From Grants to Growth: Financing Productive Assets for Rural Women Entrepreneurs
About the Event
For women-led enterprises, the ability to grow is shaped by more than access to markets and finance. Reliable, affordable energy can determine whether an enterprise can operate consistently, increase productivity and generate sustainable incomes. Yet, clean energy is still not widely recognised as a critical enabler of women’s economic participation.
As part of Asia Impact House, PCI India, in partnership with the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (UPSRLM), GEAPP, the Gates Foundation, GIZ India and Prerna OJAS, is convening an invitation-only discussion on Decentralised Energy for Women’s Economic Empowerment (DEWEE).
The conversation will examine how decentralised renewable energy can become a pathway to stronger and more resilient women-led enterprises, drawing on DEWEE's experience of reaching 5,000 women entrepreneurs, solarising 4,172 enterprises and installing over 4 MW of solar capacity since its launch in February 2025.
Bringing together grassroots voices, government representatives, clean energy and technology partners, and philanthropic and financing leaders, the convening will explore what it will take to scale clean energy solutions for women-led enterprises, from addressing barriers around awareness, access and financing to building partnerships that can take the model beyond Uttar Pradesh.
Discussion Themes
Moving from clean energy access to clean energy livelihoods and positioning decentralised renewable energy as a livelihood multiplier for women-led enterprises.
Addressing the three key barriers to adoption: awareness, access and financing.
Exploring the role of government, financiers, technology partners, philanthropy and ecosystem actors in enabling scale.
Building partnerships around co-financing, last-mile financing, technology solutions and market linkages.
Identifying concrete commitments needed to take DEWEE beyond Uttar Pradesh and into new geographies.
Who Should Attend
This invitation-only convening is designed for leaders from:
Government and rural livelihoods missions
Philanthropic and climate funders
DRE financiers, impact investors and blended-finance players
Clean energy and technology providers
Market-linkage, skilling and ecosystem partners
Organisations working at the intersection of climate, gender and rural livelihoods