Increased climatic and economic resilience for women-lead small agri-businesses

The project aims to increase the climate and economic resilience of women entrepreneurs. It does so using an integrated and innovative approach to support small-scale entrepreneurs. The project seeks to improve the enabling environment for women-led businesses in the agri-food sector. The implementation strategy will induce a culture change oriented towards a customer-based approach. Project activities include: (1) providing management and technical capacity building of women entrepreneurs and service providers supporting women entrepreneurs; (2) developing and improving financial non-financial products and services for women entrepreneurs; (3) adopting practices to enable these women-led businesses to minimize their risks and adapt to climate change; and (4) supporting practices that reduce the negative impact of economic activities on the environment. The project benefits at least 15 000 women-led businesses mainly in the agri-food sector two microfinance networks in Benin and various entrepreneurial support service providers.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved climate change adaptation and performance of agribusinesses led by women; and (2) improve the performance of microfinance institutions and non-financial service providers in supporting greater adoption of climate-smart agriculture solutions by women entrepreneurs in managing their businesses.