MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates)

🧑🌾 If you are part of a farming family, you know the truth: Farming is a team effort. Everyone helps with the chores. But for women farmers, sometimes gender norms mean that they do not easily get this kind of help from their spouses or families. ✍️ The Gender Action Learning System, part of MEDA's #GROW2 project in Ghana, helps farming families envision their goals and figure out how to achieve them together. With clearer communication and a common vision, families are now enjoying their work more and seeing the fruits of their collaborative growth. 💰 The GROW2 initiative is funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada and implemented in collaboration with four Key Facilitating Partners (KFPs): ProNet North Gh., ACDEP, URBANET GHANA, and TUDRIDEP Tumu. #GALS #GenderEquality #UnpaidCareWork #FamilyFarms

Environmental compliance can be a powerful force – not only for the planet, but also to advance the sustainable growth of agribusinesses. 🌱 At the recent Regional Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) Forum in Kenya, MEDA’s Leveraging Equality for Gender-Inclusive Economic Development (LEGEND) project, funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, brought together key stakeholders – including government, private sector, and project partner representatives – to discuss strategies to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in integrating sustainable practices. The SAC Forum offered several key takeaways to boost agribusiness growth through sustainability: 🔹 Environmental compliance not only ensures agribusinesses meet legal requirements, but can also help them gain a competitive edge by enhancing SME credibility, reducing risks, and improving operational efficiency. 🔹 Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has increasingly become a prerequisite to secure external funding. It can also give SMEs a competitive advantage in international trade, meeting investor expectations and aligning with global sustainability benchmarks.   🔹 Collaboration between policymakers, financial institutions, and businesses is essential for driving growth. Through LEGEND, MEDA supports SMEs to build more sustainable business models, access green financing, and adopt tools to meet regulatory and investor expectations – building more resilient and impactful agribusinesses. #Sustainability #ESG #SMEGrowth #ImpactInvestment

Join us and Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID) on April 10 for an engaging and insightful event focused on innovative financing strategies that support community-based Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in mangrove ecosystems. This is a must-attend event for anyone passionate about the future of mangrove ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods! Panelists: 💡 Jason Taylor, MBA CFA, Founder and CEO, Climate Finance Advisors 💡 Abdul Malik, Global lead, Work and Enterprise, Aga Khan Foundation 💡 Omoneka Musa Oyier Oyier, Senior Director, Technical Areas, MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) 💡 Joao Sousa, Senior Programme Manager, Ocean Team, IUCN Moderated by Sabina Bharwani, MBA,FRM,SCR, Director, Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development (CAFIID). With closing remarks from Kerry Max, Deputy Director, Partnering for Climate, Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada. ➡️ Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/eUPgki6N 🍁 Supported by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

In the Salankpang community of Mion district, Ghana, solar technology is bringing new opportunities for women in agriculture. ☀️ This Tuesday, the High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana, Her Excellency Myriam M. officially commissioned a solar-powered irrigation system in the community - supporting a shift towards climate-smart agriculture, improved household nutrition, and women's economic empowerment. For farmers in Salankpang, this means: 🚰 Year-round water access for dry-season vegetable farming 💪 Increased productivity and resilience against unpredictable rainfall 🌱 Environmentally sustainable farming through solar-powered irrigation 💰 Stronger agricultural value chains and income generation for women in agriculture The new irrigation initiative is part of MEDA's Greater Rural Opportunities for Women 2 (GROW2) project in Ghana, funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada. During the event, High Commissioner Myriam Montrat emphasized Canada’s commitment to women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment, commending the partnership between MEDA, Global Affairs Canada, ACDEP, and the Regional Agriculture Department in making this project a reality. Key to the success of the project is community support for women smallholder farmers. Naa Issah Alhassan, Overlord of Salankpang, reaffirmed this support on Tuesday - ensuring dedication to the long-term sustainability of the new solar-powered system. Kathleen Flynn-Dapaah Francis Essuman Farida Latif #ClimateSmartAgriculture #SustainableFarming #SolarPowerIrrigation

Water tanks are critical for the success of smallholder farmers. They: 🥬 Enhance food security 🐔 Supplement poultry business income 💧 Enable sustainable water resource management That's why the Joyful Women Organization and MEDA, through the #LEGEND project funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, are subsidizing 3,000-liter water tanks for 2,000 women-led poultry farmers in Kenya's Coast and Lake Regions. Currently, the farmers heavily rely on unpredictable water sources such as seasonal rainfall and communal boreholes. These sources are prone to fluctuations, especially during dry seasons, often resulting in water shortages that negatively impact poultry health, productivity, and farm efficiency. These water tanks will allow farmers to efficiently collect and store rainwater during the rainy season, maintaining optimal hygiene conditions essential for improving overall poultry health and production. #SustainableAgriculture #SustainableDevelopment

⏳ Tomorrow’s the Day! ⏳ What’s on the agenda? ✅ The business case for SDG-aligned investments ✅ The SDG Impact Standards & ISO/UNDP Guidelines ✅ How investors and policymakers can collaborate for greater impact 📅 March 25 | 12:00 PM ET | Virtual 🔗 Details and registration: https://lnkd.in/g6_-nkMZ Sara Lisa Ørstavik UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub Alejandra Revueltas Deetken Impact Omoneka Musa Oyier MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) Polina Gamayunova, MBA Clear Skies Investment Management Melek De-Wint #SustainableFinance #ImpactInvesting #SDGs #CAFIID

Are you an Impact and Knowledge Management (IKM) professional who is proficient in Spanish and English? Apply to our open position today! 🌎 Location: Guatemala, Honduras, and countries within Latin America 📅 Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis 🔗 Link for more information and to apply: https://lnkd.in/ee4AGiyz #GuatemalaJobs #HondurasJobs #LatinAmericaJobs

Last week, MEDA’s Greater Rural Opportunities for Women 2 (GROW2) project convened stakeholders in Northern Ghana at an Integrated Market Systems Assessment (IMSA) Review Workshop to accelerate sustainable agri-food systems development. ➡️ The IMSA Review Workshop is a diagnostic approach to achieving sustainable outcomes and systemic change through the comprehensive analysis of a particular agri-food market system. It focuses on economic, social, and environmental dimensions to determine the root causes of market failures and to inform the final implementation phase of the #GROW2 project. 📈 Mary Ali Laar, the CEO of MarvMay Enterprise shared the success she has found with the GROW2 project so far: “I have grown from 5 to 15 workers, supporting more families and youth, as well as providing milling services for upcoming women in agribusiness and mentoring 150 women smallholder farmers.” The GROW2 project is funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada. 🇨🇦 #MarketSystems #SustainableAgriculture #InclusiveGrowth

🌳 On this #InternationalDayofForests, we celebrate the farmers who tend forests and the businesses that make their work possible. Healthy forests: 🧺 Ensure global food security 💰 Sustain livelihoods 🍃 Promote biodiversity Through MEDA's #RIISA project in the #Philippines 🇵🇭, small-scale farmers care for varieties of #IndigenousTrees alongside cacao trees, creating an ecosystem that not only produces a high-quality #OrganicCacao product, but also sequesters carbon. Kennemer Eco Solutions, the agri-business partner in the project, pays the small-scale farmers a good rate for their crops, and also pays them for their #CarbonSequestration. The payment for the carbon sequestration is delivered by Kennemer in the form of inputs for the farmers to maintain their forests. 🧑🌾 Susan Uyanguren, a farmer in the RIISA project describes her work: “Growing our crops (and caring for the forest) enhances our mindset that planting is not just for earning money but also for our health. If the soil is good, the quality of your harvest will also be good. But if you see that it’s not very suitable for your crops, you have to think about how to improve it. The air is fresher when there are plants. It has been a huge help to our family, especially in educating my child because it was through selling our crops that my child was able to finish school.” ➡️ Read more about MEDA's work in the Philippines that supports "Forests and Foods" here: https://lnkd.in/eb4Mj9zk

A reason for celebration! MEDA and Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada recently held the official kick-off event for the five-year, CAD 12.3 million Opportunities for Circular and Inclusive Diversification in Agriculture (#OCIDA) project that will create or sustain 7,000 decent jobs in #Honduras. The project will strengthen market systems for producers and entrepreneurs in Honduras’ Dry Corridor, specifically in the sectors of: ☕ Coffee 🍫 Cacao 🥬 Horticulture Project partners include: Lutheran World Relief, Fundacion para el Desarrollo Empresarial Rural (FUNDER), Alterna, Mennonite Social Action Committee (CASM), and Fundación Capital. The Government of Honduras – through the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Secretariat (SRECI), GAC, and MEDA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate collaboration for the successful implementation of the OCIDA project. To learn more, visit: https://lnkd.in/euAvtb9P