Authors: Marus Gbomagba and Qing Wang

Hongyan Li, vice-chair of the Longhui County Women’s Association, at a conference of local women’s representatives in Shaoyang, Hunan Province. Photo: UN Women/Leyuan Li

In a village surrounded by hills in Longhui County, in southern China’s Hunan Province, there is a story of hidden potential. The women in this rural area are very talented and want to start businesses, but they lack the resources and opportunities they need to do so. This has been a daily challenge for Ms. Hongyan Li, the hard-working vice-chair of the Longhui County Women’s Association.

“We’ve met a lot of talented women with great ideas and perseverance,” Hongyan says, her eyes showing her determination to help. “But they struggle to get the money and training they need to make their ideas a reality.”

A five-year project called the Hunan Rural Revitalization Demonstration Project came at just the right time. This US$173 million project, funded by IFAD and the Chinese government in partnership with UN Women and local government authorities, provided Hongyan with a great opportunity to raise resources for the rural women she supports. The project aims to support at least 320,000 farmers in 10 counties of Hunan province to improve their climate resilience and secure their livelihoods. It is also expected to create at least 300 new businesses by 2026. Importantly, at least half of the beneficiaries will be women.

Determined to help these women succeed, Hongyan led a team effort between the women’s association and the county agriculture department, who worked together on the project.

The county women’s association office has only six employees and limited resources, and high staff turnover. As the most experienced person there, Hongyan has been responsible for leading the women’s empowerment portion of this project since it launched in 2021. It hasn’t been easy, but she has managed to secure grants totaling 2.6 million RMB (about $364,000) for 18 women-led businesses. She did this through multiple visits to communities, direct conversations with the women, and close collaboration with the county agriculture department and government officials. “This project gave women entrepreneurs the resources they needed to succeed, and I knew I had to make the most of it,” Hongyan explains.

At the same time, Hongyan organized several training courses to provide rural women with the skills they need to run businesses. Thanks to her leadership, 336 women have now participated in this training.

The money and training provided by the project helped the women overcome the initial financial hurdles of starting their businesses. A great example of how female leadership can transform a community is the honeysuckle processing cooperative led by Ms. Xie Manlan.

Thanks to Hongyan’s help, Manlan received training in business management and leadership, as well as a 200,000 RMB (about $28,000) grant from the project to start her business. “The money and training were crucial to getting my business off the ground,” Manlan said. “I am so grateful to Chairwoman Li. Without her, I would not have had access to these resources.” Manlan’s successful honeysuckle processing business now employs 40 local female farmers full-time, providing them with a steady income of around 10,000 RMB (about $1,400) per year.

Entrepreneur Xie Manlan (left) and Vice Chairwoman of the Longhui County Women’s Association Hongyan Li (right) at Manlan’s honeysuckle processing cooperative in Longhui. Photo: UN Women and IFAD/Jiaxing Ning

Jingyun Luo, a worker in the honeysuckle processing cooperative. Photo: UN Women/Qing Wang

Just like Hongyan Li, many other women’s association leaders in the area are working hard to connect women with the resources they need to start their businesses. When asked about her success, Hongyan humbly replied, “I am lucky to be part of such a great project and to have the support of leaders from the agricultural department and the county government.” However, the impact she has had on the lives of rural women speaks volumes about her dedication. Through her hard work and collaboration, she has ensured that women in her community have equal access to the project’s resources.

“The success of these women inspires others,” says Hongyan. “More and more women are daring to start businesses and become leaders in their communities,” she adds.

“We cannot revitalize the rural economy without actively mobilizing women’s capacities,” says Smriti Aryal, UN Women Country Representative in China. “We need to support women’s participation in leadership and governance roles in rural affairs to truly advance gender-transformative and inclusive rural policy-making at the local level,” she adds.