From the Classroom to
the Workforce: Building Women’s Economic Power
what this means: Lasting economic mobility requires connecting learners to jobs, building agency and confidence, and creating networks that open doors.
“Girls’ education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet... if we do it right.”
— Angeline Murimirwa, CEO, CAMFED
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The challenge: While expanding access to education is critical, it does not automatically translate into economic opportunity without intentional pathways beyond the classroom.
THE TAKEAWAY:
Powering Prosperity at Scale: A Just Green Transition
Here's the deal: Panelists emphasized that climate solutions can be designed to both strengthen environmental resilience and generate long-term economic value for local communities.
An example: For 20 years, One Acre Fund has supported smallholder farmers across Africa through financing, training, agricultural supplies and market access designed to improve harvests and strengthen resilience.
Today, the organization serves 5.9 million farmers, 55% of whom are women, and distributes 100 million trees annually through local, farmer-run nurseries to improve soil health, increase long-term income and strengthen climate resilience.
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last Takeaway
THE TAKEAWAY:
— John Mundy, Director of Global Partnerships, One Acre Fund
“Watching that journey from ‘we’re
going to try this out’ to distributing a billion trees — which seemed like an insane objective and is now within
reach — speaks to the possible momentum from embracing the internal logic of this work.”
Here’s the deal: Panelists emphasized that climate solutions can be designed to both strengthen environmental resilience and generate long-term economic value for local communities.
An example: One Acre Fund, a nonprofit that supports smallholder farmers in Africa, has expanded its work to include large-scale tree distribution through local, farmer-run nurseries to improve soil health, strengthen climate resilience and create long-term economic value for farming communities.
Women Grow Our Future: Regenerative Food Systems for People and Planet
The breakdown: Women farmers are often feeding communities while facing unequal access to land, markets, capital, training and climate support — a systems failure that limits both livelihoods and food security.
The strategy: One way to scale regenerative agriculture is by organizing women into cooperatives, strengthening local markets and designing tools that reflect how farmers actually speak, learn and make decisions.
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“The future of food is not money or technology. It is a woman with land, knowledge and choice.”
— Reema Nanavaty, Director, Economic & Rural Development, Self Employed Women’s Association
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THE TAKEAWAY:
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Innovative Funding Approaches for Sustainable Impact
Here’s the deal: Capital is more than money. It includes the systems, policies and structures that determine how resources flow and who ultimately benefits from them.
The challenge: Biased perceptions of risk continue to limit investment, even in regions where data shows strong growth, lower default rates and significant untapped opportunity.
last Takeaway
“Loan loss rates in Africa are about 1.7%, compared to roughly 13% in Latin America and around 10% in parts of Europe. Yet the continent pays an estimated $75 billion more each year just to access capital — the math is not mathing.”
— Angela Gichaga, Founder & CEO, enAble Advisors
THE TAKEAWAY: