country: Asia
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Build your self-confidence and improve your skills!
Sanumaya Shrestha is a strong and ambitious entrepreneur. She is engaged in agriculture and poultry, and she also has a store, a rice mill, and a milk collection center. “To succeed, you need self-confidence, support of the family & business skills” says Sanumaya “My husband and I were not aware of the profits and losses.…
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ENERGIA, the African Development Bank, and the Climate Investment Funds join efforts to strengthen gender in the energy sector in Africa
ENERGIA, together with the African Development Bank and the Climate Investment Funds have jointly launched four country briefs on November, 24 during the virtual event “Gender and Sustainable Energy Access in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda”. The briefs contribute to increasing data availability on gender and energy and provide insights for future gender sensitive…
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Kamala Bhattarai’s race against time
One morning, I went to my poultry farm to see the chickens and I was shocked seeing almost 700 chickens lying dead. I was speechless. I don’t know how I came back home. My daughter tried to talk to me but I was unconscious and could not respond to her. When I regained consciousness,…
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Jane Anyango Kola’s post-coronavirus hopes for her community
I believe that this crisis could be an opportunity to promote clean and modern energy services in rural areas. This would also help my business grow, while improving health and education in my community. Jane Anyango Kola lives in Homabay Town, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. She has been…
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Sanu Maya Shrestha’s journey towards self-independence
Sanu Maya Shrestha, age 33, residing in the rural municipality of Konjyosom, Nepal, is a successful entrepreneur engaged in multiple enterprises with the support of her husband Surya Narayan Shrestha. Prior to building their business, they were engaged in family agriculture and vegetable farming, which was not sufficient to meet the increasing expenses of the…
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Meena Basnet: “Supporting women entrepreneurs is what drives me”
By Gyanu Bist Meena Basnet has dedicated herself to supporting women entrepreneurs for 12 years. She has always been interested in social services. Encouraging startups and pushing existing entrepreneurs is her passion. “Mentoring helps women with decision-making, especially in rural areas. It reduces their feeling of isolation and improves their satisfaction. The handholding provided to…
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Integrating Women into Grameen Shakti’s Renewable Energy Value Chain in Bangladesh: A Study of the Project and Lessons Learned
This assessment report considers gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh, and covers a study focused on the USAID-funded Rural Empowerment through Renewable Energy project. This 15-day technological training for rural women in Bangladesh helped to integrate women into the Grameen Shakti (or GS, the leading renewable energy company in the country) renewable energy value…
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Sustainable Energy for All Status Report: Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific
This report reviews the early work of the AP-SE4All, and the conditions of the developing Asia and Pacific countries it is working with. It charts preliminary progress, and assesses the policy environment which the work to achieve the SE4All targets will operate within. Uniquely, this report highlights the nexus of issues involving women, children, and…
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“It takes time to become successful but if you try, you definitely will one day”
Chini Maya Negi from Manikhel, Mahankal Rural Municipality, Lalitpur District is 45 years old and used to be a dedicated housewife. She struggled through the worst economic state of her family, caring for a paralyzed brother in law and a husband doing nothing. The family was facing difficulty in running the day to day…
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Ramila Rai: A successful journey towards self-empowerment in the agriculture sector
The journey out of poverty and towards equality is a though one in Nepal. The patriarchal society hinders women in taking stand-alone decisions and in pursuing income-generating opportunities. Although many gender norms and relations still need to be broken, positive signals are coming up with regards to women’s economic empowerment. Compared to a few years…
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Purnima Ghalan: From a small shop to a hotel business in Nepal
Living in Dalchoki, in Nepal, is already a challenge, but the barriers an entrepreneur like Purnima Ghalan faces go beyond the inaccessibility of this small nepali village. Due to cultural norms and gender roles, women in Nepal are often left behind in launching and growing small-scale businesses. Purnima, 40, is now a hotel owner…
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Shanti Thokar: How her business has changed her role within the family and community
When she started her business, Shanti Thokar was not aware of the incredible goals she could have reached. As her peers, she married at 18 years and dropped out of school to devote her time to her family. Shanti was engaged in her husband’s grocery store and over the years she became familiar with…