Root Capital’s Junior Loan Officer Brayam Quilca Román with cooperative members at the COAS cacao cooperative in Pangoa, Peru. Credit: Root Capital In recognition of National Chocolate Day, celebrated in the U.S. on October 28, we are sharing the story of Cooperativa Agraria Sonomoro Del Vraem Ltda (COAS), a Peruvian cacao cooperative that produces and exports a wide variety of…
Read moreTopics: Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |
Root Capital staff are joined by the founding members of the Women’s Council at the Nairobi, Kenya Root Capital office in September 2023. Credit for all photos used in this blog: Root Capital. In September, Root Capital held a two-day convening in our Nairobi, Kenya office to hear firsthand from five women leaders in agriculture. These invaluable perspectives inform our …
Read moreTopics: Women in Agriculture |
Women members of Koperative Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa (Maraba), a coffee cooperative in Huye District, Rwanda. Photo credit: Adam Finch Women and girls bear the brunt of several critical challenges of our time, from climate change to access to finance to an inequitable share of domestic responsibilities. The hurdles faced by rural women in emerging markets where Root Capital operates are…
Read moreTopics: Women in Agriculture |
Marcelline Budza at Root Capital’s Women’s Council gathering in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Root Capital In the lead up to International Coffee Day on October 1, we are sharing Rebuild Women’s Hope’s (RWH) story. Keep reading to learn more about this unique coffee cooperative that is on a mission to empower women in the Democratic Republic of the…
Read moreTopics: Africa | Women in Agriculture |
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...
Read moreTopics: Women in Agriculture |
Most people in Western Uganda are farmers, dependent on the land and predictable weather patterns for their livelihoods. But climate change has led to unpredictable weather and increased natural disasters. Intense floods have caused mudslides that devastate farmland, while extreme droughts have dried out coffee berries, affecting crop yields, coffee quality, and, ultimately, the income of farming families. “At…
Read moreTopics: East Africa | Environment | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |
Approximately, 2.5 billion people worldwide rely on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. Most of them live below the poverty line. Especially women. In 2012, Root Capital launched our Women in Agriculture (WAI) Initiative to expand access to finance and technical assistance to more women-led and gender-inclusive businesses. 10 years later, our Director of Women in Agriculture Initiative, Leonor Gutiérrez,…
Read moreTopics: Uncategorized | Women in Agriculture |
Take a look around any farming community and you’ll see countless hardworking women producing the food and other commodities that nourish our world. Women plant and tend crops, collect the harvest when it’s ready, work in sorting and processing facilities, oversee finances, manage business operations, train farmers and employees, and own rural enterprises. They constitute 43% of the agricultural workforce…
Read moreTopics: News and Announcements | Partnerships | Women in Agriculture |
Gender lens investing is an increasingly popular approach for impact-focused investors. In just the last few years, the number of firms investing with a gender lens has exploded, and these firms have gone from raising $1.1 billion in capital in 2017 to $4.8 billion in 2019. On top of that, the global 2X Challenge…
Read moreTopics: Women in Agriculture |
Women are the backbone of the agricultural sector, composing 43% of the labor force globally and up to 80% in certain countries. But, despite their vital role, most women don’t benefit from their labor at an equal level to men. Numerous barriers-educational, economic, and social-prevent them from accessing vital resources and opportunities. But this inequity doesn’t just impact women. Gender…
Read moreTopics: Women in Agriculture |
