Category: Gender Equity

Root Capital’s Head of Advisory in Africa, Rose Ochieng (left) and Chief External Affairs Officer, Scott

Root Capital’s Director of Women in Agriculture Initiative, Leonor Gutiérrez, delivers a systems change talk to

Portia Gban founded SWEO in 2018 to empower women in northern Ghana through farming and processing soybeans, maize, and shea butter. With Root Capital's support, SWEO now helps 1,200 farmers. Despite cultural resistance, SWEO improves livelihoods, promotes women's empowerment, and trains youth in income-generating activities.

Kokowagayo, Aceh's first women-led cooperative, founded by Ibu Rizkani, supports women in agriculture with training, fair trade, and leadership opportunities. Supported by Root Capital and USAID, it fosters gender equality and economic independence despite cultural barriers.

2023 was a year of sustained progress for Root Capital, thanks to our dedicated community of

Root Capital’s Junior Loan Officer Brayam Quilca Román with cooperative members at the COAS cacao cooperative

Root Capital staff are joined by the founding members of the Women’s Council at the Nairobi,

Women members of Koperative Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa (Maraba), a coffee cooperative in Huye District, Rwanda. Photo

Marcelline Budza at Root Capital’s Women’s Council gathering in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Root Capital In the

Thirty-six percent of women globally and more than sixty-five percent of women in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia earn their living from the agriculture sector. Yet, women receive only seven percent of total agricultural investment…