HerVenture for Women Entrepreneurs

HerVenture (HV), the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women’s free mobile learning app for women entrepreneurs was piloted in 2018/19 in Nigeria, Indonesia and Vietnam. The App provides women owners of micro and small businesses with the knowledge and skills to successfully grow their enterprises. As HV can be accessed on-the-go, women entrepreneurs can fit training around their busy lives managing their businesses and families. Just weeks into the pandemic, women were sharing with us that their businesses had been significantly affected, causing or threatening devastating impacts on themselves and their families. Our research to understand COVID-19’s effects highlighted the desperate need to put business support and relevant training into the hands of as many women entrepreneurs as possible. Two critical learning needs emerged to help women make their businesses more resilient: knowledge of e-commerce and digital marketing. These two learning tracks were rapidly developed along with expansion plans to roll out and HV as widely as possible. HV has reached nearly 23,000 women entrepreneurs since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. We were able to expand in existing countries and enter Kenya. For many of these women, the app has helped them navigate business challenges during this period.