Promoting female empowerment and local economic development in Ghana

Cristiana Benedetti Fasil

Cristiana holds a Ph.D in economics and is the Head and co-founder of the non-profit initiative Social Venture Africa. She has an international profile with professional experience in Italy, Spain, UK, Ghana and Sweden. Her dream is to work on projects that combine sustainable socio-economic development with economic research. Cristiana is a passionate traveller and in love with Africa.

Social Venture Africa

Social Venture Africa is a non-profit initiative that promotes women empowerment and local economic development in Ghana. The aim of the initiative is to contribute to poverty reduction by introducing sustainable market-based solutions. In February 2014, SVAfrica launched its first pilot project “Empower Women to Charge-up Ghana” aimed at providing training to disadvantaged women in the Volta Region of Ghana to produce solar-powered cell phone chargers, lamps and radios. The ultimate goal is to generate income for young vulnerable women, while at the same time promoting employment and local business development, and improving local productivity. SVAfrica is also developing another project in Ghana that aims to introduce a cheap and effective low-tech water disinfection method based on solar energy. The initiative explores innovative ways to implement the technology and to employ state-of-the-art research methods for measuring and optimizing the effectiveness of water disinfection solutions and their health impact.