TechnoServe’s photo of the month for March 2024 pays homage to International Women’s Day’s theme of “Invest in women: accelerate progress.” We believe empowering women to achieve their full potential is one of the most powerful ways to fight poverty.
Photo of the Month: March 2024
Women are often overlooked and underserved as entrepreneurs, farmers, and employees.
We are working to change that. TechnoServe promotes greater access to resources, opportunities, skills, and technology for women. We also work to reduce gender discrimination in the market to achieve social and economic progress.
Each month, we share a few of our favorite photos from the everyday beauty of our clients’ journeys toward better incomes and better futures. We hope this selection will inspire you to celebrate and invest in women!
A Crowning Achievement
Judis Mkondga (center) participated in a farmer training as part of TechnoServe’s SAPPHIRE II maize project in Tanzania. The project reached nearly 30,000 smallholder maize farmers—50% of whom were women— in the Mbeya and Ruvuma regions with training on improved agronomic and post-harvest practices. TechnoServe also helped agricultural marketing cooperatives access credit applications and navigate the complex maize marketing environment.
Around the world, women farmers often have fewer rights to land and other resources compared to men. A report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that women own less than 15% of land used for farming, though this differs depending on the country. Closing the gap in farm productivity and the gender pay for agricultural jobs could increase global GDP by a stunning $1 trillion!
Related content: Read about another inspiring rural farmer, Lesbia Ludia Juárez, in Guatemala.
Growing Together
A group of Rajasthani women in India plant a kitchen garden together. More than 1,000 women participated in the Barmer Unnati project, supported by Cairn India Limited, to establish over 200 kitchen gardens. With technical training and support from TechnoServe, the women set up nurseries for eggplant and chili and 37 nurseries for growing cabbage and cauliflower over the winter season. Each household has not only saved nearly $60 a year on the purchase of vegetables, but the women have also formed informal groups to scale up their operations to grow more vegetables for local markets.
In rural communities across India, women provide tangible and intangible support to farm production while carrying the bulk of household responsibilities. TechnoServe works with women to improve household food security by developing kitchen gardens. These gardens use land available at the homestead, provide nutritious food for the family, and allow women to earn additional income.
Related content: Read more about how kitchen gardens are helping women in India.
Investing in Progress
Nicaraguan women entrepreneurs admire colorful tote bags. They were part of Impulsa Tu Empresa (“Boost Your Business”), a business accelerator program to help small and growing businesses fast-track their growth. The program was designed to promote gender equality, job quality, and environmental sustainability through training in best practices.
Since its launch in 2012, Impulsa Tu Empresa has increased the sales of over 1,500 businesses and helped create 1,600 new jobs in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Burkina Faso. Impulsa Tu Empresa is a collaboration between TechnoServe, the Argidius Foundation, the Citi Foundation, the Multilateral Investment Fund, the PIMCO Foundation, and the Walmart Foundation.
Read more about the program’s impact.
We hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the lives of women building better futures for the people and places they love! TechnoServe is proud to be part of their success stories.
With your support, we can offer our clients the skills, connections, and confidence they need to improve their incomes, create self-sustaining businesses, and build brighter futures for themselves and their communities.
Thank you for believing everyone deserves an opportunity to build a better life. Learn how you can continue to make a difference.
