In the mid-1980s, a group of development professionals launched a pioneer micro-finance project in the community of traditional Cairene garbage collectors, Zaballeen.  The project was the first of its kind in Egypt and was lauded for making credit accessible to a marginalized community that otherwise had no access to financial services.

During the course of the project, the project organizers recognized a unique opportunity to replicate the project’s success in additional low-income areas of Cairo. They networked with other development professionals and together identified a target group that was particularly vulnerable: low-income women of female-headed households.

In 1987, these twenty men and women officially created the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW). The Association registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs as a private, voluntary, non-governmental organization, and the first ADEW office opened in the low-income area of Manshiet Nasser.

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Since its beginning as a micro-credit organization, ADEW has extended both its field sites and its services as it has grown.  In addition to credit programs, ADEW now offers literacy programs, health services, and legal awareness seminars.  ADEW works in four districts of Cairo with a staff of forty members.

From the beginning, ADEW has recognized the importance of empowering female heads of households. When ADEW was founded in 1987, it was the first feminist NGO in Egypt to deal specifically with this issue. Over the past fifteen years, ADEW has emerged as both an influential grassroots organizer and a leading advocate for women’s rights. 

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ADEW is active in some of Cairo’s poorest areas, namely, Manshiet Nasser, Qayetbay, and Misr el-Qadima. Manshiet Nasser is a squatter community on the outskirts of the city that sprung up in the 1960s.  The population has grown to approximately 90,000 inhabitants. The neighboring Qayetbay has an estimated population of 35,000 inhabitants, and Misr el-Qadima’s population is approximately 240,000. 

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ADEW is directed by a seven-member Board of Directors, all of whom are volunteers elected by a General Assembly of 34 founding members. Board meetings are held on a monthly basis, and the approval of a majority of the Board is required for all major policy decisions. The Chairperson of ADEW is also elected by the Board. The General Assembly supervises the activities of the Board, and the Ministry of Social Affairs monitors the organization as a whole. The Ministry reviews ADEW’s accounts and conducts regular audits

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