Quezon City, Philippines, 18 March 2022 – The Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI) and the Federation of People’s Sustainable Development Cooperative (FPSDC) partnered to provide economic opportunities for women in the rural areas of the country.
The FSSI-FPSDC partnership seeks to support women-owned and -led rural social enterprises (SEs). The project is part of the Responsive Interventions Supporting (women) Entrepreneurs (RISE) Fund, launched by Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, and the Macquarie Group Foundation to support women SEs in adapting and responding to emerging business opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. FSSI, a local investment partner of the Macquarie-IW RISE Fund entered a co-investment arrangement with FPSDC to bring the RISE Fund to the rural markets.
To date, the co-investment arrangement has supported the Cassava Farm Production and Consolidation project of the Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Fatima MPC) in Calubian, Leyte, and the coconut sugar production of the People’s Sustainable Consumer Cooperative (PSCC) in Mambuaya, Cagayan de Oro.
A total of 16 million in investments have been deployed to support these women-led social enterprises, expected to create jobs in their communities and support business expansion opportunities for the two cooperatives.
FSSI and FPSDC are seeking to support more women social enterprises. For more information on the project, you may contact FSSI Partnerships Manager, Irene Fernandez at irene@fssi.com.ph.
