The United States government, through Grameen Foundation USA, and the Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund, jointly funded the Building Economic Inclusion via the Blue Economy Innovation Fund and a Gender and Power Dynamics workshop.
The event focused on the power of the blue and green economies to deepen the market participation of women entrepreneurs in the Marshall Islands and neighboring countries.
The Building Economic Inclusion via the Blue Economy Innovation Fund program promotes an environment for women’s economic empowerment. It supports women’s success in their local economy by facilitating access to training, finance, mentorship, resilience, and business skills. The blue and green economics sectors focus on fisheries, climate-smart agriculture, green businesses and the circular economy, and ecotourism.
During the workshop, it was announced that the 2023 Innovation Awardees are:
- ELEFA Handicraft — Handicraft Workshop for Outer Islands, $15,000.
- Miss Likiep, Carnie Reimers — Financial Literacy Workshop for Likiep Women, $15,000.
“I wish to begin by acknowledging the generous contribution to (the) Innovation Fund by Taiwan through its International Cooperation and Development Fund, or ICDF,” said US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Henry Hand. “This program lifts the barriers that prevent women’s full participation in the nation’s economic life, including women’s more limited access to technology, as well as to finance and legal protections, and the prevalence of Gender-Based Violence resulting from women’s economic insecurity. We come together today as Innovation Fund Awardees are announced. I congratulate the successful awardees and look forward to learning more about your ideas and plans.”
Grameen Foundation’s Lead for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, Beverly Brul, added, “The program is designed to harness the principles and practices of blue and green economies to deepen the market participation of women entrepreneurs in the Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, and Tuvalu. We aim to channel financial assistance to civil society and private sector organizations offering women’s economic empowerment programs, products, and services in the four countries.”
For more information about the Grameen Foundation: GrameenFoundation.org.