Gender Equality
Promoting Gender Equality Through Women Economic Empowerment
Our integrated market based approach looks to promote gender equality through the economic empowerment of women in savings groups in an environmentally responsive way. Our work involves modifying existing savings groups in order to increase their impact on poverty reduction. By making markets more accessible to women running micro enterprises, we hope to improve their livelihood and increase their ownership of productive assets. Lack of access to financial capital, markets linkages and lower education levels reduces women’s economic empowerment and ability to assert their human rights. The UN Human Development report of 2019categorizes Zambia as one of the most gender unequal countries with a Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 0.539. High poverty levels often leads to early marriages and higher risk exposure to gender based violence. According to UN data, almost a third of women aged 20 to 24 were married or in union before the age of 18.
Zambia is one of the most gender unequal countries with a Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 0.539.
ADDRESSING GENDER INEQUALITY THROUGH WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Our integrated market based approach looks to address gender equality in an environmentally responsive way in women’s savings groups. The program looks to make modifications to savings groups in order to increase their impact on poverty reduction. By making markets more accessible to women in village loan and savings groups who are involved in income generating activities or running micro-enterprises, we hope to improve their livelihood. Our integrated approach
Approximately
70%
of the world’s poor
are women
Zambia’s gender inequality index is
0.539b ranked at 146 on the global
ranking.
58%
of the Zambia’s population
lives below the poverty
line of $1.97 per day
compared to an average
of 41% across
Sub-Saharan Africa.
31.4%
Zambia’s women between
20 and 24 years were
married by age 18.
Approximately
70%
of the world’s poor
are women
Zambia’s gender inequality index is
0.539b ranked at 146 on the global
ranking.
58%
of the Zambia’s population
lives below the poverty
line of $1.97 per day
compared to an average
of 41% across
Sub-Saharan Africa.
31.4%
Zambia’s women between
20 and 24 years were
married by age 18.
Research Indicates That Women Economic Empowerment Results In Benefits For The Wider Family Including Better Nutrition, Healthcare And Education For Their Children Among Other Things
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Research data indicates that increasing financial inclusion and literacy is associated with a decline in a household’s likelihood of being poor by 27% and it prevents household’s exposure to future poverty by 28%. Financial literacy represents the ability to understand personal finance. It refers to awareness and knowledge of key financial concepts required for managing personal finances. According to the FINSCOPE Survey 2020, while financial inclusion was 69.4%, overall financial literacy remains relatively low at 23.6%. Subsequently, only 13.6% of adults in Zambia are financially healthy.
According to UN data, Zambia’s Gender inequality index of 0.539 ranks no 146 on the global ranking. Through our interventions in collaboration with our partners we believe we can contribute towards reducing gender inequality and provide lasting solutions in a sustainable approach. An economically empowered woman is able to meet her family’s needs more effectively and less likely to be a victim of gender-based violence
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Research data indicates that increasing financial inclusion and literacy is associated with a decline in a household’s likelihood of being poor by 27% and it prevents household’s exposure to future poverty by 28%. Financial literacy represents the ability to understand personal finance. It refers to awareness and knowledge of key financial concepts required for managing personal finances. According to the FINSCOPE Survey 2020, while financial inclusion was 69.4%, overall financial literacy remains relatively low at 23.6%. Subsequently, only 13.6% of adults in Zambia are financially healthy.
According to UN data, Zambia’s Gender inequality index of 0.539 ranks no 146 on the global ranking. Through our interventions in collaboration with our partners we believe we can contribute towards reducing gender inequality and provide lasting solutions in a sustainable approach. An economically empowered woman is able to meet her family’s needs more effectively and less likely to be a victim of gender-based violence
Women’s Lack Of Access To Financial And Property Assets Constrains Their Economic Empowerment
At Simpact Foundation we are focused on ensuring that our investments deliver returns that are aimed at delivering visible and sustainable social impact in terms of alleviating poverty and narrowing the economic gender gap. Our unique approach focusses on addressing FOUR key capital requirements because we believe that for women to succeed and advance economically, women need resources which are not restricted to financial and monetary terms but also include;
Our Corporate Partnership Model
Low financial literacy and health do not just affect the poor, according to available data, different categories of adults including salaried employees struggle with personal financial management and lack the necessary knowledge and skills to meet their goals. Based on the 2020 FinScope Survey data, the proportion of salaried adults in Zambia who had fallen behind or were struggling to manage regular expenses increased to 24.8 percent from 19.9 percent in 2015 and less than 40 percent were able to make provision for unexpected expenses or had an emergency fund. Data clearly shows that financial literacy capacity does not just affect the poor but cuts across different income brackets.
Our market based approach aims to create a mutually beneficial partnership that supports our program work and achieves financial sustainability. By leveraging our vast financial and investment management experience we offer our corporate partners personal financial management training for their staff in exchange for donations which goes towards funding the empowerment of women. Research shows that staff that are less financially stressed are likely to be more productive. Therefore, providing personal financial management skills training for their staff in exchange for a donation helps corporate employers keep their staff engaged and positively contribute towards helping address social and environmental issues.
GREEN FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Financial services can not only help improve the livelihood of people living in poverty, it can also help them weather the impact of climate change. Our green inclusive finance helps reduce vulnerabilities of women in savings groups and their communities to climate change while empowering them with financial capital to successfully run their micro enterprises. By increasing the size of loans that women can get through their savings groups, they are able to make meaningful capital investments in their micro enterprises to support income growth in an environmentally sustainable way.
ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS CAPACITY BUILDING
By integrating entrepreneurial skills training and coaching we help increase the ability of women in savings groups to grow income in micro enterprises in a sustainable way. Members receive coaching during the funding cycles to help them through the process of achieving their personal and financial goals.
MARKET ACCESS
Part of our development intervention includes facilitating Market access for savings groups members that are involved in agricultural production in order to improve income by providing better pricing derived from economies of scale and product aggregation. Most of the members in the rural parts of the country rely on agriculture as a livelihood but unfortunately they are taken advantage of by briefcase buyers who buy the product from them at lower than market prices. Because they have no means to transport their grain or lack information around grain buyers, the briefcase buyers are able to arbitrage grain prices by offering prices which leave most farmers impoverished from one harvest to the next.
Our Impact
Our women empowerment approach is predominantly aimed at providing access to financial, social, and physical capital and to a lesser extent human capital through our financial and business skills training. Our financial capital access models include structured trade-based funding for input supplies for vulnerable but viable small-scale women farmers through farmer groups such as cooperatives. As part of the value chain-based approach, we also leverage the economies of scale for the various women farmer groups and structure off take agreements with our Corporate partners. Our unique approach leverages commercial and social investments to deliver sustainable impact aimed at uplifting the lives of many vulnerable women and their families.
Our Impact
Our women empowerment approach is predominantly aimed at providing access to financial, social, and physical capital and to a lesser extent human capital through our financial and business skills training. Our financial capital access models include structured trade-based funding for input supplies for vulnerable but viable small-scale women farmers through farmer groups such as cooperatives. As part of the value chain-based approach, we also leverage the economies of scale for the various women farmer groups and structure off take agreements with our Corporate partners. Our unique approach leverages commercial and social investments to deliver sustainable impact aimed at uplifting the lives of many vulnerable women and their families.
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