Their mission is to change the status quo and leverage the talent of Women in Produce to close the industry’s gender divide by inspiring, connecting and empowering women around the world. And their mission matters more than ever.

Today, women account for 80% of purchasing decisions, but only 20% of the voices guiding decisions in the boardroom. What’s more, is that by 2030 we’ll need the equivalent of two planets to feed a growing world population of 10 billion people – half of them female.

Our industry is being called upon to feed the world more humanely, sustainably and efficiently – and more female leadership is a critical part of the answer.

Beanstalk Global has partnered up with Global Women Fresh to create a unique monthly Broadcast interview series. This to further promote the great work they do, to gain them more members ongoing and additional corporate sponsorship as well as to assist them to make a long-term difference in the Global Fresh Produce sectors.

In the very successful “Coffee and Tea with Global Women Fresh” series, for November we are very excited to assist Global Women Fresh to launch their international “Micro-Finance” pilot program.

The microfinance intervention by the Global Women Fresh is part of the SheTrades Rwanda project, part of the project to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of export growth initiatives (EGI project) led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Rwanda (MINICOM). The SheTrades Rwanda project is implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) SheTrades Initiative and funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).

The majority of the world’s poor share one profession: farming. Most of these farmers cultivate less than 10 acres of land, far away from paved roads and with limited access to the improved seed and fertilizer they need to produce good harvests. Most of these farmers also lack access to financial services that could help them buy that seed and fertilizer. If the global microfinance industry seeks to have a long-term impact on global poverty, it must address the needs of smallholder farmers. Most microfinance institutions are focused in urban and peri-urban areas, but a few offer products specifically targeted at farmers.

There has been fast-growing interest in the farm microfinance sector in the last few years. The World Bank estimates that agricultural development is “two to four times more effective in raising incomes among the very poor than growth in other sectors.” Not only is this a high-impact sector, it’s also a large one. Farmers account for more than 30% of the global working-age population, and most of them live in poor countries. And a significant portion are women.

Global Women Fresh are going to brief and inform us all of their own “Micro-Finance” pilot program and to assist, we will have key speakers and businesses including:

Liz Becerra / International Trade Centre.

Julie Escobar / President of Global Women Fresh.

Immaculee Mukamana / Nyamurinda Coffee – Rwanda

Sakina Usengimana / Afrifoods Ltd – Rwanda

Gisele Umuhoza / National Coordinator SheTrades – Rwanda