The new team members

THE CHALLENGE

Founded in 2014 by 5 HEC students, W4’s field partner Follow’Her promotes women’s empowerment in developing countries by harnessing digital technologies.

This year’s field mission brings together four friends from ESSEC – Manon, Rachida, Lorelie, and Ines – who aim to take Follow’Her’s work further and expand the Follow’Her community.

Digital technologies can be a powerful catalyst for women’s empowerment, enabling the widespread sharing of information and opening up possibilities for economic and social collaboration. Follow’Her aims to help women in developing countries to take full advantage of the vast range of digital opportunities that can contribute to women’s empowerment and also render women’s role in socioeconomic progress more visible.

In partnership with W4, Follow’Her’s mission in 2016 is to spotlight women changemakers in developing countries who are pioneering social enterprises that are effectively addressing local community needs. Follow’Her will assist the female entrepreneurs to harness digital technology to further develop and replicate their social enterprises.

The SOLUTIONS WE'RE PROPOSING

Follow’Her’s field mission will take place over a period of 6 months and will take the team to Africa and the Middle East. During their trip, Follow’Her will work with local female social entrepreneurs to help scale up and publicize their enterprises. Follow’Her will also help spotlight the innovative techniques and best practices of these female social entrepreneurs through a series of interviews and a documentary film.

In Tunisia, the team will work with another W4 field partner, Acacias For All, a social enterprise founded by Sarah Toumi (an Ashoka and Echoing Green Fellow). The project Acacias for All works to combat desertification, promote sustainable agriculture, and promote women’s social and economic empowerment in the Sfax region of Tunisia. The Follow’Her team will help to develop the digital component of this program, i.e., the creation of a website and MOOC to enable other female farmers in the region to replicate the model.

Photo of the women participating in the Acacias for All program

In Kenya and Uganda, Follow’Her will work with Buffalo Grid, a social business originally founded in India, which uses solar energy to provide a mobile power and internet service to off-grid communities. A network of female solar-energy hub operators delivers the service to local communities. The previous Follow’Her team worked with Buffalo Grid in India, and this year Follow’Her will help Buffalo Grid to extend their services across Kenya and Uganda. The team will carry out market studies to optimize the implementation of Buffalo Grid in the region.

THE IMPACT OF GIVING

“Investing in women is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.” Ban Ki-Moon

Your donation will enable Follow’Her to carry out their field missions to provide capacity-building support for Buffalo Grid and Acacias for All, two wonderful organizations with huge potential but very limited resources.

By supporting Follow’Her’s field missions, you’re helping to ensure that women have the same digital opportunities as men. And by promoting women’s access to digital technologies (those that many people take for granted, such as mobile phones, computers, Internet), you’re not only helping to empower women — you’re also contributing to wider socioeconomic progress, which can benefit entire communities

Join Follow’Her and follow their exciting journey on  Facebook,  Twitter and their website.