Across many countries in Sub Saharan Africa, a tremendous economic potential remains untapped. Women. If properly equipped and economically empowered, women could substantially contribute to the growth of the economy at household and national levels. The Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend project has been initiated at the demand of the governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to help increase women and adolescent girls’ empowerment and their access to quality education and reproductive, child and maternal health services.