THE NEW AFRICA FUND
GIRLS' SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The New Africa Fund launched its Girls’ Scholarship program (GSP) in September 2022 with the aim to empower young women in Africa through education. In Togo, gender inequality poses a barrier for girls to enroll and stay in school, and therefore there is a significant gender gap in nearly all levels of education. While there is some level of parity in enrollment during the obligatory primary school years, the number of girls who are able to pursue secondary and post-secondary education plummets. The reasons for this include pressure on them to marry early and that many families still have a preference to only educate their sons once education is no longer compulsory. In Togo, 24.8% of women aged 20–24 years old were married or in a union before the age of 18 years old and the birth rate was 88 births per 1000 women aged 15-19 in 2020.
To help address this problem, the NAF Girls’ Scholarship Program will cover full tuition, housing, a monthly living stipend to cover basic expenses, and medical insurance for the duration of their degree program. For this pilot year all beneficiaries will be enrolled at the University of Kara in the northern part of the country.
The first cohort began their studies in October 2022 a variety of fields. We are proud that all the scholarship recipients are committed to working for several years in Togo after graduation to give back to their country, and the NAF is prepared to help them take their new skills to underserved communities all over the country.
Photo: ©The New Africa Fund, 2022
A FULL SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR GIRLS
The NAF Girls’ Scholarship Program covers full tuition, housing, a monthly living stipend to cover basic expenses, and medical insurance for the duration of their degree program.
After the pilot year, a new cohort of young women will be admitted to the scholarship program until the number of scholarship recipients reaches 30 per year. The NAF hopes to eventually extend this program to other countries in Africa where young women face similar challenges in pursuing their education.
If you would like to support girls education in Africa please click here
NAF MENTORING PROGRAM
The NAF is organizing a mentoring program to accompany the beneficiaries through their personal and academic journey. The aim of this program is to connect the students with role models to help them understand their professional options and to give them guidance on how to deal with the many challenges they will confront during this new chapter of their lives. We will also be running workshops for them on topics such as computer literacy, health, personal finance, and other crucial life skills.
After they finish their studies, all beneficiaries are committed to working for several years in Togo, and the NAF is prepared to help them take their new skills to underserved communities all over the country.