frequently
asked
questions

When you educate a woman, you change the destiny of her entire family. ‘There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women’ Kofi Annan said when he was heading the UN. For Buzz Women investing in women is a deliberate choice. The development of women has a strong and proven effect on her family, community and society at large.

Our focus on women, does not mean we are against men. On the contrary, from the onset we encourage women to share their learnings at home with their husband and children. As men are often involved in running the family business they take serious interest and join the learning process in this way. Many men testify that they are happy, not only with the growth in skills and confidence of their wife, but also with the impact on the whole family.

We don’t. They empower themselves. In India we call it “self-shakti”: unleashing their inner power. We create the circumstances in which they can develop themselves. First of all we bring a transformation process within their reach, by taking the school to their doorstep. Then we give them the chance to find out how they can manage the money they have in a better way. They find out quickly that by shifting their spending pattern, starting to save and invest in their small business, they can get rid of their debts and start pursuing their dreams.

This, in fact, gives them the confidence and courage to take new initiatives and speak up. The underlying notion is that the women start to appreciate their self-worth and help each other grow. It is extremely fulfilling to witness the sessions and see the shift in energy and sparkle in their eyes.

We are now active in India and The Gambia. The fact that we met Uthara (our co-founder) in India made us start there. And since the original idea was born in The Gambia we felt we were morally obliged to get it going there. And of course, women in both countries live in a patriarchal system where they lead lives basically focused on serving others. Not getting the opportunity to develop their own talents and pursue their own dreams.

We reach out to the women through our partner organizations – NGO’s, MFI’s, Government Organizations - who have grassroots level presence. These organizations have established connections with rural communities and work closely with organized groups of women whose income falls below the poverty line. These organizations already have a trusted relationship with the women and through them our access to the women becomes easier.

No, we give no money, we take no money! Buzz Women is not about giving loans to women. Our training gives the women skills to manage their finances better. We tell this upfront to the women that we not offer them any monetary benefits. Instead, we tell the women that we offer knowledge, tools, skills that they make use of to change their lives.

After the initial training with the buses, a permanent education system is established. The anchor women, selected by the women themselves, organise and lead monthly learning meetings with their group (called the Buzz Beehive). The anchor women are continuously supported and trained by Buzz Women. A specialised Inspiration Fellowship equips them to become even better leaders and role models. In turn, the anchor women transfer all the knowledge they receive back to their beehive in their own villages. In this way a permanent learning, monitoring and peer support system is established already in more than 7000 villages.

Given our scale we are able to operate in a very cost efficient way. To train one women and make her part of the ongoing education system (led by local anchor women) the investment ranges from € 5 per woman (India) to € 9 (The Gambia). These differences have to with population density and economies of scale.

Bhagyalakshmi, a daily wage labourer and a farmer is today confident that she has the capability to repay her huge debt. Rajeshwari, perhaps the fastest entrepreneur we have seen, started a snacks business in her village within 7 days of attending our training. Aminata in The Gambia started producing and selling cooking bags. More income, cleaner cooking and less deforestation.

We are creating such stories every single day.

If you are someone who is intrigued by the problem of poverty and want to be associated with our efforts in combating it sustainably, you will find it rewarding to fund us. The opposite of poverty is not wealthy but opportunity and choice. We want to give the poor the opportunity to learn about their own behaviour, exposure to the world and how to own the solutions. With your support, we can together help women come out of poverty and give them the confidence that their lives can be made better.

Once people see our work in action, they fall in love with it. Seeing the spark in the eyes of the women, their strength and ambition. Our funding comes from a wide range of people and organizations. From large corporations to individuals. The women we train also indicated they want to contribute and empower fellow women. In India we are in the process of setting up a ‘Shakti-fund’ that enables the women to donate and become a member of Buzz Women.

Have a look at our partners page. Are you interested in becoming a partner of Buzz Women? Click here.

90% of the money goes directly into training of women. The other 10% is for running and improving organization.