Meet 3 Women
Creating Opportunities
THE
CHALLENGE
When visiting Tibet, which is historically underdeveloped and under-resourced, Carol Chyau identified a new potential source of local income: yak down. The fiber is ultra-soft and in ample supply, since a large majority of the world’s yak population is in the Himalayan region. But no market previously existed for yak down.
THE
SOLUTION
In 2006, Chyau founded Shokay, a premium textile brand that produces knitwear, yarn and fabrics made of yak down purchased from the region’s herders. The stylish, soft products caught on, and Shokay began supplying yak fiber to major fashion brands, building a market for the material and providing local herders with a new source of income.
THE
IMPACT
Shokay’s yak fiber supply chain now helps support 4,000
Tibetan families in five communities. Chyau’s efforts have raised the value of yak down from $2 per kilo to $10—a 500% increase. Shokay’s community investment also includes a healthcare program that has served over 800 herders.
THE
CHALLENGE
Carmina Bayombong says her parents, based in the Philippines, rose out of poverty by earning college degrees. But millions of young people in the Philippines can’t afford access to higher education.
THE
SOLUTION
Bayombong cofounded InvestEd, which provides students with education loans—and so much more. Leveraging a data-driven success model, it assesses students for more than 30 life risks and pairs them with a success coach, financial aid and a supportive community.
THE
IMPACT
Through its development program, InvestEd has helped 1,700
students achieve their higher education goals. The program has helped shorten the time between graduation and employment from the national average of 180 days to 64 days, and the average salaries for InvestEd graduates are 43% higher than the Philippines’ capital region’s minimum wage.
THE
CHALLENGE
In rural Pakistan, many communities are livestock rich but cash poor. This has left 40% of rural Pakistanis without access to the electric grid or affordable diesel-powered water pumps—and forced many women to spend hours every day fetching water for their families.
THE
SOLUTION
Former World Bank consultant Fariel Salahuddin saw in livestock the potential of a new form of currency. Her organization, UpTrade, accepts goats as payment for solar pump installation, a process that typically costs $10,000. The nonprofit then recoups the investment by reselling the goats.
THE
IMPACT
Since 2017, UpTrade has improved the lives of 17,000 Pakistanis, increasing annual incomes of farmers by $200 and saving the women affected 1,460 hours of labor each year. According to Salahuddin, the number of rural Pakistanis with access to electricity and water has doubled between 2019 and 2020, thanks to UpTrade.