Female technology rally at IICA Headquarters strengthened the businesses of Costa Rican rural women

Principal — *The rally participants came from places like Cartago, Acosta, Ciudad Quesada and other rural areas of Costa Rica.*

San Jose, September 1 2023 (IICA)- With a view to bridging the technology gap that affects rural women entrepreneurs in Costa Rica’s agriculture sector, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) delivered training to close to 30 women from the country’s central region. Topics covered included data collection tools on open platforms for information systematization, drone flying techniques, and geolocation and geovisualization applications.

The participants in the Female Technology Rally are part of the National Rural Women’s Forum promoted by the National Institute for Women (INAMU) of Costa Rica. They come from various cities such as Cartago, Acosta and Ciudad Quesada.

The training was delivered at IICA’s Digital Fabrication and Community Innovation Lab (FabLab-LINC), where the rally participants were able to apply what they learned in a prototyping session, for the benefit of their businesses.

Amelia Monge, a honey producer from Acosta, commented that the knowledge acquired will help her family business. She explained that she will be able to implement geolocation and geovisualization tools to create routes that will speed up product delivery.

She added that, thanks to her participation in the rally, she will be able to network with more Costa Rican rural women entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector.

Specialist Alejandra Rojas Núñez, of INAMU’s Public Policy Management Department, explained that this first workshop with IICA sought to empower women leaders in rural communities, so that they may share and replicate the knowledge acquired.

“We hope to bridge technology gaps in rural areas, which primarily affect women who lead production activities. The goal is to grow their businesses and to give greater market visibility to their activities”, added Rojas.

María José Molina, a consultant for IICA’s FabLab-LINC, considers that female rallies contribute to rural women’s technological inclusion by breaking down barriers and fostering growth and work linkages.

“This initiative was designed for rural women who carry out various activities. It seeks to build up their confidence as part of a community empowerment process, as well as share and replicate knowledge acquired”, remarked Molina.

Since 2019, more than 470 women have received training under the female technology rally modality, through 11 events.

Segunda — *More than 470 women have been trained in the Technological Women's Rally modality.*

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int