CARE's role is to train staff in organizational skills, loan management, accounting and other basic business skills. Loans help a seamstress purchase an additional sewing machine, or enable a dairy farmer to buy a milk processor.
Training teaches a carpenter to make furniture that has a high demand in local markets.
Loans and training help entrepreneurs earn more money to invest in the health, education and well-being of their families. A portion of their wages is deposited into a savings account to help them launch small businesses. In the final nine months of their four-year participation in the program, CARE empowers the women to plan their futures by providing career advice, job training and life management skills. In the Hardoi district of India, with training and start-up capital from CARE, a group of women have started a revolving loan fund, purchased milking cows and developed a dairy cooperative. In Rwanda, CARE's Women's Agriculture and Recovery Project is helping 3,500 households headed by women to begin farming again.