Disrupting Domestic Work: Calinounou’s Journey to Formalise a Forgotten Sector
Calinounou, a household staffing company which was founded in Senegal in 2017 by Senegalese female entrepreneur Fatou Diop, was handpicked by WIC Capital as one of the fund’s investee firms in 2022. As a social enterprise with a deep commitment to women’s empowerment and sustainable impact through mindset and behavioural change, Calinounou bears the imprint of a WIC portfolio company. As the first investment fund dedicated to female-founded and managed companies operating across Francophone West Africa, WIC Capital finds alignment with companies which are mission-oriented with scalable impact, and Calinounou, which is dedicated to creating decent jobs for hundreds of informal female workers in Senegal, is clearly a strong fit.
When WIC Capital was launched in 2019 by a group of far-sighted female leaders, it was because they understood the investment climate realities for a plurality of female entrepreneurs in Senegal: very traditional and limited funding sources and inadequate business support services. Great ideas need catalytic capital: indeed, only 3.5% of female entrepreneurs in Senegal are able to access funding from financial institutions1.
Gender Lens Investing
Through a fusion of equity and quasi-equity investments, WIC Capital prioritises SMEs which are female-led and those which have a mainly female management team, in its bid to help create more equilibrium on the uneven funding playing field. Calinounou’s founder is adamant that a strong female team at all echelons of her company is non-negotiable. ‘’At one point I switched to recruit only female cooks’’ because of patriarchy. Contextually, gender roles are generally fixed in Senegal, where it is culturally acceptable for women to take up most of the unpaid domestic duties at home. Women’s movements are also restricted: the UN reports how ‘’40.6% of women aged 15 to 49 find it normal to be beaten by their husband if they leave the house without asking for permission2’’. Against this backdrop, Fatou found that as a company leader whose role it is to provide direction for her team, it was ‘’hard for [the male cooks] to understand that you’re not disrespecting [them]- you’re just trying to do the job’’, Fatou shares.
Actively fostering financial inclusion for women is one of the key aspects of WIC Capital’s investment thesis because in Senegal, 85% of women do not own land or property, making it particularly difficult to qualify for loans from banks3. As Fatou attests, by virtue of the fact that WIC Capital is composed of women, they understand the local context and the challenges very well. When Fatou received the USD200,000 investment from WIC, it was a lifeline for her business. ‘’ At the point I received it , I was going to quit’’, but the ‘’boost’’ it gave her and her business had a profound impact. “For the first time, I felt like our work was seen,” she says.
Enhanced Due Diligence
But the journey with WIC was not straightforward. The due diligence process was rigorous: “When I first met [WIC] at a networking event, I thought, ‘This is too complicated, we’ll never do this,’” Fatou recalls. It wasn’t until three years later that she engaged with WIC seriously. ‘’The investment process took another year and a half’’. The enhanced due diligence enquiry into Calinounou no doubt set the tone for the way in which the fund engages with its portfolio companies, by strengthening systems and capacity while cushioning company founders with the support and advice from the fund’s experienced team. ‘’Every week we have a strategic committee’’, she says, where she is open to share with the WIC team ‘’everything that is going on- good and bad. They’re here to support. Even outside of that, I’m totally free to speak to all of them. We have meetings; they help. I don’t see them as just investors- they follow up with your challenges, even personal [ones]’’. The support that WIC Capital has provided to Calinounou has been fundamental because they understand the financial and emotional pressures. “Sometimes I cry. I tell other entrepreneurs we need a support group. Nobody outside gets it—not even family. They just say, ‘Good job, but I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.’”
Indeed, the WIC investment marked a turning point. Managing operations, clients, staff, investor relationships, marketing, and finances has stretched Fatou to the point where it has been necessary to build a robust team. ‘’Before [WIC], there were 2 employees… but when it came [in], I was able to reorganise the administrative team’’, properly structure the cleaning service, procure material and engage a marketing team. “Sometimes, when you have no choice, that’s when you do great things,” she says. “Yes, we outsource accounting, but I follow up on everything. Now I have a board, I can’t afford to be sloppy.”
Domino Effect of Mindset Change
There is something of a domino effect at play in the way in which Calinounou is able to pass along certain principles and discipline that the company receives through its relationship with WIC. The company has been actively engaged in the training of over 2000 rural women since the company’s inception, in areas of financial literacy and the provision of career guidance, exemplifying the scalable impact that WIC Capital encourages its portfolio companies to have. ‘’Financial literacy is crucial not just for entrepreneurs, but also for our employees,’’ Fatou tells us. The company offers half-day financial literacy sessions for domestic workers, teaching them to save 20% of their income before spending. “It’s hard. Culturally, people don’t save. If you save, they call you stingy,” she says. “But we’re trying to change that.”
Mindset change, the gateway to transformative impact, is something that Calinounou is seeking to overcome through the professional training, which it currently offers to trainees for free. “We’re working with the government to get the diploma recognised. Once it is, they’ll cover 90% of the fees. That’ll be a new revenue stream for us.”
Until now, the company’s revenue comes mainly from clients who pay a global monthly fee that includes services, administrative follow-ups, insurance, and continuous training. “We train them once, but we do a lot of follow-ups,” she explains. With a general 30% margin per service—and higher for specific offerings like babysitting for hotels—her company sustains its operations while uplifting its workforce.
However, this transition from informal to formal hasn’t been easy. “The biggest barrier is the perception people have of domestic work,” Calinounou says. Clients accustomed to hiring informal workers for half the price often balk at paying fair wages. “We know they can afford it, but the mindset hasn’t changed.”
Looking Ahead
Fatou’s vision for Calinounou remains unwavering: formalising domestic work across West Africa. Senegal was just the start; Ivory Coast is next. “That market is readier,” she says, acknowledging she’ll need another investor or local partner to replicate the model. The relationship with WIC has already opened doors to other financiers so the likelihood of that happening again is high. Fatou acknowledges the fact that the association with WIC has given Calinounou visibility because ‘’you’re invited to a lot of events’’, which leads to new relationships, opening the way for further financial support. For instance, Calinounou has benefited from a Euros 15,000 grant from Agence Francais de Development as well as a similar amount from a government agency, which Fatou believes were a direct result of the relationship with WIC.
Fatou sees her work as a calling. “Even if I don’t see the money in my pocket, I see women putting their kids in school, saving money, planning futures. That’s the real success.”
For Calinounou, the secret to success lies in vision and faith. “My vision hasn’t changed since 2017. The path did, but not the destination. That’s the car that drives you.”