Opportunity for Women
Empower their entrepreneurship
Location of impact : Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia
Grant : 5000€
Project supported in 2023-2024
Opportunity For Women is a non-profit organisation operating in 4 countries in South-East Asia, helping women to achieve their dream of entrepreneurship. In practical terms, Opportunity For Women supports women seamstresses and weavers so that they can make a living from their activity in complete autonomy, as part of a virtuous economic model that respects the environment and local cultures.
The direct impact is to enable the women supported to earn an income from their activity, increase their self-confidence and develop their skills. Indirectly, they can feed their families, finance their children’s education and preserve skills that are gradually disappearing due to a lack of outlets and social recognition.
Azickia supports OFW by taking part in the development of sales by the association’s beneficiaries, in local sales channels to support the local economy and in Europe to extend their market and thus ensure them a decent income.
the organisation carrying the project
OFW is developing 4 major actions:
- Setting up useful partnerships to find sustainable markets for the products made by the women
- Designing appropriate training courses: natural dyeing, business development, sales tools, etc. to help them develop their projects while protecting the environment.
- Ensure the financial viability of their project. We help them to sell locally, but also in Europe, thanks to our website and the organisation of physical sales at events or in boutiques in Europe.
- Supporting women in setting up their own businesses. We help them to source raw materials in an eco-responsible way, to create a catalogue of products, to set fair prices by placing orders and by working with them on quality, product designs, and so on.
The beneficiaries are women from disadvantaged backgrounds or ethnic minorities in South-East Asia. They often cannot read or write, do not always speak the language of their country or live in war-torn regions (e.g. Myanmar). They are between 20 and 60 years old, passionate about their craft, and dream of perpetuating it, earning an income from it and passing it on to their daughters. Behind these skills lies the history of their people: the fabrics feature designs that symbolise their culture, nature or specific events (aeroplanes from the Vietnam war).
Opportunity For Women adapts to the rhythm of each woman, which is why the level of progress of the projects is quite varied: Julia, in Myanmar, already employs 4 people in her sewing workshop, a weaving cooperative that enables 6 weavers to have an additional income in addition to their work in the fields, etc…
Through its actions, Opportunity For Women is helping to meet several Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), including: #1 No Poverty; #5 Gender Equality; #10 Reduced Inequality; #12 Responsible Consumption and Production.
key figures
- Opportunity For Women currently operates in 4 countries in South-East Asia: Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
- The charity supported 67 women in 2022, indirectly reaching 335 people, such as families who benefited from their income and children who were able to continue their education.
- On average, each woman received €225 in 2022, equivalent to almost a month’s full-time local salary.
