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Project Description - EmpowerHER
Identified Needs:
Women in rural and underserved regions of Kosovo face significant barriers to economic participation, including limited access to financial literacy, entrepreneurial training, and business mentorship. Many women engage in informal income-generating activities-such as baking, beekeeping, or handmade textiles-but struggle to scale these efforts due to a lack of market access, professional networks, and startup capital.
These challenges are compounded by regional disparities, cultural norms, and limited exposure to high-growth sectors such as ICT, agribusiness, and creative industries.
How the Project Will Meet These Needs:
EmpowerHER is a two-year pilot project that will train 40 women from rural areas in financial literacy, business planning, and entrepreneurship. Participants will be mentored as they develop microenterprises tailored to local market opportunities. These women will also serve as peer mentors for others in their communities, creating a multiplier effect.
The project will focus on sectors with high potential for women's inclusion-including agribusiness (e.g., baking, beekeeping), slow fashion, ICT services, and rural tourism. It will integrate mentoring, digital tools, and market linkage strategies to ensure sustainability.
Timeline:
The project will be implemented over 24 months:
- Months 1-3: Participant selection, baseline assessment, and training curriculum finalization
- Months 4-9: Financial and entrepreneurial training
- Months 10-12: Business planning, sector-specific mentoring, and initial enterprise development
- Months 13-18: All 40 participants will present fully developed business plans
- Months 19-24: Up to 20 selected participants will each receive €5,000 in startup funding to launch their microenterprises, with continued mentoring and monitoring
Use of Project Funds:
Project funds will be used to:
- Provide training sessions and learning materials
- Cover stipends for trainers and local mentors
- Procure basic equipment for participants' microenterprises
- Develop digital tools for business tracking and mentorship
- Fund up to 20 microenterprises with €5,000 in startup capital each
- Support outreach events and networking activities
- Cover monitoring, evaluation, and documentation costs over the two-year period
Club Member Involvement:
Rotary club members will be actively engaged in:
- Providing mentorship on business planning and branding
- Hosting virtual workshops on entrepreneurship and market trends
- Participating in the business plan review process during Year 2
- Promoting the project to Rotary and non-Rotary networks
- Supporting grant monitoring, reporting, and storytelling
EmpowerHER is more than a pilot-it is a demonstration of how targeted investment in women can create sustainable, inclusive economic growth in Kosovo.
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