From Skills to Profit: Women Transforming Rural Value Chains in Tanzania

 “I always knew I had the strength to do more, but I didn’t have the skills or the chance. I was capable, I just needed an opportunity to prove it,” says Leticia Mikaeli, a 31-year-old entrepreneur from Samata village in Ikungi District.

Like many rural women, Mikaeli faced intersecting challenges – limited access to entrepreneurship training, heavy unpaid care workloads, and social norms that discouraged her from engaging in business outside the home. In her community, even when women were earning an income, most could only make money by selling raw farm produce or doing small, informal jobs that paid very little.

 “Some women are discouraged from moving freely or starting businesses. Others are stopped by their husbands, or they fear being judged. Many women also do not believe in their own abilities,” says Mikaeli.

Just a few years before, Mikaeli’s earnings were limited. Without skills in business planning or product processing, she and many of her peers relied on selling raw produce or undertaking small-scale tasks that yielded minimal returns. What she and others needed, she says, were the skills and exposure needed to tap into more profitable markets.

All this began to change when UN Women and the Ikungi District council partnered to offer TVET, value addition and basic business skills training for women in 2023.

The Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), implemented jointly by FAO, IFAD, UN Women, WFP and local partners, and supported by the Governments of Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, has enabled rural women and girls from 12 villages in Ikungi to diversify into sustainable off-farm enterprises. 

A total of 89 women and girls participated in targeted training. In addition to technical and value addition skills, training covered topics such as nutritious flour processing, soap and cosmetics production, financial literacy, branding, and digital marketing, strengthening their capacity to move beyond traditional farming and generate new, reliable income streams.

In addition to technical knowledge, the training fostered confidence and a sense of collective identity, enabling women to see themselves as producers and entrepreneurs capable of accessing broader markets.

“After the training in Ikungi, we saw the importance of uniting as young women,” says Ester Andrea, a training participant from Ikungi. “Together we could build something sustainable.”

In October 2024, nine women from neighbouring villages, including Mikaeli and Andrea, formalized their cooperation by founding the IKUWO Women’s Group. By pooling their resources, skills, and networks, they are now scaling production in ways that were previously unattainable.

Beyond training, the JP RWEE project also provided the group with start-up capital and structured mentoring. With this support, IKUWO began producing a range of high-value products such as soap and other hygiene goods. The group also learned how to navigate social media to build brand visibility and reach new clients outside of their region.

“We are producing goods that sustain our group and help us continue our processing activities,” Mikaeli says.

The collective’s approach also emphasised inclusive economic participation. Through shared decision-making, cost-sharing arrangements, and regular accountability meetings, women developed governance skills essential for running a formal enterprise. The group also began training youth within their community on entrepreneurship skills.

As a result, IKUWO’s work has not only increased household incomes but also expanded agency, leadership, and resilience among rural women.

For Andrea, the experience has sparked new ambitions: “The group has changed my life,” she says, adding that in the near future, she would like to further scale production and create jobs for other women and young girls, replicating the group’s success across Ikungi and beyond.

Mikaeli reports that her participation in the group has transformed her self-confidence and standing within her family and community. The skills she acquired have made her a recognised businessperson and a role model for other women and girls who once saw entrepreneurship as beyond their reach.

“I have seen that entrepreneurship doesn’t just give you an income,” she says, “it gives you dignity, and a future.”