Fund: Her Village Venture is a Success
Wow. We have the best community!
Last Friday, Fund: Her Village Venture closed with $15,000 for women in Malawi to launch small businesses and keep girls in school. It was a big success thanks to all of you.
Now 100 women in Malawi are preparing to start their new business ventures. They'll be enrolling in business training, starting peer support groups, receiving small business loans and setting up savings and loan groups to give back and keep girls in school at their local community organizations: Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee and Tikondane Positive Living Support Organisation.
Women will be following in Patuma's path who started her bakery with support from Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee a few years ago.
Read Patuma's story here: Patuma Bakes: Women in Malawi Venture in Entrepreneurship
Like most great acts, it took a community to make this happen. There were a few people who went above and beyond to help us reach success. Gayle Ortiz rallied her network and started us strong on launch day so that we had $3,000 right out of the gate.
Read Why Gayle Supported Fund: Her Village Venture
Then Sasha Rabsey at The How Fund helped us spread the word by giving us $5 for every new Twitter follower we gained in the last two days of the fund.
That's when students at our local Interact Districts jumped in. They brought us to over 1,000 Twitter followers in just one day. That raised $1,230 dollars! Talk about young people who think global - Interact students really strive to make a difference in the world. A big thank you for being such great friends to Firelight and our partners on the ground!
Sasha and The How Fund then closed out the rest of the fund to bring us to $15,000! What a fantastic show of support for women and girls, something The How Fund knows a lot about.
That isn't everyone who made Fund: Her Village Venture a success, there were many great individuals who gave and spread the word along the way. Thank you to every single one of you. Your donation makes a big difference to women in Malawi who are taking another step forward in their entrepreneurship and opening doors for girls. We can't wait to see what they do next.
So what happens now?
Firelight partners Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee and Tikondane Positive Living Support Organisation are putting their plans in place to support women and girls in Malawi .
We'll keep you updated here, but you can make sure you don't miss anything by subscribing to Fund: Her Village Venture where you'll get news and updates along the way.
Thanks for supporting us and Fund: Her Village Venture! Stay tuned for our next fund in September!