Hand in Hand International

22/04/2024

Why do we focus on women's economic empowerment?♀️📈
It's not just because it's the right thing to do - when women earn and control their own incomes, there's less poverty for everyone.
According to the World Bank, gender inequality in earnings alone costs the world more than twice the value of global GDP in terms of human capital wealth.
When women have the skills and the tools to run their own businesses and connect to larger markets, they invest in their families and their communities -- creating jobs and growth. Read more here

An explainer on why investing in women is a human rights issue that must be addressed. Investing in women enables women to thrive, which contributes to prosperity that can be measured in financial terms.

02/04/2024

Why does the 'credit gap' matter for women? 🏦💵
When business owners have access to credit they can expand their businesses, reaching new markets. But, in the places we work, most women don't even have bank accounts, let alone the collateral they need to get a loan.
Globally, it's estimated that micro, small, and medium-sized businesses owned by women globally are underfunded by USD 1.7 trillion😮
According to the IFC, closing the credit gap for women owned small and medium enterprises would result in a 12 per cent increase in annual incomes on average by 2030. ♀️
Find out how Hand in Hand supports women to access credit and reach new markets https://hubs.li/Q02mq3jh0

25/03/2024

Did you know that globally, women are less likely than men to have access to financial institutions or have a bank account? According to UN Women, while 65 per cent of men report having an account at a formal financial institution, only 58 per cent of women do.
Hand in Hand works with women in extremely deprived areas to help them to overcome the barriers to financial inclusion 💜

19/03/2024

Why does market access matter for women? ♀️🔗
Because when women have an equal chance to take produce to larger markets, often through producer groups and cooperatives, their incomes increase 💙

Women like Beatrice and her family. Before joining Hand in Hand the family's monthly income of just KES 19,000 (USD 117) was barely enough to put food on the table, let alone buy the shoes, clothes and books their daughter needed for school. Beatrice farmed their small plot of land but found it difficult to grow the food they needed.🌱

Things began to change in 2021 when Beatrice joined Hand in Hand. Here she learned how to run a small business but also how to improve the soil using regenerative farming techniques to create a thriving kitchen garden that would also be a small business.

Today, that small plot of land sustains a variety of crops including sunflowers, fruit trees, bee hives as well as chickens and goats. Beatrice is now part of her local producer group, and can command a higher price for her produce by selling directly to wholesalers. Her income has risen to KES 68,000 (USD 420) and their daughter Apple has the books, shoes and even the smart pink rucksack she needs for school.

08/03/2024

Across the world, women do three times more unpaid care work than men. 🌍
Care work remains undervalued and underpaid. The monetary value of women’s unpaid care work globally is at least USD 10.8 trillion annually, three times the size of the world’s tech industry.
In the areas we work women are expected to be solely responsible for domestic chores and childcare – leaving them with little time to spend running a business. ♀️
Find out how we work with men and communities to challenge deep-rooted ideas about what a ‘woman’s role’ should be – so men can take on more of the household chores and women can dedicate more time to their businesses https://hubs.li/Q02mwkqV0

05/02/2024

At Hand in Hand, we believe education should be lifelong 💙 We provide women in some of the world's most deprived places with training, up-skilling and re-skilling so they can:
✔️Overcome barriers to digital and financial inclusion
✔️Improve their opportunities for income generation
✔️And create real change in their communities.

Find out more ➡️https://hubs.li/Q02d-r_10
(Source: UN Women)

30/01/2024

Did you know that women in rural areas are more likely to live in poverty, with limited access to healthcare and social services? Yet rural women play a vital role in safeguarding food security and building climate resilience. ♀️🌱

When we work with women in deprived rural communities we enable them to:
✔️Launch and grow profitable agri-businesses
✔️Connect with larger markets
✔️Earn and control their own incomes and improve their standard of living
✔️Learn the skills and techniques to farm sustainably, so they can restore soils damaged by monoculture farming and pesticide use
✔️Overcome barriers to digital and financial inclusion.
Find out more about our work with rural agri-entrepreneurs here ➡️https://hubs.li/Q02d-7_40

25/01/2024

👀We're looking for a Partnerships and Philanthropy Officer to join our award-winning fundraising team. Find out more about the role and apply here https://hubs.li/Q02hHJl50

23/01/2024

What is regenerative agriculture and why is it so important? 🌱
Low yields, caused by soil degraded by monoculture farming have trapped the world's poorest farmers in a cycle of poverty.
Regenerative agriculture is a series of practices and techniques that restore, rather than harm soils - cutting farmers' costs by reducing reliance on expensive commercial feeds, fertilisers and pesticides, as well as boosting biodiversity. 🐝
Find out more about our work with farmers here ➡️https://hubs.li/Q02dt5ZD0