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On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8M), we reaffirm that without access to markets, there can be no real equality for women. The data is clear: according to the International Labour Organization, the global female labour force participation rate is nearly 25 percentage points lower than that of men. In addition, women are overrepresented in the informal economy, particularly in rural areas, where access to land, financing and markets remains unequal.
In a global context marked by rising economic inequality, the system continues to restrict millions of women from accessing stable income, financing and formal markets. This is not a temporary issue. It has become structural.
In response, we are strengthening our socioeconomic inclusion programmes to ensure that more women gain access to training, real markets and sustainable income-generating opportunities.
At Ayuda en Acción, we work to ensure that women’s access to markets is no longer a barrier, but a genuine opportunity for millions.
- - In 2025, we reached 208,139 people across Africa, Latin America and Europe.
- - Of these, 127,300 were women (81,311 in Africa, 45,723 in Latin America and 266 in Europe). This means that nearly six out of every ten participants in our programmes are women.
Beyond reach, the impact is tangible:
1. More than 15,000 women strengthened their economic autonomy through employment, entrepreneurship or training.
2. Nearly 5,000 moved out of monetary poverty by increasing their income.
3. Around 2,500 gained access to employment.
Access to markets is not a technical detail. It is the turning point between subsistence and autonomy.
From invisible work to real market access
In Ethiopia, we support women moringa producers to move from informal, low-margin sales to integration into formal value chains.
Abezash Kuno, 22, is studying Business Administration and manages, together with her mother, a farm with more than 60 moringa trees, as well as cassava and maize crops. For years, their production was sold informally. Today, thanks to the training and commercialisation support we provide, she has identified a higher value-added opportunity: moringa oil extraction, a product with growing demand.
They are not seeking one-off assistance. They are seeking efficiency, market access and the capacity to improve their lives. When women gain access to training and real markets, they move beyond subsistence economies and advance towards sustainable rural entrepreneurship. And that transforms territories.
Cocoa for peace: an economy that rebuilds communities
In Colombia, we are promoting the Cocoa for peace project, strengthening value chains in territories affected by armed conflict and illicit crops.
In San Luis Robles (Tumaco, Nariño), women producers grouped in the Corpoteva cooperative have found in cocoa a stable economic alternative to violence and the illegal economy.
With our support, we implemented a productive improvement and strengthening plan: grafting, technical assistance, and support in processing and commercialisation. The results are tangible: productivity increased from just 30 kilos per harvest to between 150 and 200 kilos every 22 days on some farms. But the impact is not only productive. It is structural.
Women such as Fanny Yadira Rodríguez, president of the cooperative, and Amanda Carolina Quiñones, head of communications, have found in the cocoa value chain a pathway to economic independence and community leadership. Their products are already sold at regional and national fairs, and they plan to open an Artisan Chocolate Shop to expand their market reach. Cocoa is not just a crop. It represents stability, reconstruction and future.
Investing in women is not symbolic. It is structural
In Ethiopia and Colombia, the pattern is clear: when women gain access to markets, they generate income, strengthen their autonomy and transform their communities.
Investing in rural women is not a symbolic gesture. It is economic justice. It is efficiency. It is sustainable development. And it ensures that women can choose their own life projects.
At Ayuda en Acción, we will continue working to ensure that women’s access to markets ceases to be a privilege and becomes an effective right for millions.
