Cash prizes provide incentive for innovation

Rome 26 May 2010 – In an effort to boost the profile of women entrepreneurs in Panama – and reward their work with cash – the Rural Sustainable Development Project of the Ngäbe-Bugle Region in coordination with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is holding the Second Annual Enterprising Indigenous Women’s Contest to Combat Poverty.

Marta Linares de Martinelli, the first lady of Panama, is expected to attend the contest’s awards ceremony, which will include exhibitions on indigenous handicrafts and allow the 10 finalists – organizations from the Emberá-Wounaan, Kuna and Ngäbe-Bugle autonomous regions – to promote their businesses. The expo and awards ceremony will be held on 27 May in the Centro de Capacitación Ascanio Arosemena de la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá.

“With these types of events we hope to give public recognition to the best entrepreneurial projects in these rural regions,” said Josefina Stubbs, Director of IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division. “Rather than simply giving out awards or trophies, we’ve decided to offer cash prizes. This cash infusion will allow these enterprising women to re-invest in their businesses, allowing them to evolve from simple cottage industries to viable business ventures.”

Thirty-three indigenous women’s organizations entered the competition. The final 10 are now competing for US$1000 to $1500 for the best innovations in micro-enterprise management strategies. The Chichica Community Emergency Economic Re-imbursement Committee will receive a special award for their social capacity building efforts.

“In a competition like this, everybody wins. Not only will the finalists have a chance to showcase their businesses, but they also will have preferential access to the Panamanian Small Business organization (AMPYME),” said Bernardo Jaen, Executive Director of the Rural Sustainable Development Project of the Ngäbe-Bugle Region. “The women of Panama make an amazing array of handicrafts – from the hand-stitched molas of the Kuna to the intricate wood carvings of the Wounaan – but it’s often difficult for them to market and promote their work. Our goal is to help these women find access to new markets, new strategies and new ways of doing business.” 

Press release No.: IFAD/36/2010

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 350 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).