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Hello everyone.
I would like to respond to the first question posed.
Since 2014, ENERGIA has been implementing its Scaling up Energy Access through Women’s Economic Empowerment”(WE) programme. In Africa, the programme is active, through its partners in Kenya, Tanzania, NIgeria, Uganda and Senegal. The programme works with 2500 African women (and with 1000 in Asia) run small and micro enterprises selling energy services.
Agreeing with others who have highlighted a number of challenges, I would like to highlight two that are particularly pronounced for women, and elaborate on ENERGIA’s strategy to address them. The first relates to access to finance: for initial investment, as well as working capital. Commercial banks in developing countries do not know enough about the market opportunities at the last mile and perceive women’s businesses to be riskier, higher cost, and with lower returns. Microfinance, in most developing countries is too expensive (largely because if the high perceived risks and high transaction costs of operation). Further, the quantity of finance available from MFIs is mostly small, inadequate especially as the businesses grow and need medium sized investments. Some of the strategies we have worked with include equipment financing for entrepreneurs through loan guarantee funds and pay-as-you-go systems to offset the risks to suppliers and lenders, working with Village Savings and Loan Associations (VLSAs) that can provide loans to its members , and also aggregate financial resources to the purchase off-grid products in bulk and sell.
The other reality that we have to contend with is that most women tend to be more risk averse and vulnerable, and that their sense of agency and confidence needs to be built up, in order for them to be businesswomen. Laws including gender-biased inheritance and property and land tenure laws, assets and wealth (or lack thereof) influence women’s status and bargaining power in the household. Traditions and social norms often prevent women from gaining equitable access to and control of assets, and their positions in households and communities remains weak. Yet if they are to succeed in their businesses, they have to have the confidence to sell beyond their immediate neighbourhoods, extend their markets beyond their communities and deal with a variety of situations. ENERGIA has been working with Winrock, Global Alliance on Clean Cookstoves and John Hopkins University, to provide training that build women’s confidence and leadership in general, including building confidence and agency to travel further to find markets, negotiate with suppliers, approach local leaders and so on. At the same time, ENERGIA projects provide targeted, one to one ‘mentorship’ support to the women entrepreneurs that is sustained until the time that they are ready to work on their own. The women’s enterprise networks in each of the countries are also mobilized to provide ‘sisterhood support’ to each other.
Hello everyone. I would like
Soumis par Soma Dutta le jeu, 17/11/2016 - 11:50 Permalien
Hello everyone.
I would like to respond to the first question posed.
Since 2014, ENERGIA has been implementing its Scaling up Energy Access through Women’s Economic Empowerment”(WE) programme. In Africa, the programme is active, through its partners in Kenya, Tanzania, NIgeria, Uganda and Senegal. The programme works with 2500 African women (and with 1000 in Asia) run small and micro enterprises selling energy services.
Agreeing with others who have highlighted a number of challenges, I would like to highlight two that are particularly pronounced for women, and elaborate on ENERGIA’s strategy to address them. The first relates to access to finance: for initial investment, as well as working capital. Commercial banks in developing countries do not know enough about the market opportunities at the last mile and perceive women’s businesses to be riskier, higher cost, and with lower returns. Microfinance, in most developing countries is too expensive (largely because if the high perceived risks and high transaction costs of operation). Further, the quantity of finance available from MFIs is mostly small, inadequate especially as the businesses grow and need medium sized investments. Some of the strategies we have worked with include equipment financing for entrepreneurs through loan guarantee funds and pay-as-you-go systems to offset the risks to suppliers and lenders, working with Village Savings and Loan Associations (VLSAs) that can provide loans to its members , and also aggregate financial resources to the purchase off-grid products in bulk and sell.
The other reality that we have to contend with is that most women tend to be more risk averse and vulnerable, and that their sense of agency and confidence needs to be built up, in order for them to be businesswomen. Laws including gender-biased inheritance and property and land tenure laws, assets and wealth (or lack thereof) influence women’s status and bargaining power in the household. Traditions and social norms often prevent women from gaining equitable access to and control of assets, and their positions in households and communities remains weak. Yet if they are to succeed in their businesses, they have to have the confidence to sell beyond their immediate neighbourhoods, extend their markets beyond their communities and deal with a variety of situations. ENERGIA has been working with Winrock, Global Alliance on Clean Cookstoves and John Hopkins University, to provide training that build women’s confidence and leadership in general, including building confidence and agency to travel further to find markets, negotiate with suppliers, approach local leaders and so on. At the same time, ENERGIA projects provide targeted, one to one ‘mentorship’ support to the women entrepreneurs that is sustained until the time that they are ready to work on their own. The women’s enterprise networks in each of the countries are also mobilized to provide ‘sisterhood support’ to each other.