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Announcing Grameen Foundation’s Invest In HER Power Strategy

The world’s greatest resource is not oil, it’s not gold, it’s not even data.

It’s women.

For far too long, we’ve been operating under systems that say potential is limited, that opportunity is finite, that some people are worthy investments and some people are not.

This belief has led to the systemic underestimation and underinvestment in women.

But we are challenging that belief with our new Invest in HER Power Strategy.

If we’re serious about solving the world’s greatest challenges, from poverty to climate change to economic stagnation, then we need to bring the power of women to the world.

Not tomorrow. Not next year. Now.

Grameen Foundation has the solution we need.

The truth is that low-income women worldwide possess remarkable strength and are key to meeting our United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

While serving as the backbone of their households and communities through unpaid but essential work, women still face barriers including limited income opportunities, constant climate threats, and social norms that wrongly label them as risky investments.

The systemic exclusion of women results in economic and social losses hinder our collective ability to thrive.

Within the next year alone, we can add 28 trillion dollars to the global GDP by prioritizing investments in women.

Bringing the power of women to the world will create lasting change that strengthens families and communities and fosters long-term development and growth.

Woven throughout our new strategy is the path to building more financially inclusive systems.

Scaling the HER Framework, we will not only bring the power of women to the world, we will create more inclusive systems for us all.

Change The System: Their Last Mile Is HER First Mile

We can no longer operate under the assumption that women are "at the bottom of the pyramid" in a developing world or "at the last mile" of the supply chain.

Instead, Grameen Foundation believes we need to center programming around the women we serve.

For the last 25 years, Grameen Foundation has remained steadfastly committed to providing the resources and technology women need to end hunger and poverty.

In that time, a fundamental truth has emerged: the systems that govern our lives, from financial to agricultural to health, are not built for women.

To combat these systemic challenges and barriers, Grameen Foundation will embark on an innovative strategy aimed at reframing the role of gender in local and global economies.

Invest in HER Power, provides the missing link between a woman and her local economy.

Holistic Enhanced Resilience: (HER) Framework

Rooted in local needs, supported by global evidence, and expanded through technology, our market-based methodology ensures that our solutions are effective, sustainable, and scalable.

The HER Framework is a five-phased innovative and scalable solution to reaching women at home and in their community.

HER connects women to tailored financial services, training, and resources, while providing access to local organizations. The HER Framework is the missing link between women and their local economies.

We will combine locally identified and globally connected initiatives aimed at impacting 10 million lives.

Because investments in women provide the solutions we need.

We are uniquely positioned at the intersection of gender, finance, climate, and technology to meet this need by building on our deeply rooted connections to local communities while catalyzing the global change required to ensure women can bring their power to the world.

Scaling Deep With HER Signature Programs

Deepening impact within our three signature programs will enable holistic resilience for women of all ages.

In turn, the power of women will propel progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 5 (Gender Equality), and 13 (Climate Action).

AccelHERate: Young Women

InvestHER: Women Entrepreneurs

TogetHER We Grow: Smallholder Farmers

AccelHERate In Action (Young Women)

Girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are often already mothers, shouldering the financial burdens of their families and excluded from their local economies.

In Uganda, Grameen supports young women to start new businesses as MTN Uganda mobile money agents.

Agents increase their average monthly income by 43%, after just four months, allowing them to move past the poverty line benchmark.

Providing both cash-in, cash-out services and digital financial literacy training to other women in their communities encourages long-term individual and community impact.

InvestHER In Action (Women Entrepreneurs)

Advancing women’s equality would add $12 trillion to the global GDP in the next year.

Grameen promotes women's entrepreneurship in Northern Ghana by integrating Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) onto the LedgerLink digital platform, allowing access to loans and savings from local providers.

A guarantee fund has been established to lower loan interest rates by 10 - 30%. Grameen is also utilizing Haraka Finance’s decentralized microfinance solution for additional low-cost credit.

Engaging in partnerships with GDCA have led to Male Champions dialogues, resulting in more equitable decision-making and a 50% increase in household income.

TogetHER, We Grow In Action (Women Farmers)

In India, Grameen collaborates with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to enhance farmer incomes and resilience, particularly for the 50%+ women involved.

By implementing a Hub and Spoke model, we address issues like aggregation and market access for smallholder farmers, while promoting climate resilience through integrated farming systems.

Over two years, gender training led to a 122% increase in women’s shareholder representation within the FPOs.

Scaling Wide With Catalytic Initiatives

Program SAFE is dedicated to mitigating financial abuse, a hard to identify form of Gender-Based Violence, while ensuring individuals are free to achieve financial security and independence. By raising awareness and providing support services, we will build a global coalition to safeguard against financial abuse in all its forms.

The Gender, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology (GAIT) Lab is an innovation action laboratory that will identify, validate, and support the scaling of solutions that successfully transform the barriers that women face. GAIT will increase access to livelihood-enhancing and life-saving information, products, and services.

Guarantee Funds And Social Bonds are designed to unlock critical capital for women and remove the perception of risk while lowering interest rates.

Invest In Women, Invest In Solutions.

Outcomes

Success will be measured at individual, community, and global levels.

Individual

Women gain increased agency, income, and holistic resilience - the ability to withstand shocks and stressors while investing in emerging opportunities.

Community

Families are strengthened through IntraHousehold Dialogues and the role of gender is reframed within households and local economies.

Global

Women are safe to participate in global economies without the risk of financial abuse. 28 trillion dollars are added to the global GDP.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The launch of our, "Invest in HER Power," strategy focuses on transforming the systems around women rather than trying to "empower" them in isolation.

Our strategy is more than a set of objectives and goals; it’s a blueprint for reaching women in need, supporting their families and futures, and generating sustainable benefits for entire communities for generations to come.

Investments in women are investments in solutions.

By prioritizing investments in women, we aim to create lasting change that uplifts families and fosters long-term development and growth.

Together with our staff, partners, and supporters, we will invest in the power of women to end poverty across the globe.