Grant Program
SCILLS
Grantee Name
Asociación Colnodo in partnership with Fundación Capital
Grant Start Date
20 October 2022
Grant End Date
19 October 2024
Amount Funded
$267,500.00
City
Bogotá
Country
Colombia
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
Conectad@s 2.0 seeks to increase the resilience and empowerment of 500 women entrepreneurs in 5 departments of Colombia (Casanare, Cundinamarca, Huila, Nariño, Cauca), enabling women entrepreneurs to continue their economic recovery after the pandemic and to cope with future economic, social and environmental impacts. The Internet and technology will be used firstly as a means to strengthen participants’ entrepreneurial, socio-emotional, financial and digital skills, as well as to improve participants’ awareness and knowledge on women empowerment, gender roles & stereotypes, gender-based violence and the channels to support them in these situations. The Internet will, additionally, be used to integrate digital tools into their businesses’ management, marketing and commercialization, making their businesses more competitive and sustainable.
WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT?
Microbusinesses run by women face even more challenges than those run by men, given severe income constraints, low financial inclusion levels, additional unpaid care work responsibilities, limited administrative management skills, and lower levels of digital inclusion, which have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Regarding financial inclusion, women still face barriers to accessing and using financial products and services. Furthermore, although they have higher expectations to innovate in their products and services, they face limited managerial skills and a lack of business networks to learn, identify and access resources to manage their business; thus, having to close their business for not being profitable or due to lack of finance. Moreover, the crisis generated by COVID-19 accelerated digitalization processes and, thus, has “emphasized the importance of digital inclusion for economic resilience during crises”. However, digitalization expansion did not come with inclusive access to the Internet, and the digital devices and knowledge on how to use technology. Thus, we have seen a widening of the digital gender gap, with severe effects on the most underserved from low-income backgrounds, women with disabilities, and women with children.
This project allows women to increase their knowledge about the digital services available for business management, in turn strengthening their skills to manage a prosperous and digitally connected business, and strengthening their capacity to face and adapt to future shocks.
MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS
See below for publications and other articles related to the project.