Projecto Alice is an inspiring project founded by Madina Esmeralda. The name Alice is a tribute to her late mother, as well as to all the women who wake up every day with the singular aim of surpassing themselves, showing what they are capable of and working tirelessly to improve their lives. This project aspires to motivate and instil strength in a new generation of women, just like Madina’s mother – an example of love, strength, courage, beauty and intelligence.
The Alice platform aims to promote sisterhood, friendship, discipline, focus, attitude and ambition among Mozambican female leaders. The project rests on three fundamental pillars: the Alice Talks, conversation sessions addressing a variety of subjects relevant to the female community; mentoring for recently graduated women aged between 21 and 25, over a period of 6 months; and assistance to orphanages, support centres and hospitals, through donations and visits.
The mentors associated with the project, affectionately nicknamed Alicetes, are women who are successful in various spheres of life. Their participation considerably enriches the project. The Alice platform supports women at a stage of professional or business growth through the mentoring sessions. It is currently supporting 9 young women, for 6 months, ensuring comprehensive support that covers the financial, family, religious, professional and social spheres. These young women were selected from a group of approximately 100 candidates, and will receive training, mentoring and close follow-up, with the aim of becoming better every day.
The Alice Talks are moderated conversations, usually with 4 speakers and 1 moderator. The speakers, often experts in the subjects in question, provide a deeper understanding of them. Besides the conversations, there are events that showcase around 15 women-led businesses, promoting their visibility. There are also moments of networking and music, a unique opportunity to bring women together in a celebration of fellowship. Through networking, business opportunities are facilitated for women from a variety of fields and industries. Each of them makes clear what she does so that everyone can be a potential client and partner of the others. Fairs are also organised at the Alice Talks, with the aim of displaying the full potential of businesswomen and entrepreneurs.
Through its activities, the project believes it is contributing to the creation of a better world. Each of the project’s mentors is part of a family, a community and a society that has ever more room for initiatives of this nature. The expectation is that its initiatives will reach more and more women. It is believed that this aim is being achieved, since at each event a growing number of participants is observed, a sign that they have the public’s support.
The company Medja, a partner of the project, handles the management of the events and provides financial support for them. The project also has a large team of people who voluntarily give their time to the mentoring and the other activities that are being carried out. They consider themselves fortunate since, from the implementation of the project to date, they have not faced major challenges and everything has been planned according to their circumstances. They feel they are living their purpose, and that everything that comes from it will be a great blessing. They intend to expand the team, in order to extend the project beyond Maputo and reach other areas of the country. They believe the future of the project will be promising.
