Lighting the Way to Women’s Economic Empowerment

Sustainable development has to include--and encourage--the contributions of women worldwide. One company is seeing the financial and social profitability in embracing the idea. ONergy, a renewable energy venture in eastern India, is helping to introduce solar power to East and Northeast India while partnering with women in training programs that educate and empower the local entrepreneurs to promote the products throughout the region. The company plans to introduce clean, reliable energy to 1 million people by 2017 and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 100,000 tons. The company has already trained more than 5,000 women and plans to reach out to 50,000 in the next three years, training them on ONergy's technology and features as well as partnering with organizations like NGOs and microfinance institutions to help women gain knowledge to enter the entrepreneurial world and support their families and communities.

Read more about the venture below and at the link.

3blmedia.com - The women of East and Northeast India no longer need to fear the dark. ONergy, an award-winning social enterprise, has developed a number of innovative energy solutions that not only address the dearth of electricity in the region – improving safety in their communities – but also light a path toward economic empowerment for women.

ONergy’s innovative solar power solutions are providing energy to meet India’s development and social challenges. To promote solar as a clean and reliable source of energy, the company is training women entrepreneurs in its products’ technology, usability and special features. By partnering with local grassroots organizations – microfinance institutions, NGOs and women’s self-help groups – the company is imparting product know-how while also enabling these women to serve as company distributors – providing both income and empowerment.

“Lack of energy is an important bottleneck to development. And women are the central force in the development of their families and the shaping of the next generation,” says Piyush Jaju, CEO of ONergy. “ONergy’s products provide environmental benefits by reducing the use of diesel generators, kerosene and other harmful energy sources – and empower women to help shape a brighter tomorrow.”

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From Forbes: 5 'Can't Miss' Conferences For Entrepreneurs In 2016

With 2016 well under way, we looked back on a list by Forbes columnist Cheryl Conner listing some fantastic conferences for entrepreneurs this year--especially with several of them coming up next month or this summer. If you're looking to network, learn more about finances, hear inspirational stories, drive online business, learn from industry leaders or more; you should definitely check out these conferences and the organizations that host them.

forbes.com - Where will entrepreneurs spend their networking and educational time in 2016? Today I’m following up on one of my most read columns of 2015 with an update to my list of recommended events in 2016 for entrepreneurs. I have selected these picks with an eye toward high networking and learning benefits for entrepreneurs who are looking for connections to top mentors, new funding and innovative ideas for PR.

This is an unofficial list I compiled on the basis of quality of attendees, avoidance of hard sell platforms, social responsibility missions, and positive results for those who’ve attended. I attended all but one of these events, the NextGen Summit, in 2015. As disclosure, I serve in an unpaid role as a faculty member for one of the events I’ve listed, CEO Space.

On that note, my choices are as follows:

1) CEO Space. Now in its 28th year, this event is billed as a business growth accelerator conference and touts itself as the world’s central catalyst for Cooperative Capitalism, which I have written about in this column before.  It addresses entrepreneurs of all ages, including teens at its five annual week-long events in Lake Las Vegas, in Henderson, Nev.

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Kenya tackles poverty by sending teen mothers back to school

Kenya faces high teen pregnancy rates, especially among poorer citizens--and due to demands of motherhood and stigma, most young women who drop out of school due to pregnancy never return to continue their education. Efforts to help students get and stay in school have been slow-going, even though free primary education was introduced in Kenya more than a decade ago, and the figures for secondary schooling are even more bleak. This is especially unfortunate because young mothers are among those who could benefit most from education, which helps them achieve higher earnings and have fewer, but healthier, pregnancies and babies.

Projects like Jielimishe work to change that and provide access to education for many more young women. The organization provides fees, textbooks, uniforms and sanitary towels so young women can attend and stay in school, and is also working to challenge preconceptions. Click through to read the full story.

reuters.com - Laikipia, KENYA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Christine Gathoni dreamed of becoming a doctor, not a patient, grimacing in pain as she pushed her baby girl into the world.

But boredom and frustration at her parents' inability to pay for her education led her to sex, pregnancy and motherhood at the age of 19 with only two years of secondary education to go.

"I was idle and my boyfriend asked me out," she said, looking pensive. "After a few weeks, I realized I was pregnant."

Two out of five 19-year-old women in Kenya are either pregnant or have given birth, with the highest rates among the poorest, according to government statistics.

Their parents often encourage them to get married to escape the stigma of being a single mother.

The persistent cultural belief that girls who have given birth are adults - who have no place in a classroom - also means that as many as nine in 10 Kenyan girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy never return.

Gathoni, however, was determined to complete her education.

Meet The Woman Empowering Entrepreneurs To Change The World

Despite recent encouraging gains, there remains a large gap between women and men when it comes to entrepreneurship. Almost all venture capital-backed businesses are led by men, for example; and the road to startup success is often much more difficult for women, hampered by issues including connections and access to capital. That's why we were so excited to read about Circular Board and Pitch With Purpose, efforts by Houston entrepreneur Carolyn Rodz to educate and empower women entrepreneurs. She's truly a woman investing in women--and helping them invest in themselves and their visions. forbes.com - Carolyn Rodz, the founder of business accelerator Circular Board, is on a relentless drive to help female entrepreneurs change the world.

Rodz, based in Houston, Texas, is heading a major upcoming pitch competition, Pitch with Purpose. The competition is for women whose businesses are fast growing and focused on social good – and female entrepreneurs applying technology and great insight to this aim are expected to play a major part.

Given that in the developing world working women typically invest 90% of their earnings back into their family and community, and that women are more likely to create social enterprises, Rodz says, it is essential to the world to support their entrepreneurship.

Typically, a number of issues hamper female entrepreneurs’ success – including what Rodz has described as a lack of clarity of purpose; how, when and how they choose to access capital; and relationships with mentors and partners.

Empowerment and support are essential in their success. “Women are driving forces of social change,” Rodz tells me.

Read more here.

UAE charity supports Ugandan restaurant to empower women entrepreneurs

Education and support of young people are some of the biggest factors in helping girls and all children around the world—leading to better opportunities and pay, a cycle of education as they send their children to school, prosperous communities and more. So we were thrilled to learn of this team up between Malayaka House Orphanage in Uganda and Abu Dhabi-based Monyati Initiatives, a philanthropic organization providing funds, to renovate a pizza restaurant central to the orphanage's mission. In a country already facing high unemployment, girls and orphans are even more at risk. Through this program, older girls learn skills like managing money, helping to run a business and cheesemaking, while the restaurant raises funds for the orphanage. The restaurant and training center are both run by women. The project supported by Monyati Initiatives will allow for a renovation of the restaurant, making it even more beneficial and cost effective.

thenational.ae - DUBAI / Orphans in Uganda have been given the chance of a brighter future thanks to a UAE-inspired pioneering project that also aims to empower female entrepreneurs.

Abu Dhabi-based philanthropic organisation Monyati Initiatives has funded a Dh91,825 project to renovate and upgrade a pizza restaurant in Entebbe that, it hoped, would become a sustainable business.

Working with Malayaka House Orphanage, Monyati Initiatives believes the restaurant will provide an environment for the girls to learn.

“This has been a dream come true, and our girls could not be happier,” said Monja Wolf, Abu Dhabi resident and founder of Monyati Initiatives. “Everything has become easier for them.”

Although the restaurant was already being used by the orphanage as a means of raising money, the changes meant they could expand their activities.

“The primary goal of this project was to take the pizza business and do what the orphanage has already been doing for a number of years – but do it better, cheaper and faster,” she said.

Read the rest here.