September 26, 2025
Between Dust and Dreams: A New Beginning in Lilayi
Young Africa’s Women in Business programme is helping young women turn small businesses into sustainable livelihoods. Participants receive training in entrepreneurship and financial literacy, starter kits, and peer support through savings and lending groups.
We spoke to four women who are part of this initiative to understand how it is changing lives in Mozambique. Linda Richard, 27, was one of them. Life was never a walk in the park for Linda, a mom of four. With her husband out of work, the family relied heavily on the small amount she made selling fruit at the market. Some weeks, she barely scraped by with €4.07, not nearly enough to feed her kids.
“Honestly, life was really tough for us,” she says. “Everything rested on my shoulders, and I often found myself wondering how we’d make it through each week.”
Things started looking up for Linda when she signed up for Young Africa’s Women in Business programme. This initiative aims to help women like her, who are running small businesses but hit a wall because of limited resources.
“For the first time, it felt like someone really saw me and wanted to help,” she shares.
The programme gave Linda €81.30 to boost her business, plus guidance on handling finances, planning for growth, and building her confidence. The change was pretty much instant. Now, Linda is making over €13.55 a week. Her kids are in school, and she’s even working on building a four-bedroom house for her family.
“Before, all I could think about was how to make it to the end of the week,” she says. “But now? Now, I can actually dream bigger.”
This programme is not just about throwing money at the problem. It gives women practical tools and knowledge, helping them shift from just surviving to thriving and feeling empowered. Linda’s journey really shows how the right kind of support and training can change a business and also transform a whole family’s future.
Next week, we bring Delfina’s story.