Becoming a Cupcake

The Problem

POVERTY & LACK OF OPPORTUNITY

Women and girls in Africa are faced with a unique challenge - they need money to support themselves, but jobs, especially for women, are scarce. Approached with opportunities to "nanny" in Europe or the Middle East, they leap at the chance. But on arrival, they find themselves forced into the sex trade. Having entered the country illegally, they fear going to authorities and are trapped.

According to The International Labour Organization as of 2016, 25 million people toiled in forced labor including forced sexual exploitation and trafficking with another 15 million people in forced marriage. By region, Africa ranked highest of all, with 37% of all cases of trafficking internationally. Of these victims, women and girls accounted for more than 99% of all victims of forced sexual exploitation. See ILO.org & UN.org for more information.

Our solution

WOMEN CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER WOMEN

We're a woman-led non-profit that provides START-UP STIPENDS & BUSINESS MENTORING to survivors of trafficking. Women who survive Trafficking have dreams to support themselves and their families. By opening their own shops they can provide needed and wanted services in their own communities, but they need a little help to get them going. This is where Becoming a Cupcake steps in.

We know from books like Half The Sky and The Moment of Lift, that empowered women invest in and lift their families and communities. Guided by these principles, we employ local knowledge and contacts, paired with business and start-up experience, we are able to help jump-start survivors' businesses.

We're currently sponsoring & mentoring these wonderful women's business dreams: