News
March 8, 2023
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!
Join us in our goals to advance gender justice by changing the attitudes, policies, processes, and products that keep women locked out of the access to capital and technical resources necessary to make a difference in the sustainable development of their communities.
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You can invest in women’s empowerment today by donating to the Donna Katzin Imbokodo Donor Circle, that helps enable an immediate response – focusing on economic resilience – to the unmet needs of women entrepreneurs in Southern Africa.
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This International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the strength and resilience of women!
On International Women’s Day, Shared Interest is excited to celebrate the achievements of women around the world and reflect on the progress made by women working towards gender equality. Investing in the economic empowerment and leadership of women and youth is a top priority of Shared Interest as we mobilize the resources to empower Southern Africa's Black and economically disenfranchised communities to sustain themselves and build equitable nations. We provide Black women entrepreneurs and other small and medium-sized enterprises with access to the financing, markets, and technical training they need to increase their incomes, scale their businesses and build healthy and thriving communities.
To foster inclusive financing solutions and to promote systems change, we work directly with lenders to build their capacity and willingness to serve women and other marginalized borrowers. For example, Shared Interest works directly with financial institutions to change how the banking system services black women entrepreneurs and implements key policy reforms (e.g., movable collateral registries) that can revolutionize how these institutions do business with women. Together with our local partners, we are also promoting systems change by:
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Addressing biases and misconceptions that have resulted in negative experiences for women in the past.
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Reshaping the approach and product offering provided by lenders so that future interactions will be positive, successful -- and on an even footing with men.
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Highlighting the financial incentives represented by the untapped market of women entrepreneurs.