Saran Diaby is a civil society activist, founder, and president of the NGO EDUFEEM (Education Femmes et Enfants pour leur Emancipation), former president of the Alumni Association of the CRL Yali Dakar Guinée and member of the coordination committee of the AfriYAN Guinée network (African Youth and Adolescent Network on Population and Development). Saran has 11 years of professional experience in marketing as well as 8 years of experience in the associative sector. With her NGO, Saran secured funding in partnership with the Japanese Embassy to renovate a middle school in the city of Kindia and build a library. 

Active in her community, Saran has is the holder of many distinctions including the J-Awards Guinea for young activists and the Prix des Actes Posés, an award given to Guineans making changes in their community. Saran is also an author, having co-authored the book Embarquement sur Conakry, Capital du Monde. Saran is also a recipient of the US Embassy's SELP HELP 2021 program through her ADR (Amis Des Routes) project, a road safety education, information and awareness-raising project for children. In November 2022, she was appointed Prefectural Director of Agriculture and Livestock in Coyah. Saran plans to expand her NGO in the region and have more volunteers to train young people and help with the education system and women's empowerment. 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Digital and Small Business Development Support Center for Women (CENADPEF)

CENADPEF was a self-employment program designed to train rural women in entrepreneurship, digital skills and trades so that they can become financially independent. The project emphasized the need to ensure more inclusive growth through the promotion of small business activities and job creation, particularly for women and girls, by strengthening their capacity and providing them with more opportunities, through the acquisition of professional skills and the promotion of productive enterprises. The project equipped 200 girls and women with the skills they need to create and develop their own businesses and earn an income by promoting sustainable economic development, entrepreneurship and social impact through 12 workshops. Additionally, 25 of the participants received in-depth training on entrepreneurship fundamentals, digital marketing, project pitching and business plan development.

Project participants at the project training site

IVLP Impact Awardee Saran Diaby instructing project participants

Digital marketing training.

The end of training on the “business plan” module.

Highlights of the “business plan” training module: we can see that the women are quite captivated by the training. They really enjoyed it.

“The CENADPEF project has been a wonderful experience for me, and today more than ever I'm driven by the ambition to move forward with [my juice processing business.]” – Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Saran was a participant in the IVLP Project Women and Entrepreneurship, organized by the U.S. Department of State and FHI 360.

Saran's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "I was particularly influenced and [impressed] by the efforts of the American government and major American institutions in women's empowerment programs."

U.S. Communities Visited

Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Buffalo, NY; Akron, OH

"I [participated in] the IVLP program with a project on women's empowerment... and came back with a more refined, clearer and more complete project thanks to the skills I [acquired]... I came to the conclusion that I needed to duplicate this model and these best practices in my country, adapting them to the needs of women entrepreneurs in Guinea." - Saran Diaby

Country: Guinea 

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