Economic Empowerment

Poverty has many expressions, the most obvious being a lack of access to financial services such as credit and savings facilities. Therefore one of the most effective means of combatting poverty is economic empowerment of individuals & communities through access to these services in ways and at rates they can afford, combined with skills development in managing money.  If we only provide food and consumables amongst the poor that creates a cycle of dependence and keeps people poor.

The creation of local micro-enterprise initiatives is a business tool that promotes fair trade, income provision & economic empowerment.  A lot of micro-enterprise occurs in the agricultural sector which makes a lot of sense when you consider the statistics.

One billion of the world’s poorest (living on less than US $1.25 a day) live in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.  Most are smallholder farmers, usually only managing to grow enough food for themselves.  80% of the food eaten in the developing world comes from smallerholder farms.  By improving their farming techniques, developing their business skills and providing them with access to the required finance, these farmers have a chance to grow and sell products surplus to their needs and from there start to improve their lives.

Our implementing partners are working across Africa and Asia in cutting edge projects to teach people basic business principles, mentor youth to learn new skills to gain meaningful employment, provide loans to start out small businesses, educate farmers in sustainable agricultural practices and improve the nutrition of families.

The work our partners do is sustainable, skilling up local communities so that they can take care of their own needs, and respecting them as people with resources and capacity to learn, survive and thrive.

All statistics from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) a UN agency.