Investing in women powers climate resilience, spurs local economic growth

Severe weather, high energy costs and thin margins go hand-in-hand for many small business owners in the Philippines – and the recent energy crisis has accentuated their problems. Women-led businesses, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas, often face additional difficulties in accessing finance, technology, information and business support. A United Nations initiative has set out to change that and has already provided over 16,700 women business owners with assistance, including over US$ 2 million in clean energy loans.

“When clean energy financing is intentionally designed to reach women-led small businesses, it can unlock a powerful pathway toward climate resilience, economic security and local development,” said Parimita Mohanty, Programme Management Officer at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 

The EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies initiative, a joint programme led by UN Women and UNEP, supported by the Governments of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland, is breaking down the financial barriers faced by women, supporting green livelihoods and jobs, and offering a roadmap for more inclusive climate action.

Unlocking renewable energy entrepreneurship in Iloilo

In Iloilo, the first province in the country to pass a renewable energy ordinance with its own budget allocation, clean energy is directly transforming local public services. Through a strategic collaboration under EmPower, provincial officers are embedding gender equality into local energy efficiency plans.  In practice, this means ensuring women's needs and priorities are reflected in renewable energy investments, from more reliable health services to safer public spaces and new green job opportunities. The lessons from Iloilo are now informing EmPower's support to 31 other provinces across the Philippines as they advance a more gender-responsive clean energy transition.

EmPower, through the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc., partners with microfinance institutions, including Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI) and the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), giving rural women entrepreneurs access to financing specifically for renewable energy technologies, combined with practical business training.

“Our goal with this joint initiative is to show how we can stimulate resilient and inclusive grassroots economic growth through supporting women entrepreneurs,” said Rosalyn Mesina, Country Programme Coordinator at UN Women Philippines. “Truly, we are seeing that women are proving to be viable clients for green finance when products and tools are designed according to their realities, needs, and constraints - and once addressed, the impact goes beyond their businesses, but the communities where they belong.” 

Here are the stories of four entrepreneurs who benefitted from EmPower support. 

Mary Grace Moreno: Livestock farming with solar energy

In the town of Maasin, Mary Grace runs a small livestock business of over twenty pigs, an enterprise easily hurt by intense summer heat and unpredictable power outages. “We need to run the fans to keep the animals cool during the day, and we need to feed the pigs at night, so our energy costs are high,” said Mary Grace. For years, her business relied on an unstable electricity supply, including a low-cost solar system she bought online but which could provide power for only an hour. Through EmPower’s partnership with NWTF, Mary Grace secured a small loan to install a higher quality solar home system. This gave her energy independence, cutting her monthly electricity bills, and enabling her business to be more sustainable. 

Avelina Simpia: Pastry and online food vending with a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) home system

In nearby Zarraga, Avelina faced an energy bottleneck for her pastry production and food vending business, which she runs with her daughter Cherile. For her, electricity is a necessity for food preparation, keeping her products fresh and operating her online store. Rising power rates kept her profit margins thin, making it difficult to save money or expand her shop.

Partnering with ASHI under EmPower, Avelina took out a clean energy loan to install a rooftop solar PV home system last year. Generating her own electricity has dropped her operating costs, increasing profits, which she plans to re-invest in growing her business.

Rosenne Baco Fiscal: Hog and poultry farming with a solar PV home system

Rosenne operates a hog and poultry business in Zarraga. In livestock farming, heat mitigation and consistent ventilation are critical to animal health and survival. Relying on an unpredictable local grid meant that sudden power failures during extreme heatwaves put her entire livestock population at risk, while high electricity prices stunted her ability to grow even when power was available.

Through EmPower, Rosenne integrated a reliable solar setup into her farming infrastructure. This clean energy alternative provides continuous and reliable energy for an egg incubator, lighting and ventilation systems. Rosenne has improved animal safety, increased her production capacity, and strengthened her business in a historically male-dominated sector.

Beyond small businesses: Commercial solar energy in Batangas
While the solutions in Iloilo demonstrated how clean energy helps micro-businesses, in Batangas the model scales up to power larger women-owned operations as well. Through the technical assistance provided by MCPI under EmPower, local thrift banks, such as Bangko Kabayan, can support larger-scale green infrastructure investments.

Mary Rose Bathan Buen, Commercial Solar-Powered Ice Plant

In the town of Balayan, Mary Rose runs an industrial business for the local fishing community. Backed by a pioneering, clean energy loan from Bangko Kabayan, she installed Balayan’s first ice production plant, which works using solar power.

Mary Rose’s plant serves as an economic anchor for the coastal community. For local fisherfolk, quick access to affordable ice is crucial to bring their catch to market, preventing post-harvest food waste, protects fisherfolk’s incomes, and creating local green jobs. 

Sparking commitments to accelerate gender responsive actions
EmPower looks to build on tested local solutions and scale them through stronger partnerships with government, financial institutions, and women entrepreneurs. 

“By helping to reduce the perceived risks of green technology, supporting financial institutions to design products that respond to women’s realities, and demonstrating strong demand from women-led businesses, EmPower is helping build an investment-ready model for energy transition in the Philippines,” said UN Women’s Mesina.