ABOUT US
Building the Missing Infrastructure for Diaspora Women
Women Connect International emerged not as a theoretical initiative, but as an institutional response to observed structural gaps.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Structural Gap We Address
WCI responds to a critical but under-addressed development opportunity: the untapped institutional potential of diaspora women as cross-border development actors.
Diaspora Women as Untapped Development Actors
African women in the diaspora occupy a uniquely strategic position within global development ecosystems. They function simultaneously as economic contributors through remittances, caregivers for transnational families, informal social mobilizers, and cultural intermediaries — yet their contributions remain largely informal and fragmented.
Persistent Structural Vulnerabilities
Despite their economic and social contributions, diaspora women face social isolation in host countries, underemployment due to credential barriers, limited culturally responsive mental health support, caregiving overload across borders, and restricted access to formal leadership pathways.
The Structural Disconnect
Diaspora remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa represent billions annually — yet remain informal, uncoordinated, unmeasured, and disconnected from structured development strategies. This fragmentation limits the transformative potential of diaspora capital and leadership.
WCI's Integrated Solution
We address this structural gap through a technology-enabled, human-centered ecosystem: Emotional Resilience Programming → Market-Aligned Economic Training → Structured Leadership Development → Transparent Digital Humanitarian Coordination.
FOUNDER
Founded by Fatima Abubakar
WCI is founder-led by Fatima Abubakar, whose psychosocial resilience work shaped the organization's mission, programmes, and humanitarian coordination model.
Fatima Abubakar
Founder, Women Connect International
Counselling Psychology & Trauma-Informed Programming
Counselling psychologist with 9+ years of experience in trauma informed programming, community engagement, and psychosocial support. Her work focuses on women navigating migration, economic instability, caregiving responsibilities, and social isolation. Through counselling practice and grassroots programs, she founded WCI and identified the structural gap between women's resilience, sustainable empowerment pathways, and Diaspora-to-Africa coordination systems.
LEADERSHIP
Executive Team
The dedicated leaders driving WCI's mission across programmes, partnerships, and impact.
Rakiya Shuaibu Mohammed
Executive DirectorWomen Connect International
Hauwa Audu Bida
Assistant President / COOWomen Connect International
Sa’adatu Garko
Entrepreneurship CoordinatorWomen Connect International
Nabila Saleh Tijjani
SG- Islamic Studies CoordinatorWomen Connect International
Amina Adamu
Procurement CoordinatorWomen Connect International
OUR ROOTS
Grassroots Foundations
Before formal institutionalization, WCI operated through four interconnected streams of grassroots engagement.
Confidential Psychosocial Support
One-on-one counselling grounded in trauma-informed principles, providing culturally responsive emotional support for women experiencing migration-related stress, economic hardship, and caregiving overload.
Peer Healing Circles
Facilitated circles providing psychologically safe environments for shared storytelling, emotional regulation, and resilience-building — reducing isolation and increasing decision-making confidence.
Entrepreneurial Mentoring
Guiding women in formalizing income activities, developing micro-enterprise plans, and discovering the link between emotional resilience and economic agency.
Diaspora Coordination
Facilitating informal pooled resources for food assistance, school fees, widows' support, and emergency needs — laying the groundwork for structured, transparent coordination.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Our Core Values
Dignity
Every woman deserves emotional safety, economic autonomy, and leadership opportunity.
Accountability
Transparency is embedded in every financial, digital, and humanitarian system we build.
Equity
Programs are culturally responsive, inclusive, and accessible to women across backgrounds.
Innovation
Technology is leveraged responsibly to scale human-centered impact across borders.
Collaboration
Sustainable change requires cross-sector, diaspora-rooted partnerships and shared ownership.
Sustainability
Systems designed to endure — with blended financing and community ownership at their core.
OUR PARTNERS
Organisations We Work With
WCI collaborates with trusted community organisations and development actors committed to transforming the lives of women across borders.
Ihsana Community Aid and Development Initiative
ICADIA community-centred humanitarian organisation dedicated to improving lives through aid, development programmes, and grassroots empowerment across Nigeria.
Interested in partnering with WCI? Get in touch →
Become Part of This Story
Whether you're a diaspora woman seeking empowerment, a funder, or a community partner — there's a place for you in WCI.