#SMEsForWomen In Action
SME Spotlight
Sokofresh, Kenya
Meet Sokofresh, an agri-processing SME in Kenya that is creating safe spaces for women.
"In agriculture, gender inclusion is vital. (…). By empowering women, we’re accessing incredible talent and enhancing productivity. Gender inclusion isn’t just good ethics; it’s a competitive edge."
— Denis Karema, Sokofresh CEO & Co-founder
Espoir, Ecuador
Meet Espoir, a microfinance institution in Ecuador that outperformed its peers by supporting vulnerable communities during COVID-19.
"To fellow leaders: gender inclusion is a game-changer. Focusing on women has boosted loyalty and made our business stronger. Supporting women isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s smart business."
— Claudia Moreno, Espoir Deputy Executive Director
Small Business, Big Impact
As part of our Inclusive Action Awards, we celebrate how SMEs in emerging markets are advancing gender equality across their workforce, leadership, and customer base in different sectors.
When supply chains work for women, everyone wins
What happens when you center women in the business supply chain? Entire systems shift.
From artisans to tea gardens to women in prison, these SMEs didn’t just include women—they structured their entire value chains around them.
The result?
Higher incomes
Increased women’s voice in local/community leadership
Stronger business resilience
Meet three powerful models of change:
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![Kip Tik]()
Kip Tik (Mexico)
Kip Tik’s women-led cultural and commercial platform is transforming Mexico’s artisanal sector by recognising women artisans as economic and creative leaders.
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Kazi Yetu (Tanzania)
Kazi Yetu is Tanzania’s first women-run tea factory, allowing women to shift from informal tea-plucking roles to positions of ownership, voice, and dignity across the value chain.
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La Cana (Mexico)
La Cana creates pathways for incarcerated women to re-enter the economy with dignity, allowing women to break cycles of poverty and recidivism.
When finance works for women, business grows
Too risky to fund? These fintechs are flipping the finance playbook, one woman at a time.
In traditional financial systems, women are often seen as high-risk, low-return client profiles. These innovative fintechs are proving the opposite.
By designing finance models that center women’s realities, they are unlocking loyalty, business growth —and millions in new revenue.
Explore to see how these three inclusive SMEs turned finance into a force for equity and scale:
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Shecluded (Nigeria)
Shecluded is a fintech company helping women entrepreneurs grow their business by combining accessible finance with tailored business training.
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Athena FundX (Kenya)
Athena FundX equips women entrepreneurs with the tools, confidence, and visibility they need to grow thriving businesses.
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Avanza Sólido (Mexico)
Avanza Sólido is a microfinance institution bringing a holistic lens to their programs for rural women entrepreneurs and communities.
When climate solutions work for women, they create lasting change
Climate adaptation often starts with technology and overlooks the people living the change.
These SMEs put women at the center of climate solutions—combining leadership with innovation to regenerate ecosystems, strengthen livelihoods, and create more sustainable futures.
Swipe to see how these two SMEs combine climate leadership with gender inclusion for impact:
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Vermi-Farm Initiative (Kenya)
Vermi-Farm Initiative offers smallholder farmers sustainable agricultural tools and financial solutions that provide climate-resilient, reliable incomes.
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Ryder Energy (Nigeria)
Ryder Energy provides sustainable storage solutions to ensure freshness of produce, boost incomes and empower local farmers and vendors.
When local realities shape solutions, women and markets thrive
Breaking barriers? Locally and boldly.
From Cairo’s streets to India’s farms, women are rewriting what’s possible in their sectors. These businesses aren’t just innovating, they’re tackling deeply rooted, context-specific barriers with solutions built 𝘧𝘰𝘳 and 𝘣𝘺 women.
Swipe to see how these two trailblazers are doing this:
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![Dvara E-Registry (India)]()
Dvara E-Registry (India)
Dvara E-Registry’s digital platform enables stakeholders in the agri-value chain, especially smallholder farmers, to access financial services and agricultural markets.
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Dosy Bikes (Egypt)
Dosy Bikes is a tech platform that has put women in the driving seat, creating safer, freer environments for women to ride scooters and bicycles in the Middle East.
When companies include women, industries transform
How SMEs are creating value by including women in male-dominated fields?
In male-dominated fields, inclusion isn’t just about equity — it’s about unlocking growth, innovation, and resilience.
Across engineering, logistics, and finance, these SMEs are proving it:
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Frenkel (Mexico)
Frenkel Engineering is transforming industrial processes through automation and AI, and is doing so with inclusion at its core.
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Logic City Fleet (Nigeria)
Logic City Fleet provides fleet management services for the emergency fleet market with intentional leadership pathways for women.
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AAvance (Colombia)
Aavance is a fintech company offering tools that help unbanked women and migrant workers gain financial security and trust in the system.
When women lead, sectors transform from the ground up
How SMEs are creating value by including women in male-dominated fields?
In male-dominated fields, inclusion isn’t just about equity — it’s about unlocking growth, innovation, and resilience.
Across engineering, logistics, and finance, these SMEs are proving it:
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Natal Cares (Nigeria)
Natal Cares leverages technology, machine learning, and low-cost innovation to deliver healthcare and support to at-risk mothers and children.
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![Cambodia Standard Development and Supply (CSDS)]()
Cambodia Standard Development and Supply (CSDS)
CSDS is a wholesale distributor of organic produce that works with over 5,000 farmers to improve livelihoods and boost local production.
