By staff writer
Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund today launches Investing in Women in South Sudan, Window II Funding Competition for Women Associations and Groups, in Juba.
Investing in Women in South Sudan (IIW-SS) program is a pioneering initiative led by Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund with funding support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
According to statement from the Embassy of Canada, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund is a leading non-profit development organisation.
It supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting resilient communities, and creating jobs.
“This strategic move underscores the program’s commitment to advancing gender equality, economic inclusion, and sustainable development in South Sudan,” the statement reads in part.
The IIW-SS initiative aims to enhance gender equality and economic empowerment by addressing key objectives.
“Reduction of gender-specific barriers in agricultural value chains, the promotion of gender-sensitive climate-smart agricultural practices, and the enhancement of employment opportunities, livelihoods for women in the agricultural and food systems,” it stressed.
Through an inclusive approach, the program will directly impact 6,000 smallholder farmer households, equivalent to 36,000 individuals, marking a substantial step forward in advancing gender equality and economic empowerment at the grassroots level.
The Window II WAG Funding Competition marks the launch of the program’s second funding window, which is tailored exclusively for Women Associations and Groups.
This funding initiative aims to attract, invest in, and empower women-led, women-owned, and women-empowering cooperatives and farmers groups within the agricultural sector.
“The IIW-SS program, a collaborative effort between AECF and GAC, is poised to make a transformative impact by economically empowering women in the agricultural sector in South Sudan through targeted value chains which include sorghum, sesame, groundnuts, honey, and Shea nut,” CEO of AECF, Victoria Sabula said.
Sabula said that IIW-SS aspires to create sustainable employment opportunities, drive positive livelihood changes, and elevate socio-economic conditions in South Sudan.
“We are affirming Canada’s shared commitment to gender equality and economic inclusion for women and young women in South Sudan,” the Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Canada in South Sudan, Micheal Rymek said.
He added that the initiative provides a platform to highlight the importance of fostering gender-sensitive and climate-smart agricultural practices while emphasizing the potential of these practices to improve their livelihoods.
Investing in Women in South Sudan (IIW-SS) is a gender equality and economic inclusion program implemented by AECF, generously funded by GAC.
The program aims to economically empower women in the agricultural sector through selected value chains, driving positive changes in livelihoods and contributing to the overall socio-economic development of South Sudan.