

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 Women in Agricultural Initiative (WAI), which provides access to finance for women in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and promotes gender inclusion in rural communities. Our WAI Director, Leonor Gutiérrez, and Rose Ochieng, our Gender Equity Advisory Service Coordinator, led the convening alongside Root Capital’s CEO and Founder, Willy Foote.
During the convening, we launched our first-ever Women’s Council—a space for women leaders to explore key issues, such as climate change, access to finance, and gender barriers that women working in agriculture face. The founding members include: Portia Gban from Ghana, Mary Muhara from Rwanda, Marcelline Budza from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Agnes Mukamushinja from Rwanda, and Josinta Kabugho from Uganda. The women had a dynamic discussion in which they vehemently rejected the idea that agriculture is ‘men’s work’ and recognized women as economic powerhouses in agriculture.
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