Chief Peter Konah thanked the World Bank and the Ministry of Gender for supporting women’s economic independence, calling LWEP a “vital step in community and national development.”
Local leaders and partners alike agreed that empowering women in rural Liberia is not just a social imperative but also a cornerstone for sustainable economic growth.
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