Growth leadership and entrepreneurship

Gender Links is committed to advancing the economic empowerment of women, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and survivors of gender-based violence. At the heart of GL�s mission is the belief that economic independence is a key lever for broader gender equality and social justice.
GL�s economic empowerment program equips women with the skills, tools, and confidence needed to either start or grow their own income-generating activities. Recognising the intersectional challenges women face - including glass ceiling, gender-based violence, poverty, family responsibilities, and limited access to education or formal work - GL offers comprehensive and diverse support. This includes training in entrepreneurship, literacy, leadership, self-esteem, agriculture, and digital literacy, tailored to the diverse needs and experience levels of participants.
Workshops are interactive and practical, guiding participants in generating business ideas, crafting business plans, and taking actionable steps toward financial independence. Through this approach, women gain both the technical skills, and the empowerment required to make long-term choices.
A key aspect of GL�s work is carried out in Safe Haven Halfway Home (SHHH), where residents (women survivors of GBV, homeless women and their children) are supported through personalised economic plans. These include workshops, mentorship, job placement initiatives, and assistance in setting up small businesses, all with the aim of fostering self-sufficiency, helping them to reintegrate society and start a new life.
GL collected data during Women and Youth Empowerment sessions and GEI (Gender Empowerment Index) and it revealed several urgent needs among beneficiaries, including access to free childcare facilities to help mothers seek employment, and increased support for women to start small businesses. The demand for training is strong.


MOL Project: 2022�2023
One of GL�s initiatives is the MOL Project, designed in response to the ecological disaster caused by the MV Wakashio oil spill.
This two-year initiative focused on empowering female fishers across 13 villages along the southeast coast of Mauritius. The project aimed to alleviate poverty and build sustainable economic development through a mix of advocacy, entrepreneurship training, life skills advice, and job placement support.
By working closely with local councils and deploying a robust mentoring system, GL ensured continuous guidance for participants. The project not only enhanced employability but also fostered personal growth as well as collective resilience.
Women are now earning money through small businesses, enabling them to provide for their children�s education and healthcare needs and to walk away from Gender-Based violence situations. New job opportunities were created in communities historically dependent on fishing and now affected by environmental and economic decline.

As one participant, Caroline (name anonymised), shared:
�When the sea is not good, we don�t get anything. After the Wakashio oil spill and Covid-19, it�s become harder to survive. Gender Links helped us understand we can believe in ourselves again. They�ve given us tools to build something better�not just for us, but for our children.�