Focal area: Womens economic empowerment
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Access to affordable business capital
Activities to strengthen Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) carried out through Practical Action’s Women’s Economic Empowerment project have enabled Millicent Akinyi Dula to sharpen her leadership skills for the VSLA Rarieda Technology Advisors Women Group (RATAD), of which she is the chairperson. “Ever since I was appointed as the chairperson, I’ve gained skills and…
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Keeping alive the dream of opening a briquette production center
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya affected many small scale businesses and Millicent Akinyi Dula’s clean cooking equipment venture was not spared. Sales from her company that sells and installs improved stoves reduced from the previous average of 20 pieces per month to 8 pieces, as most of her customers postponed buying due…
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Getting back to business: new emergency fund brings Covid-19 lockdown relief to struggling women entrepreneurs in Senegal
Hundreds of women entrepreneurs in Senegal who have suffered devastating loss in business as a result of the pandemic are beginning to regain their livelihoods thanks to a new emergency fund set up by ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy. The fund will provide 69 companies (comprising 594 women entrepreneurs) much needed…
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A recovery plan for Aïssata Ba amid fears of a second wave
The last six months have often seemed like a rollercoaster for Aïssata Ba as she tries to keep her market garden business afloat. As soon as the Senegalese COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in June 2020, Aïssata rolled up her sleeves and brought her land back to life by using a new blend of poultry dung,…
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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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I am just a step away from my dream!
When Covid-19 hit the country back in March and the government of Kenya in coordination with the Ministry of Health ordered the closure of borders and introduced curfew hours, Rebecca Aseyo thought her dreams would come to end. Two months before the pandemic outbreak, she had been employed as regional sales representative by Star Times,…
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Living in ‘survival mode’ during the lockdown
Since the lockdown was imposed at the onset of the pandemic in Senegal, Awa has seen her turnover fall from an average of USD 340 per month to between USD 70 and 110 per month. As schools closed down, market activities got suspended and travel restrictions were imposed, Awa’s customers faded away. Her mentor advised…
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A growth path model: An entrepreneurship growth pathway for women in last-mile communities
This report aims to create a theoretical framework to identify key stages in last-mile women entrepreneurs to formulate a growth path to develop latent subsistence entrepreneurs into transformative ones. It is organized into 7 sections. Section 1 contains an introduction into the project, the rationale, and the scope and limitations of the project. Section 2 describes…
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A woman’s determination to excel!
Rose Onyango is an energy entrepreneur engaged in the production of Improved Cookstoves (ICS) liners in Nyahera village, Kisumu County, Kenya. She is a married mother of four children: two in Primary school level, one in Secondary level and one at Tertiary education level. Before joining the energy business, Rose was engaged in farming activities.…
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Harnessing the power of digital marketing in empowering energy entrepreneurs
Clay Works Innovation Center, an improved cookstoves liner production center in Kakamega County’s Ichingo village (Kenya), was launched in January 2020. The group started off as a pottery production center back in November 2019, with a membership of six individuals; two men and four women on a full time pottery production job and part time…
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COVID-19 and Women’s Energy Entrepreneurship: A conversation with five women entrepreneurs about adapting to a crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has created new and unusual obstacles for industries around the world. The clean cooking and sustainable energy sectors are no exceptions. Women entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge, even as many are bearing additional responsibilities. To better understand these challenges, Sustainable Energy for All, the Clean Cooking Alliance, ENERGIA, and members of…
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How the pandemic has changed Onyinye Onye Ndimele’s daily business
The corona virus is really affecting my business, because for weeks now, I have been indoor with my family. I cannot follow-up in the places I had gone before the lock-down to advertise my business and various appointments I made have been suspended because of the pandemic. Onyinye Onye Ndimele, a Solar Sister Entrepreneur…