Reflecting on the Past and Planning for the Future at Time + Tide Foundation
Guest Post by Thokozile Mwamba, Communications Manager at Time + Tide Foundation
Time + Tide Foundation is a fiscally sponsored project of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation.
For the last 10 years, Time + Tide Foundation (TTF) has worked alongside communities in Zambia and Madagascar to expand opportunities for people who have historically faced social and economic exclusion. As in many rural and remote communities, women and girls are among those the most affected. A central part of TTF’s work is female empowerment: keeping girls in school and equipping women who left education early with the skills and income to drive their own futures.
TTF’s Female Empowerment Programme began with Girls’ Clubs, which support girls to remain in school and continue their education. In 2021, the program expanded to include women who had dropped out of school. The Community Women’s Programme offers literacy, financial, and business training, followed by support to develop business plans and grants to start or grow enterprises. Its goal is to increase women’s income earning potential and financial independence.
The first women to complete the program in South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi recorded an average 272% increase in monthly household income. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis of the pilot cohort found wider changes too. Graduates reported increased feelings of self-worth, greater financial independence, and less stress, while children and other family members who relied on them experienced greater stability at home.
The SROI analysis and evaluation also found that the program generated a staggering $482,720 USD in social value from an initial investment of just $44,801 USD. Every $1 USD invested in the Community Women’s Programme generates $10.77 USD of tangible social value for the community. Women also reported making personal and financial decisions based on the knowledge and skills they had gained through the program.
One woman, Mable,* reached a level of financial stability that enabled her to leave a physically abusive marriage in which she had been financially dependent on her husband. Through her business reselling clothes and cosmetics, she earned enough to build a new house for herself and her two children. She continues to run the business and earn an income.
Aliness, a vegetable farmer, shows how the program has helped women build on businesses they had already started. Before the program, she supplied three lodges. After a business training introduced her to the idea of market expansion, she approached new customers herself, growing her list to seven lodges and doubling her monthly income. With the savings, she bought a water pump and solar panels, building her own irrigation system and freeing her farm from the cost of piped water.
The next ten years carry the same promise, expanded even further. The Foundation’s task is to now take what has worked for Aliness and Mable,* and apply it to more women who only need the right training and a small push of capital to build something lasting. Growth here isn’t measured in new programs launched, but in more households like theirs reaching the point where our support can gradually step back because the pathway holds on its own.
Stories like Mable’s* and Aliness’ show what female empowerment can mean in women’s lives. It means having more choice, greater financial security, and a stronger sense of wellbeing — with benefits that extend to their children, families, and communities.
*Pseudonym
PVF is excited to continue to support Time + Tide as they take next steps to expand their impact.
