Ibu Rizkani is a woman who is shattering gender expectations in Indonesian agriculture. She is the Founder and Position Chair of Kokowagayo, the first women-owned and led cooperative in Sumatra, Indonesia. Prior to running her own coffee business, she worked with another cooperative, which consisted of 95% male employees...
Read moreTopics: Southeast Asia | Women in Agriculture |
2023 was a year of sustained progress for Root Capital, thanks to our dedicated community of supporters. As we enter 2024-a milestone year as we celebrate our 25th anniversary!-we reflect on our top five highlights from the past year. Leonor Gutiérrez, Director of the Women in Agricultural Initiative (WAI), presents to the Women’s Council at a convening in Nairobi, Kenya,…
Read moreTopics: Environment | Our Community | Women in Agriculture | Youth |
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 |
