Nonprofit Spotlight - WomenFirst
Planting Seeds of Change: How Women First Fuels Grassroots Empowerment
Across East Africa and South Asia, women are rewriting their futures, and WomenFirst International Fund is helping them turn bold ideas into lasting impact. By investing directly in women-led grassroots organizations, WomenFirst provides flexible funding, hands-on training, and mentorship that help women build income, start businesses, and lead local change.
One inspiring example is Lydia Charles Moyo. With flexible support and guidance from WomenFirst International Fund, she turned her vision into action, founding Panda Digital, Tanzania’s first online platform that now equips thousands of young women entrepreneurs with the skills, confidence, and tools to build lasting livelihoods. Today, thousands of women access training, business skills, and financial tools that help them grow their enterprises and lift others along the way.
WomenFirst reaches women who are too often left out of traditional funding, including refugees, domestic workers, and rural entrepreneurs, giving them the tools they need to achieve financial independence and long-term security. In the past year alone, WomenFirst partners supported more than 14,000 women and girls, launched over 500 new women-led businesses, and increased average incomes by 58%.
WomenFirst is planting the seeds of lasting change, one woman, one idea, and one thriving community at a time.