Supportive business ecosystems

The Village Savings and Loans Association is enhancing financial inclusion among smallholder farmers by providing access to affordable loans, enabling them to invest in quality inputs, hire labour, adopt climate-smart farming practices and expand their agricultural enterprises.

On oil palm plantations across Côte d’Ivoire, women play a vital role throughout the supply chain. Yet for decades, despite their significant contributions, they remained largely absent from the spaces where critical decisions were made. Decisions around land ownership, pricing and industry standards were often made without their input. 

Under the RECLAIM Sustainability! programme, Solidaridad partnered with women-led cooperatives in the oil palm sector to change this reality. Together with these cooperatives, a two-step transformation approach was established to strengthen women’s leadership and advocacy capabilities, while also building the economic resilience needed to sustain their influence.