Economic Opportunity

In many low- and middle-income countries, the path to economic opportunity runs through agriculture. Smallholder farming provides livelihoods for 2.5 billion people worldwide and over 80% of the food for regions such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

At the foundation, we help our partners develop solutions that result in more crops, income, food, credit, and economic opportunities for small farmers and that help they and their families weather the many impacts of climate change.

Olayinka Dada, Financial Service Provider Advisor, at the Lagos Business School, AbdulAzeez Oguntoyinbo, Founder and CEO at Esusu Africa, and Ifeoma Obidum, CEO of Feedwell Global Link, during a learning session in Lagos, Nigeria, on July 23, 2025.
Featured Article

The digital finance fix helping Nigeria’s market vendors grow their businesses

See how a partnership between Lagos Business School and local innovators is using digital finance to empower small business owners in Nigeria.
Read the story
Gargee Ghosh, President, Global Policy & Advocacy, speaks with female workers during a visit to the 'Take Home Ration' (THR) Plant in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Development finance needs a reset, not a retreat 

Gargee Ghosh calls for a bold reset of development finance amid a sharp decline in global aid budgets and compounding global crises.
By Gargee Ghosh President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Gates Foundation
Garden of the Future

The Garden of the Future

The Garden of the Future exhibit debuted at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. The exhibit spotlighted the people and partnerships behind some of the incredible innovations that are helping communities adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.
Phoebe Mwangangi, a farmer, at her farm in Wote, Makueni County, Kenya, on March 15, 2025. Makueni County has implemented E-MOTIVE (Early Detection and Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage), which is focused on reducing maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), a major cause of maternal mortality.

Meet the Kenyan farmer helping her community grow food in a changing climate

Kenyan farmer Phoebe Mwangangi uses climate-smart farming to fight drought, boost yields, and train hundreds of women to grow food in tough conditions.
Dr. Clare Mukankusi, a senior scientist working as the Global Breeding Lead of Common Bean for the NARO bean 6 at CGIAR’s Alliance of Bioversity International and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Kiboga District, Uganda on May 2, 2024.

Meet the innovator: This scientist is building the beans of the future

A Ugandan scientist is engineering beans to thrive despite drought, pests, and shorter growing seasons—one crossbreed at a time. 
Dr. Stellah Bosire poses for a photograph at her desk in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya on April 6, 2024.

A doctor at the intersection of women’s health and economic power

Dr. Stellah Bosire champions women’s economic empowerment and health equity. Learn how her work is transforming lives in Kenya and beyond.
Veronica Auma and her son, Terrel, at their house in Busia County, Kenya. Veronica spoke to the Gates Foundation on how affordable and high-quality child care impacted her ability to pursue economic opportunities.

Q&A: How strengthening the care economy can boost women’s workforce participation

A specialist in gender data and evidence explains how challenges and opportunities on the path to creating a more equitable care system could increase women’s participation in the global workforce.
By Radu Ban Senior Program Officer, Gender Data and Evidence, Gates Foundation
Poonam poses for a photograph with her India Post Payments Bank card that helps her access digital banking in Mumbai, India.

Why digital public infrastructure matters

Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is a powerful tool for reducing poverty. Our expert explains what it is and how it’s transforming economies worldwide.
By Thao Hong Program Officer, Gates Foundation
For a long time, Peace Alinda informally borrowed money through a friend who had the required collateral to acquire a loan. One development group member Medrine introduced Peace to Sylvia, a FINCA loan officer.With support from FINCA, Peace has invested in a number of ways, one of which is buying food supplies such as millet flour in bulk at harvest time (in December) when it is cheap and sell it at other times of the year when she can command a higher price. She is a businesswoman and a farmer with a wide variety of small investments. She also trades cattle and brokers land in her area.

Designing credit that works for women

In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, women business owners receive as few as 10% of loans issued to small and medium-sized businesses, creating an estimated $1.7 trillion financing gap for women entrepreneurs. When women don’t have the same access to much-needed capital as men, it holds back women, their businesses, and entire economies.
By Rohini Pande Professor of Economics, Yale University
Community health volunteer, Mesaid Mwarudu, conducts interview with expectant mother, Chizi Wabungo in Mariakani, Kenya on May 16, 2023.

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