Back from the Ivory Coast

The GFM3 team with CPAWB volunteers

A Chartered Professional Accountants Without Borders volunteer team was in Ivory Coast from January 26 through February 13, 2026, to assist a local organisation called Generation Women for the Third Millennium (GFM3) as part of a three-way partnership with Crossroads International.

Founded in 2004 by a group of women intent on helping vulnerable people in the context of the socio-political crisis that the Ivory Coast was living through at the time, GFM3, has grown into a very effective Ivorian civil society organization. From its modest beginnings, GFM3 has broadened its focus to contribute to local development by improving women, boys and girls and young peoples’ living conditions in rural areas and in vulnerable neighbourhoods in the country’s larger centers. Its mission is to uphold sexual and reproductive health rights, to reduce gender-based violence, to strengthen women and girls’ leadership and political participation while simultaneously increasing women’s economic autonomy and building their resilience to climate change.

Highly participatory, this three-week professional development and capacity building mission began with week one updating the organization’s internal assessment, crafting a common understanding of the organization’s management and administrative issues, and identifying main areas of improvement. Week 2 was spent in honing the necessary administrative policies and procedures, developing methods and practical tools, and in particular in planning the transition from cash to accrual accounting. Week 3 was devoted to targeted training on the tools produced, addressing specific requests and issues, working with the human resource team and developing a series of mutually agreed recommendations for the continuation of the capacity building processes.

As reported on GFM3’s Facebook page, “the participants were hugely satisfied with the quality of the support provided, the clarity of the information shared and the practical approach adopted. The real-world exercises and exchanges helped solidify the understanding of the concepts involved and consolidate the team’s technical skills”.

For their part, CPASF’s volunteers were completely pleased with the work accomplished together, the professionalism of the exchanges involved, and the cordiality that characterized the exchanges with GFM3 members. Our volunteers’ dedication and competence had seen to the local organization’s growth, which translates into a better support to the countless women and men who benefit from its services, and—all in all—helps building a better world for all.