Village
Savings &
Loan
Associations
Pillar
1
Financial Inclusion
improving literacy
& numeracy skills
and connections to
formal finance
Pillar
2
Entrepreneurship
supporting income
growth and
diversification
Pillar
3
Gender Equity
promoting joint
decision making
Pillar
4
Healthy Families
promoting nutrition,
sexual & reproductive
health and
child protection
The Women
for Change
Model
OUR 2022 ACHIEVEMENTS
Empowering Communities Through Our Unique Women for Change program
To make that vision a reality, in 2016 Mars has
teamed up with CARE to create the 'Women for
Change' program. The Women for Change (W4C)
model, which originated in Côte d'Ivoire and is
grounded in a proven theory of change, builds
on CARE's successful Village Savings & Loan
Association (VSLA) approach.
W4C is designed to empower participants in
multiple ways. The program increases access to vital
resources and leverages collective power to break
down social and financial barriers. It focuses on four
key areas: Financial Inclusion, Entrepreneurship,
Gender Equity, and Healthy Families. The goal
is not only to improve gender equity within
households and communities but also to achieve
tangible benefits like increased savings, skill
enhancement, and income growth. Additionally,
the program aims to elevate school enrollment rates
and boost nutrition levels.
Another unique aspect of W4C is its effort to shift
social norms and reduce gender-based violence.
It involves men in the process, encouraging joint
saving and decision-making. By employing this
multifaceted approach, W4C strengthens women's
roles in the cocoa supply chain, using a wellbalanced
mix of solutions.
Encouraged by the results achieved by W4C, in
2020, Mars committed to scale up the W4C model
with an additional investment of $10 million,
including an expansion of the model to Ghana.
As of 2022, the program has already exceeded its
initial targets by reaching more than 77,000 W4C
VSLA members (over 75% are women). That number
is expected to reach over 85.000 by the end of
2023. By the end of 2022, the W4C members had
collectively saved over $7,4 million in total to invest
back into in their businesses and family needs.
Expand CARE's Village Savings and Loans
Associations (VSLAs) to help economically
and socially empower women and men
through financial literacy, household
savings and loans, and diversified income.
Embed a gender transformative
approach into cocoa policies, strategies,
partnerships and programs linked to
advancing respect for human rights
and improving the environment and
farmer incomes.
The empowerment of women and girls in the cocoa supply chain catalyzes progress toward increasing
incomes, protecting human rights and preserving forests. Mars envisions a world where cocoa farming
is truly inclusive, where resources are offered in a non-discriminatory manner and accessible to all
cocoa farmers regardless of gender, and where women and girls in cocoa farming communities can
reach their full potential.
OUR AMBITION FOR
Unlocking
Opportunities
for Women
ADVANCING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN MARS | COCOA FOR GENERATIONS | 2022 ANNUAL REPORT | PAGE 10