West Africa and the Sahel face a daunting challenge: bridging the productivity gap between male and female farmers. Women, despite their crucial role in agricultural value chains, often struggle to access vital resources, particularly finance. This disparity is further compounded by the disproportionate impact of climate change on women-led agricultural activities, making them particularly vulnerable. However, innovative solutions, such as gender-smart accelerator programs, are emerging as powerful tools to address these challenges and unlock the immense potential of women in agriculture.
Women are not simply participants in agriculture; they are key drivers of its success. They are producers, processors, sellers, and consumers, bringing invaluable expertise, resourcefulness, and lived experience to the table. Their contributions are essential for building household resilience to the increasingly harsh realities of climate change. Recognizing this, targeted investments aimed at empowering women farmers and agri-entrepreneurs are not just a matter of equity; they are a strategic imperative for scaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA) innovations and achieving more robust and equitable socio-environmental outcomes. The key lies in making these investments “gender-smart” – ensuring that they are designed and implemented in a way that addresses the specific needs and challenges faced by women.
The funding gap faced by women smallholder farmers and women-owned agricultural SMEs represents a significant obstacle to progress. Closing this gap can unlock tremendous opportunities to strengthen climate innovation and drive more sustainable and equitable development. Gender-smart accelerator programs are demonstrating their potential to be game-changers in this regard.
A prime example of this transformative approach is the Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge in Senegal, an initiative spearheaded by AICCRA. This program brought together 20 women-led SMEs, selected from a pool of over 250 applicants, for an intensive acceleration program. The program provided capacity building, technical assistance, and crucial economic grants, yielding remarkable results.
The impact of the Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge is undeniable. 85% of participating women-led SMEs gained new customers, demonstrating their increased market access and competitiveness. 69% forged at least five new partnership agreements, expanding their networks and creating opportunities for collaboration and growth. Perhaps most significantly, nearly half of the participating businesses entered into discussions with investors to scale their operations, setting them on a path to long-term sustainability and expansion. In one particularly compelling case, the accelerator program even triggered matched funding four times the value of the initial AICCRA grant, showcasing the program’s ability to leverage additional investment.
Ena Derenoncourt, Gender-Smart Investment Specialist for AICCRA, explains the program’s success: “The Gender-Smart Accelerator leverages CGIAR science-based approaches to tailor CSA capacity building and de-risking mechanisms, curating opportunities and enhancing bankability to attract impactful investments for women-led agri-SMEs.”
The success story of ACASEN, a Senegalese family business specializing in cashew nuts, peanuts, and other food products, provides a powerful illustration of the program’s impact. ACASEN sources its raw materials from small-scale producers in Senegal, with women comprising over 80% of its workforce. Hermione Awounou, ACASEN’s CEO, shared her experience at a regional workshop, stating, “The Gender-Smart Accelerator Program has been a catalyst for my business. Thanks to training in financial management, advice on legal procedures and investment preparation, I was able not only to structure my project but also to raise 10 times more resources after partnering with WIC Capital. This program is central for SMEs, as it propels us towards upscaling sustainable practices that can help our businesses expand in the face of climate change.”
The Gender-Smart Accelerator model offers a powerful blueprint for empowering women in agriculture and building climate resilience. By providing targeted support, access to finance, and capacity building, these programs are not only transforming individual businesses but also contributing to a more sustainable and equitable agricultural sector in West Africa. Investing in women is not just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do for a food-secure and climate-resilient future.
