GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

The projects name”: Generating Revenue Opportunities for Women and Youth in the West Bank “GROW”

About the project:

It is funded by the Government of Canada, GROW is 4-year project that aims to enhance economic empowerment and increase prosperity for low-income women and youth in the West Bank. The project responds to the development needs and challenges facing women and female youth entrepreneurs in the West Bank, to move beyond their essential but largely unrecognized roles, ultimately contributing to their increased voice and agency in both social and economic spheres, while enhancing the overall productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector.

The target locations of the project are Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Salfit and Bethlehem

Anticipated Results:

The project will focus on three inter-related intermediate outcomes: i) reduced barriers to entrepreneurship faced by women; ii) enhanced opportunities for women entrepreneurs to successfully establish and/or grow sustainable businesses; and, iii) enhanced opportunities for female entrepreneurs, particularly female youth, to support the adoption of renewable energy in the olive and agro-food processing value chains. To achieve these outcomes, the project will address several key challenges impacting women’s entrepreneurship in the West Bank, including the prevalence of socio-cultural barriers and their associated impacts on women’s household, community, and economic roles and status; and, women’s limited access to finance, business development support services, technology, reliable and affordable energy, skills development opportunities, and markets.

Our Approach:

The project will adopt a gender transformative approach aimed at recognizing, formalizing, and amplifying women’s existing roles within target value chains, whilst promoting women’s increased decision-making and control over income, assets, and productive resources. Interventions will focus on capacity building support to women’s cooperatives and MSMEs in the areas of entrepreneurship and business management, access to domestic, regional, and international markets, and women’s leadership; the conduct of research, policy advocacy, and community awareness campaigns on women’s economic and social rights; the establishment/strengthening of women-led cooperatives/associations and supporting related economic opportunities; the introduction of renewable energy solutions, including solar PV; and the facilitation of economic opportunities and innovations for youth to promote the adoption of renewable energy by women-led businesses.

Implementers:

• CowaterSogema is the leading implementing agency and responsible for project management, delivery of results and financial control. With over 800 projects implemented in more than 80 countries, CowaterSogema is Canada’s leading firm in international development project management ((http://cowatersogema.com)
• Near East Foundation (NEF) helps build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa through education, community organizing, and economic development (www.neareast.org)
• Palestinian Businesswomen Association (Asala) provides comprehensive and needs-based services to marginalized Palestinian women along three strategic tracks, namely:  Advocacy and lobbying for women’s economic and social rights,  Capacity building for women entrepreneurs, and facilitating access to local, regional and global markets for women entrepreneurs (www.asala-pal.org).