She Succeeds: Empowering Young Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs in the Agriculture Sector

 

She Succeeds is a four-year project designed to empower marginalized young Palestinian women (ages 19–29) in launching and growing agricultural startups. Despite achieving parity with men in education, women’s participation in the formal labor force remains below 19%—four times lower than that of men. Young women continue to face gender-based bias as well as economic and social barriers that limit their opportunities and constrain the development of women-led agricultural startups.

This project will focus particularly on targeted value chains and innovative green technologies for water and waste management, food processing, packaging, and marketing.

 

Project Overview:

The project provides multiple grants to establish and scale up productive startup ventures led by young women entrepreneurs, as well as women’s cooperatives and mixed cooperatives where young women play a leadership role. It specifically supports young women with limited income in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who either own and manage emerging agricultural startups or aspire to launch new ventures. The aim is to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills, foster innovation—especially through the adoption of modern technologies—and enhance their competitiveness in both local and international markets.

The project delivers a range of services to help young women overcome economic and financial barriers to entrepreneurship, including:

  • Expanding women’s access to and control over diverse startup resources and productive assets.
  • Improving access to gender-sensitive agricultural extension services and strengthening market linkages locally and internationally.
  • Providing seed funding for sustainable green innovations planned by young women startup founders.

 

Project Goal and Duration

  • Duration: 4 years (2019–2023)
  • Goal: To economically empower marginalized young Palestinian women aged 19–29 in the West Bank and Gaza by reducing financial and social barriers.

Main Objectives:

  • Increase women’s access to entrepreneurial resources and productive assets.
  • Improve access to gender-sensitive agricultural extension services and links to local/international markets.
  • Provide seed funding for sustainable green innovations designed by young women.

 

Target Groups and Grant Conditions

1. Individual Grants (for young women 19–29 years old)

  • Support for entrepreneurial ideas in the agricultural sector, especially those enhancing green value chains (inputs, production, processing, marketing, distribution).
  • Grant ceiling: USD 5,600 per individual.
  • Eligibility criteria:
  1. Applicant must be 19–29 years old.
  2. Resident and working in project target areas: Tubas, Jordan Valley, Tulkarm, Jenin, Nablus, or Gaza governorates.
  3. The idea must relate to the agricultural sector and green entrepreneurship across the value chain.
  4. The project must be innovative, feasible, non-traditional, and economically viable.
    • Examples: climate-smart agriculture, organic farming, sustainable farming, hydroponics.
  5. Provide a preliminary feasibility study and show required infrastructure.
  6. Clarify estimated job opportunities created.
  7. Commitment to participate in training/activities (2019–2023).
  8. Project must not negatively impact the environment or children’s rights.

 

2. Cooperative Grants (for women’s or mixed cooperatives)

  • Financial support for women-led or women-active agricultural cooperatives legally registered and operating in targeted areas.
  • Grant ceiling: USD 15,000 per cooperative.
  • Eligibility criteria:
  1. Cooperative must be officially registered.
  2. Must comply with administrative and financial regulations.
  3. Operates in one of the project’s target areas (Tubas, Jordan Valley, Tulkarm, Jenin, Nablus, Gaza).
  4. Women should play a clear and significant leadership role.
  5. The cooperative should have community-support initiatives.
  6. Project idea must be agricultural, innovative, feasible, and linked to green entrepreneurship.
  7. Provide a preliminary feasibility study and required infrastructure.
  8. Indicate estimated job opportunities created.
  9. No negative environmental or child-safety impacts.

 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1040631876866665

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https://www.mne.gov.ps/MnePdf/canada2.pdf