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In Nepal, Earthworms Foster Entrepreneurship For Bimala
How organic waste is helping communities thrive in the Himalayas.
Bimala from Chisapani, Nepal, has transformed her family's life through an agricultural vermicomposting project. Now a successful entrepreneur, she supports her family, shares her agricultural knowledge with her community, and advocates for women's financial independence through farming.
Read more: Bimala from Nepal, has transformed her family's life through an agricultural vermicomposting project. Now a successful entrepreneur, she supports her family, shares her agricultural knowledge with her community, and advocates for women's financial independence through farming. -
Single Mother Builds Her Agricultural Supply Business After Earning The Trust of Farmers
“I provide an important service to the farmers. When they encounter problems with their crops, they call me or bring me the infected plants to look at.”
Sieng Sophanna, a mother of three, increased her family's income when she opened a small shop. After enrolling in the iDE agribusiness accelerator, she boosted her skill set, which has helped her grow her business and build trust with her clients.
Read more: Sieng Sophanna from Cambodia enrolled in the iDE agribusiness accelerator where she gained valuable skills that helped her grow her sales by supporting local farmers. -
Despite Social Barriers, a Bangladeshi Mother Finds Success as an Entrepreneur
Momena opened a thriving small business and wants other women to do the same
With more than four decades of experience, iDE believes incubating and enabling women-led businesses will significantly accelerate human progress and deliver economic benefits for underserved communities.
Read more: Momena enrolled in an iDE and partner-led program which aims to enhance the employability of 1,500 women garment workers facing challenges from automation and digitization. -
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs create market for latrines
iDE’s most ambitious sanitation program to date aims to provide toilets for more than 1 million households
“At first, I thought iDE might purchase products from me like other NGOs,” says Mubeen, “But after participating in the training, I understood. They were here to show me how to grow my business.”
Read more: iDE’s most ambitious sanitation program to date aims to provide toilets for more than 1 million households -
Seeing is believing for entrepreneurial Ghanaians
Farmers powered by successful agricultural project
Shei is one of 146 farmers powered by the successful project known as Accelerating Impact of Food Security (AIFS) – which is part of iDE’s broader Korsung agricultural initiative, which translates as “good farming practices” in local language, Dagbani – which ran between April 2021 and March 2022.
Read more: The US$225,000 project helped boost nutrition and food security -
Growing markets
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Expanding farm-to-business marketing in Mozambique
Mariana now has a business connecting farms directly to restaurants, ensuring that everyone benefits from increased service that ensures profit and better food.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Expanding markets in Mozambique -
We can work it out
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Rethinking subsidy options in Bangladesh
Intelligent use of subsidies can make a real difference for the lives of the very poor without distorting the market. But it takes an understanding of the context to get it right.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How a government official decided to support improved sanitation for his district -
A fortunate son
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Improved toilets provide safety, dignity, and privacy in Ghana
The migration of young people from small villages and farms to the city opens up additional options for improving the lives of those who remain behind. Making improved toilets affordable can spur increasing sanitation coverage by marketing to this newly affluent group.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How young urban professionals are investing in improved toilets to honor their parents -
The future now
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Trying to keep up with demand in Cambodia
Better outputs require better inputs, which is why iDE's Farm Business Advisors sell high-quality seeds to their clients.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Sou Sothoun views the future after her interactions with iDE. -
From treadle to solar
STAFF PROFILE: Badrul Alam is leading the next wave of innovation in agricultural technology
“The solar pump is very interesting to me. So far, all of the pumps I have seen and known have been powered by man, animal, wind, diesel, or electricity, and they rely on many fast-moving parts. This pump is different because it has no moving parts, and the source of energy is the sun.”
Read more: STAFF PROFILE: Meet Badrul Alam, one of our first employees -
Less risky business
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Expanding micro-finance in Zambia
Farm Business Advisors are called on to perform many tasks. One of David Mbwita’s is to recommend his clients for small loans based on his understanding of their ability to repay.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: David Mbwita helps micro-finance institutions find reliable low-income borrowers -
Juddy rising
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Empowering female farmers in Zambia
Juddy has been working with John Muta, a Farm Business Advisor (FBA), for the past few years, and through talking with her we came to understand how the FBA program is affecting women’s empowerment in the household. Using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), which measures empowerment across domains ranging from decision-making power to control over income, we asked Juddy about her roles.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Juddy Mukumbi is creating a family agricultural business -
Beating blindness
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Marketing crops rich in vitamin-A in Ghana
Two farmers participate in a quantitative assessment by our iQ team, which will be paired with results from a qualitative deep dive administered by our Human-Centered Design team. We interviewed them to understand the successes and barriers to growing and selling a very specific kind of sweet potato: an orange-fleshed sweet potato, high in Vitamin A.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Samuel and Akolbire are taking the risk to grow crops rich in vitamin-A -
Plentiful plantains
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: A farmer makes the switch from flood to drip irrigation
Nicaragua is known for its lakes and rivers—water scarcity has not been a problem until now. The rains are coming less frequently, and weather patterns are less predictable. Farmers like Candelario are having to pivot their practices—making such changes as switching from traditional flood irrigation to water-saving drip irrigation.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Candelario Bojorge has expanded his plantain grove and reduced water use -
Tunnel vision
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Increasing production despite changing weather patterns in Nepal
Gita Pariyar lives in Lahachok village, within the Kaski district of central Nepal. She is raising 2 daughters and a son while her husband works as a laborer in the Middle East. A member of the disadvantaged Dalit community, she helps supplement her family’s income through agriculture. But she’s noticed a change in the rainfall in Nepal.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Gita Pariyar uses a 'tomato tunnel' to address climate change -
Life beyond coffee
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Doña Julia Rivera learns to diversify in Honduras
Doña Julia lives in a region of Honduras called Marcala, known for its high-quality coffee production. Undernourishment is a widespread problem among coffee farmers in this region. Normally, farmers only earn an income during the four months of coffee harvesting—leaving farmers eight months each year, known as the “thin months,” to survive on their coffee earnings.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Doña Julia Rivera overcomes the “thin months” with drip irrigation -
Pigging out
ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: Ho Thi Hiu earns a profit raising pigs
A mother of five, Ho Thi Hiu used to supplement her household’s meager income by growing rice. She would also make a small profit by buying piglets in a nearby town, raising them, and selling them fully-grown. But raising pigs is no easy task.
Read more: ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE: How Ho Thi Hiu leveraged a microloan to build a thriving business