Project profile — Empowering women through sustainable entrepreneurship in Morocco

• Morocco (100.00%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (60.00%)
• Business support services and institutions:
Business support services and institutions (25010) (20.00%)
Business Development Services (25030) (20.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to economically empower rural women in Morocco’s Marrakesh-Safi region. It seeks to increase women’s decision-making power over their businesses, to improve business development support services’ responsiveness to gender equality issues. The project also seeks to engage communities in supporting women’s rights and breaking down gender stereotypes (in public and private spheres) related to women’s entrepreneurship. It aims to ensure that women have genuine, full control over the assets, technologies, finances and benefits of their economic activities and to significantly reduce or even eliminate gender stereotypes in rural communities in the Marrakech-Safi region. The project has been extended to ensure the restart and full implementation of activities and the achievement of planned results in communities affected by the earthquake of September 8, 2023 (magnitude 6.8), as well as to increase the economic resilience of affected women and communities in the post-earthquake context. Project activities include the following: (1) implementing perennial and inclusive groups of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) for marginalized women, and providing these women with training to foster their personal development and promote more efficient management of their finances; (2) guiding women-led cooperatives in developing ties with financial institutions and credit sources so they can implement their business plans; (3) training business support institutions and civil society organizations in order to support women-led businesses and use dialogue instruments to reduce the gender-related barriers facing women’s entrepreneurship; and (4) training targeted households so that tasks are divided fairly and there is greater acceptance of women’s involvement in economic matters.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased women’s decision-making power over their businesses; (2) increased the responsiveness of business development support services to gender equality issues; and (3) engaged communities in supporting women’s rights and breaking down gender stereotypes (in public and private spheres) related to women’s entrepreneurship.

Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) thanks to an additional budget of $2,000,000 granted by GAC, the project mobilized from day one with its partners to set up an emergency response to the September 2023 earthquake, in order to help project participants and also other villagers most affected; (2) created 88 microenterprises; (3) supported 3 cooperatives and microenterprises took part in the Salon international de l'agriculture de Meknès (SIAM) and 11 in the Salon des plantes aromatiques et médicinales du Maroc; (4) facilitated 4 exchange visits were organized at provincial and national level to share experiences; (5) trained 60 village facilitators (women leaders) in the AVEC methodology; and (6) developed a training guide on gender equality and public policy.

• Proactive disclosure