UN Women and IFAD will collaborate to enhance women's economic resilience and support women's entrepreneurship in rural communities
Specifically, UN-Women and the Consolidated Programme Implementation Unit of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed a Memorandum of understanding to combine and strengthen their efforts to support gender equality and increase women's economic resilience in rural Moldova. The Memorandum establishes a framework for cooperation between the two organizations to achieve common goals of supporting rural women, facilitating their access to financial resources, technical assistance and mentoring programs to initiate and develop their own businesses. The initiative is designed to foster an enabling environment for the development of sustainable women-led businesses and increase their participation in community-based economic and social activities. The partnership will cover a number of key areas to improve the livelihoods and strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of rural women: improving the economic sustainability of rural women entrepreneurs through increased access to financial resources and mentoring programs; promoting equal opportunities and strengthening women's participation in economic activities and decision-making functions at the local level; and supporting sustainable development initiatives that help reduce poverty and increase women's ability to cope with economic market shocks and climate change. “This Memorandum of understanding underscores our shared commitment to promoting women's economic empowerment. By facilitating access to financial resources, technical assistance, mentoring and capacity building, the partnership will strengthen the economic resilience of rural women, promoting an inclusive economy. This partnership is also a direct support to global and national commitments to achieve gender equality, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” said Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Representative in Moldova. For his part, the Director of the Consolidated Programme Implementation Unit of IFAD in Moldova (UCIP IFAD), Iurie Usurelu, said that women play an important role in the transformation of rural communities, and by joint efforts it will be possible to increase their economic sustainability in the rural environment. “UCIP IFAD will facilitate women's access to financial resources and technical assistance to start and develop their own businesses, contributing to sustainable rural development,” he emphasized. The mentioned cooperation is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, especially SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and contributes to the achievement of Moldova's national goals for sustainable agriculture and poverty reduction. // 17.10.2024 - InfoMarket.
