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Women globally are 17% less likely to own a smartphone than men and even with mobile technology in a household, women are less likely to have the skills or confidence to use a mobile device and are less likely to have control over when and how they use it. These barriers are particularly acute for members of Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs) who tend to be from the lowest income communities. For VSLA members, access to and usage of digital technology is limited due to cost, but also discriminatory gender norms that limit women’s ability to acquire basic digital skills and access to and use of technology. To address women’s digital exclusion, CARE developed a multi-pronged approach to delivering digital tools and skills to VSLA members, including enabling access to devices and addressing discriminatory norms. Two pilots commenced in September 2022, with 50 groups in Uganda and 50 groups in Rwanda. Through these pilots, CARE has conducted extensive research and is addressing social norms; facilitating access to devices; and delivering digital training.

USAID press release: Entrepreneurship plays a significant role in driving economic growth and job creation.

The USAID Kenya Dairy Sector Competitiveness Program (KDSCP).

WEAmericas connects women to economic growth and business opportunities and brings together the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to achieve mutually beneficial goals.

Citizen Journalism is changing the world by empowering local communities to tell their stories from their own perspectives. WLSME Kyrgyzstan staff members are keeping up with the latest trends in development by holding a multimedia training on 26-29 June 2013 on state-of-the-art mobile journalism or “MoJo” kits to develop skills that will ultimately contribute to the WLSME program’s success.

Mentoring brings experienced women business owners together with new entrepreneurs to provide a deeper understanding of the business world.

Relative to men, women are pursuing lower opportunity activities, with their enterprises more likely to be smaller, informal, and in low value-added lines of business.