Gender inequality is a major obstacle to the eradication of poverty and hunger in the rural context. 34.7% of Colombian rural women are in poverty, while only 12% of their peers in urban areas live in the same condition.

The enormous burden of unpaid work (agricultural activities and domestic tasks) that rural women carry out and the shortage of training for contextualized opportunities diminishes the ability of rural women to obtain paid employment or develop their own business initiatives.

Global Shapers Manizales Hub aims to enhance empowerment tools for rural women by joining the Project Agro+Mujeres+TIC, which is an active learning system to develop leadership, entrepreneurship and digital skills in rural women.

The pilot project trains 40 rural women and youth in the department of Caldas-Colombia and supports the development of 3 business ideas resulting from the project. 

The project uses communitarian telecentres (centres located in rural areas and provided with computers and access to internet for the use of the community), to access the computer equipment and the internet required for training. Likewise, the Agro+Mujeres+TIC has partnered with the Mayor's Office of Manizales, which has provided economic resources for the development of communication material and logistical resources, and a local University (Universidad Autónoma de Manizales) to facilitate the entrepreneurship training and the development of business initiatives based on the existing opportunities in the context of the women participating in the project. Manizales Hub supports the youth training component.

Goals

• Train 40 rural women and youth in leadership, entrepreneurship and digital skills


• Support the formulation and development of 3 rural enterprises resulting from the awareness and training processes carried out with the project beneficiaries

Current Results

• Diagnosis of the digital skills of the target population


• Development of training material

Impact Areas

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

Project Needs

Expertise

• Digital skills training in rural population


• Impact measurement, aimed to create evidence on the project´s results and impact, used to scale the project in the future

Stakeholders

• Mayors Office of Manizales


• Universidad Autónoma de Manizales

Contact

Alejandra Restrepo

Email: alejandrarestrepo931019@gmail.com