Empowering women through sustainable entrepreneurship in Morocco

This project aims to economically empower rural women in Morocco’s Marrakesh-Safi region. It seeks to increase women’s decision-making power over their businesses to improve business development support services’ responsiveness to gender equality issues. The project also seeks to engage communities in supporting women’s rights and breaking down gender stereotypes (in public and private spheres) related to women’s entrepreneurship. It aims to ensure that women have genuine full control over the assets technologies finances and benefits of their economic activities and to significantly reduce or even eliminate gender stereotypes in rural communities in the Marrakech-Safi region. The project has been extended to ensure the restart and full implementation of activities and the achievement of planned results in communities affected by the earthquake of September 8 2023 (magnitude 6.8) as well as to increase the economic resilience of affected women and communities in the post-earthquake context. Project activities include the following: (1) implementing perennial and inclusive groups of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) for marginalized women and providing these women with training to foster their personal development and promote more efficient management of their finances; (2) guiding women-led cooperatives in developing ties with financial institutions and credit sources so they can implement their business plans; (3) training business support institutions and civil society organizations in order to support women-led businesses and use dialogue instruments to reduce the gender-related barriers facing women’s entrepreneurship; and (4) training targeted households so that tasks are divided fairly and there is greater acceptance of women’s involvement in economic matters.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased women’s decision-making power over their businesses; (2) increased the responsiveness of business development support services to gender equality issues; and (3) engaged communities in supporting women’s rights and breaking down gender stereotypes (in public and private spheres) related to women’s entrepreneurship.