Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative

What Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative does

Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative (DWoSO) is a Ghanaian non-profit feminist organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Anomabo, Central Region. The organization delivers advocacy, education, and skills training programs targeting self-identifying women, girls, and other marginalized groups across five regions of Ghana: Central, Ashanti, Western, Western North, and Greater Accra. Primary beneficiary segments include rural women, adolescent girls and young women, women and girls with disabilities, widows, women and girls living with HIV/AIDS, and queer women. DWoSO reports engagement of 26,653 individuals across all programs, of which 24,908 are women and girls and 1,714 are men and boys, over 9+ years of continuous operation.

DWoSO operates a portfolio of approximately 15 distinct programs and advocacy initiatives rather than a technology platform. Key offerings include the Pan African Adolescent Girls' Movement (PAAGM) with Graça Machel Trust, the Voices of Our Moment podcast (AWDF-funded), Support My Voice (CIVICUS), the Consent Matters Project (Amplify Change), the Ringleaders Project for girls' leadership, Lead Against Silence (AWDF) for GBV prevention, the Women Accelerate Progress (WAP) Project, One Skill Reduces Poverty (1SRP), Speak Up, Vote4Women (with Sisters Diary), SustainHER for women entrepreneurs, DESI/GESI Space on Twitter, CleanPeriod menstrual hygiene, WoWASH, and Girls Mentorship. The organization has no proprietary technology product; its underlying capability consists of proven training curricula, community engagement methodologies, and digital content distribution via podcast, Twitter Spaces, and social media channels.

The business model is grant-funded non-operating-revenue: DWoSO does not charge beneficiaries for services and receives the majority of its funding from institutional donors (AWDF, CIVICUS, Amplify Change, Graça Machel Trust), with each grant tied to a specific named project. The go-to-market approach is community-led and event-driven, combining in-person workshops, leadership summits, community dialogues, and digital engagement. Programs are delivered through a lean 1-10 person team and a network of volunteers, supplemented by partnerships with district assemblies (Gomoa East, Sekyere East, Accra Central Municipal, Twifo Hemang Education Directorate), schools, and community leaders. The organization is led by Executive Director Francisca Nancy Hagan and governed by a board chaired by Dr. Amanda Odoi.

Name

Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative

Legal name

Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative

Website

https://dwosoinitiative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative (DWoSO) is a Ghanaian feminist non-profit founded in 2017 that delivers advocacy, education, and skills training to women, girls, and marginalized groups across five regions, funded primarily by institutional grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-Profit Advocacy and Women's Empowerment Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

Keywords

• Women empowerment programs
• Gender equality advocacy
• Skills training NGO
• Community development Ghana
• Feminist non-profit

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Coast

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Grants and Funding: Primary revenue through grants from institutional donors including African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), CIVICUS, Amplify Change, and Graça Machel Trust. Funding supports specific project implementation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DWoSO Initiative is a feminist non-profit organization that delivers advocacy, education, training, and mentorship programs for women, girls, and marginalized groups in Ghana. Its portfolio of projects covers gender-based violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health rights, economic empowerment, leadership development, and menstrual hygiene, funded primarily through institutional grants from organizations such as AWDF, CIVICUS, Amplify Change, and the Graça Machel Trust.

Product overview

Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities (DWoSO) Initiative is a feminist NGO (not a software technology company) that operates a portfolio of social programs and advocacy initiatives focused on empowering women, girls, and marginalized groups in Ghana. The organization does not offer a technology product or software platform. Its portfolio includes: PAAGM (Pan African Adolescent Girls' Movement), Voices of Our Moment Podcast, Support My Voice, Consent Matters, Ringleaders Project, Lead Against Silence, WAP (Women Accelerate Progress), One Skill Reduces Poverty (1SRP), Speak Up, Vote4Women, SustainHER, DESI/GESI Space, CleanPeriod, WoWASH, and Girls Mentorship. These programs collectively address gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health rights, economic empowerment, civic participation, leadership development, and menstrual hygiene, operating primarily in Central, Ashanti, Western, Western North, and Greater Accra regions of Ghana.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pan African Adolescent Girls' Movement (PAAGM) A continental initiative powered by the Graça Machel Trust that amplifies the voices, leadership, and agency of adolescent girls across Africa, focusing on strengthening girls' leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement.
• Voices of Our Moment Podcast A feminist podcast series supported by the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) that creates a platform for women, girls, activists, and changemakers to share stories on gender equality and social justice across Africa.
• Support My Voice A civic engagement and advocacy initiative supported by CIVICUS that empowers women, girls, and young people to actively participate in democratic processes and decision-making spaces.
• Consent Matters – Together for Change Project A project supported by Amplify Change that addresses sexual violence in Ghana by educating on sexual consent and SRHR, engaging communities, men, and boys through workshops, media, and sustainable mechanisms to promote a culture of respect.
• Ringleaders Project A project that empowers young girls by developing leadership skills, fostering personal growth, and building self-esteem through training in foundational leadership, ethical considerations, communication, conflict resolution, goal setting, and time management.
• Lead Against Silence A transformative initiative supported by AWDF that seeks to prevent sexual and gender-based violence by empowering women, girls, and communities to challenge harmful norms, promote consent, support survivors, and drive collective action through advocacy, education, and storytelling.
• Women Accelerate Progress (WAP) Project A project funded by the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) that commemorated International Women's Day with activities including leadership summits for widows, educational workshops, and online advocacy for gender equality across regions.
• One Skill Reduces Poverty (1SRP) A Livelihood Empowerment project that provides skill training to women and girls in rural Ghana in areas such as beads making, facials, dishwashing soap production, and pastry making, alongside financial literacy, branding, and self-awareness modules.
• Speak Up A gender-based violence awareness project aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate and condone various forms of abuse against women and girls, through education, advocacy, policy engagement, and capacity-building.
• Vote4Women A visibility platform created in partnership with Sisters Diary to create systemic awareness for women contesting in elections and management levels, providing resources, profiles, and organizing events to promote gender-balanced representation.
• SustainHER A project that empowers young Ghanaian women entrepreneurs in business by providing tools, resources, training, technology solutions, and visibility, targeting women-led SMEs operating for 6 months to 2 years in Central, Ashanti, Western, Western North, and Greater Accra regions.
• DESI Space / GESI Space A program using Twitter (X) Space discussions to promote feminism and volunteer capacity building, covering topics including mental well-being of activists, rural women's roles in food security, young feminists, gender-based violence, and women's portrayal in media.
• CleanPeriod Menstrual Hygiene Project A menstrual hygiene project that raises awareness about access to sustainable menstrual products, educates on menstrual hygiene and SRHR, fights stigma and taboos around menstruation, targeting students, teachers, and community members.
• WoWASH (Women in WASH Leadership) A project that sensitizes and empowers rural women in Ghana to actively engage in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) leadership, having reached over 300 rural women in Central and Western Regions.
• Girls Mentorship Project A mentorship project targeting basic and junior high school girls to boost confidence, introduce feminism, and prepare girls for leadership positions, including boys to foster support for girls' rights and challenge gender norms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 26,653 total individuals engaged across all programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Graça Machel TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWoSO partners with Graça Machel Trust to implement the Pan African Adolescent Girls Movement (PAAGM), a continental initiative amplifying the voices and leadership of adolescent girls across Africa. DWoSO serves as a implementing partner for PAAGM activities in Ghana.
• Sisters DiarymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWoSO partners with Sisters Diary on the Vote4Women project, a visibility platform creating systemic awareness for women contesting in elections. The partnership combines advocacy expertise and outreach networks.
• Gomoa East District AssemblyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWoSO collaborates with Gomoa East District Assembly for the Consent Matters Project, including stakeholder engagements with District Chief Executive and District Director of Education.
• Accra Central Municipal AssemblyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Accra Central Municipal Assembly to implement skills training programs for minority groups, including soap making and pastry creation training.
• Twifo Hemang Education DirectorateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWoSO partnered with Twifo Hemang Education Directorate to celebrate International Day of the Girl Child and engage schoolgirls on digital opportunities and STEM careers.
• Network for Women's Rights Ghana (NETRIGHT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWoSO is a member of NETRIGHT, a network of organizations advancing women's rights in Ghana. This provides advocacy coordination and collective impact opportunities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dwosoinitiative
• Facebookfacebook.com/DWoSOInitiative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dwoso-initiative
• Instagraminstagram.com/dwoso_initiative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Developing Women for Skills and Opportunities Initiative