When women lead the way, whole communities thrive

By: Blandine KONAN , 嘉吉 ’s sustainability lead from the cocoa and chocolate supply chain in C?te d’Ivoire.

If there’s one thing Cargill has learned over more than 155 years of working in global food and agriculture, operating in 70 countries around the world, in different supply chains, it’s that #WomenKnowHow.

On this International Women’s Day, we’re reminded that this is doubly true in the cocoa industry.

Over the past decade, we’ve deployed extensive sustainability efforts in cocoa-growing communities in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Collaborating closely with CARE and a variety of other partners, we’ve worked hard to get to the root causes of systemic issues and identify community needs. And we’ve found that building more inclusive supply chains with special attention to gender equity and women’s empowerment is one of the keys to uplifting communities.

The bottom line is this: When women are successful, everybody is better off. Families see their incomes increase, barriers to education decrease, climate resilience grows, newly founded small businesses spring up and local economies get a boost.

Often, because they’re so deeply intertwined in the life of these communities, our local women partners already know what needs to be done to help unlock some of the systemic issues facing them. But they need support to get started – a loan, extra training, a way to access markets and take their entrepreneurship to the next level. With the support of our partners, the multiplier effect kicks in, the benefits from seemingly isolated activities start snowballing and the entire community reaps the benefits.

Take the story of Marie Adjehi Nanou Bla from C?te d'Ivoire. When her husband lost his income source, Marie had to look for other ways to pay for household expenses and schooling for her four children. So, she decided to take her produce business to the next level.

For the loan she needed, she went to the local Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). Next, she invested in a freezer. Today, Marie also sells frozen fish, chicken, eggs, and gasoline, and she’s financially independent. Her family overcame its challenges and the community gained one thriving small business.

The point is #MarieKnewHow. And she’s not alone.

Working with CARE and other partners, in 2021 alone, Cargill has helped more than 11,000 women entrepreneurs create economic opportunities for themselves, generate income, and strengthen their communities through over 600 VSLAs in West Africa.

Through VSLAs, groups of 30-40 women pool their funds, typically make deposits over a twelve-month period, and use the capital they gather to co-finance business ventures at affordable interest rates. Each member has a voice in decision-making and is paid back at the end of the term at an agreed-upon savings rate. ??

It's all part of the Cargill Cocoa Promise, our overarching sustainability program in the sector. One of its focus areas is advancing gender equity because women are the social and economic foundation of many cocoa-growing communities, where household food needs are often paid for by women’s incomes.

But we don’t just want women to do well financially so they can raise their earnings and help their families; we want to help them to fulfill their full potential as business and civic leaders.

To that end, we work with farmers, their organizations, and other local civic leaders and interests to help create community action plans laying out local needs and priorities. As we’ve seen, working with both women and men to advance gender equity is crucial to the success of our initiatives.

And while we’re talking about leadership, let’s look at Mavis Yeboah, who is known around her Ghanaian village as “Nketasia Hemaa,” the queen of women and youth. She became a tireless social advocate after participating in the PROSPER program, a collaboration between CARE and Cargill that aims to help cocoa-farming communities become more prosperous, sustainable, and resilient through an inclusive approach that engages all their members.

Today, Mavis serves as the president of her community’s women’s group, gives her peers a seat at the table where the decisions are made, and inspires girls to follow in her footsteps.

#MavisKnewHow. As her path shows, women can be the very personification of strong leadership, growing social capital, and prosperous communities in the world’s cocoa regions.

Mavis, and Marie’s stories are just a couple of examples of women’s power to be catalysts for positive change. As a leading global food company, Cargill will continue to help make a positive difference in cocoa communities. Every day, we see the enormous potential offered by the women who live there, which is why we invest in everybody’s future by empowering them with the support and resources needed.

With partners like CARE as well as other NGOs, private companies, and local government agencies, we’re proud to help these women unlock their full potential. We’ve seen it time and time again – once they gain access to the right knowledge and resources, they become difference-makers who drive positive change for their communities.

And every time that happens, we’re reminded of this simple truth: #WomenKnowHow.