USOFORAL and CIH Launch Strategic Partnership to Promote Peace, Leadership, and Community Innovation in Senegal

Dakar, Senegal — The Regional Women’s Solidarity Committee for Peace in Casamance – (USOFORAL) and the Community Innovation Hub (CIH) have officially entered a strategic partnership. Their goal is clear: strengthen peacebuilding, community cohesion, and socio-economic innovation across Senegal. This collaboration prioritizes women empowerment, and youth, and local communities’ engagement through leadership development, social entrepreneurship, and technology-enabled solutions.

A Strategic Partnership for Community Resilience

Under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), USOFORAL and CIH will jointly design, implement, and scale initiatives that enhance community participation and prevent conflict. USOFORAL brings decades of experience in peacebuilding, civic education, and women’s empowerment. CIH contributes its expertise in community-led innovation and digital solutions.

“This partnership is about transforming community needs into practical solutions while fostering leadership and resilience,” said Assiatou Kama-Niang, Co-founder and Executive Director of CIH. “By working hand in hand with local women and youth, we can co-create programs that are inclusive, impactful, and sustainable.”

Driving Leadership, Peace, and Innovation

The USOFORAL × CIH collaboration centers on three main pillars:

  • Leadership and Peacebuilding: Programs will strengthen the role of women and youth in conflict prevention, civic engagement, and community cohesion.
  • Community Innovation and Socio-Economic Empowerment: Initiatives will combine social innovation, technological solutions, and entrepreneurship to support economic resilience and stability.
  • Resource Mobilization and Advocacy: Both organizations will identify funding opportunities, promote innovative approaches to peace and leadership, and raise visibility through panels, workshops, and strategic communications.

 

“Our aim is to create spaces where communities can voice their needs, experiment with innovative solutions, and see tangible benefits from collaboration,” noted Sylvia Dooper, Development & Partnerships Officer at CIH.

Echoing this, Rokhaya Anna Sané, Executive Director of USOFORAL, said, “By combining our deep local knowledge with CIH’s innovative approaches, we can empower women and youth to lead change, strengthen social cohesion, and build resilient communities across Senegal.”

Engaging Communities and Amplifying Impact

Communities are at the heart of this partnership. Women and youth will actively co-design programs, take part in innovation workshops, and lead initiatives addressing local challenges. Projects will focus on economic empowerment, social cohesion, and leadership development. The aim is clear: ensure that innovation delivers real, lasting impact on the ground.

USOFORAL brings strong local networks and legitimacy in priority regions. CIH contributes technical know-how, digital tools, and methodological expertise. Together, they will co-create initiatives that reinforce resilience in fragile communities, particularly in Casamance and other sensitive zones.  

Laying the Foundation for Sustainable Collaboration

The partnership establishes a framework for long-term cooperation. Each project will have clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.

“This is more than a collaboration. It is a model for integrating community-led innovation with social impact,” emphasized Assiatou Kama-Niang. “By leveraging our complementary strengths, we are amplifying the voices of those who drive change at the grassroots level.”

Looking Ahead

USOFORAL and CIH plan to expand their collaboration. Future initiatives will include additional funding mobilization, technology-enabled solutions, and programs promoting economic empowerment, peacebuilding, and leadership development.

Together, USOFORAL and CIH are creating a new model for collaborative, impact-driven partnerships, where peace, innovation, and leadership come together to create lasting change.

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Nancy Akpo

Nancy Akpo

Communication Intern

Nancy AKPO is a Communication & Development Intern at the Community Innovation Hub, where she supports content creation, digital presence, and funding opportunity research across the organization's programs.

Her work combines digital communication and development strategy. She contributes to building CIH's editorial presence across platforms, producing content that makes the organization's impact visible and accessible, while also supporting the identification of funding opportunities aligned with CIH's mission.

El Hadji Malick Niang

El Hadji Malick Niang

Technology & Innovation Intern

El Hadji Malick NIANG is a Developer Intern in Technology and Innovation at the Community Innovation Hub, where he supports the design, prototyping, and technical exploration of digital tools for community-focused programs.

His internship work combines software development, automation, data structuring, and applied research. He contributes to building and testing practical solutions such as dashboards, scripts, technical prototypes, and analytical models, while also helping assess how digital tools can support areas like community health, agriculture, inclusion, and local development.

Fatoumata Bakhoum Samb

Fatoumata Bakhoum Samb

Administrative and Financial Manager

Fatoumata BAKHOUM SAMB is a Senegalese professional specialized in administrative, accounting, and financial management, holding a degree in Accounting and Finance from ESUP Dakar. She has over ten years of experience in accounting supervision, budget management, and treasury management, gained within consulting firms and private companies.

After beginning her career at Sigma – Cabinet de Conseils Comptables et Fiscaux, where she progressed from Accounting Assistant to Administrative and Tax Manager, she joined Fideo Holding in 2019. There she successively held the positions of Accountant and then Administrative, Accounting and Financial Manager, overseeing teams, managing client and supplier portfolios, handling tax and social compliance, and implementing financial procedures and internal audits.

Her expertise expanded into the renewable energy sector when she joined Coseer Energy as Administrative and Financial Manager (RAF). There she contributed to the financial and administrative structuring of projects linked to the energy transition, strengthening her profile in a sector that is strategic for sustainable development.

She serves as Administrative and Financial Manager (RAF), actively contributing to the implementation of transparent management systems and to the support of community projects focused on inclusion, education, and innovation.

Versatile and rigorous, she is proficient with tools such as Sage Saari 100, Odoo, QuickBooks, and the Office Suite, as well as modern methods of document management and budget tracking. Her career reflects an ability to move between the private sector, renewable energy, and social innovation, while keeping one constant: the pursuit of efficiency and transparency in financial and administrative management.

Outside of work, she enjoys family outings and shopping in her free time.

Steve Charvet

Steve Charvet

Technology and Innovation Manager

Steve CHARVET is Technology and Innovation Manager at the Community Innovation Hub, where he oversees the development of technological tools, serves as the interface between external technical teams and CIH across all ongoing projects, and contributes to the organization's digital strategy.

With a background at the crossroads of technology and development, he brings expertise in geographic information systems, applied artificial intelligence, and the design of digital tools built for resource-limited contexts. His approach is straightforward: put technology at the service of people, not the other way around.

At CIH, Steve coordinates the deployment of technology platforms across a wide range of areas, including community health, agriculture,and projects that supports gender equity. He also manages the organization's internal monitoring and funding tracking systems, and contributes to identifying partnership opportunities to grow the program portfolio.

Before entering the development sector, Steve worked as a composer in France in the late 1990s, at a time when the music industry was undergoing a profound transformation, just as digital technology was beginning to reshape the way sound was created and shared. That chapter left him with a conviction he still carries today: the most powerful technologies are those that amplify what people have to express at their best.

Sylvia Dooper

Sylvia Dooper

Partnerships and Development Officer

Sylvia DOOPER is the Strategic Partnerships and Development Officer at Community Innovation Hub, where she works alongside the Executive Director to drive the organization's resource mobilization, project design, and strategic alliance building.

With a solid background in international development, diplomacy, governance, and partnership building, she has worked across issues ranging from local governance and higher education to global health, advocacy, and regional development. Her work is rooted in connecting people, ideas, and resources to champion locally led solutions and create sustainable, long-term impact through meaningful collaboration.

At CIH, Sylvia focuses on identifying and cultivating strategic partnerships, developing high-impact concept notes, and designing funding proposals across health, climate resilience, agriculture, education and inclusive governance.

Sylvia holds a Bachelor's degree in International Development Studies from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, a Master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Lund University in Sweden, and a Master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Antwerp University in Belgium. She has gained experience at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission, VNG International, The ONE Campaign, and GDI Advisors.

Outside of work, Sylvia is passionate about sports. She thrives on challenges that require discipline, resilience, and continuous improvement, qualities she seamlessly brings into her professional life.

Assiatou Kama Niang

Assiatou Kama Niang

Executive Director

Assiatou KAMA NIANG is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Community Innovation Hub, where she leads the organization's strategic direction, partnerships, resource mobilization and program development across Africa.

With more than a decade of experience in public health, public policy, gender equity and community engagement, she has worked across research, policy analysis, partnership development and multi-country program management. Her work is rooted in translating evidence, technology and local knowledge into practical solutions that respond to community priorities.

At CIH, Assiatou provides strategic leadership for the organization's growth across health, climate resilience, agriculture, education and inclusive governance. She guides the development of CIH's program portfolio, cultivates institutional and technical partnerships, leads resource mobilization efforts and ensures that the organization's work remains grounded in locally led, evidence-informed innovation.

Assiatou holds a Bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science from Oregon State University, a Master's degree in Health Promotion Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Analysis from American University in Washington, D.C.

Outside of work, she enjoys family time, good food and making space for rest and relaxation, especially well-deserved spa days.