Who We Are
Artistri Sud supports women’s empowerment around the world through entrepreneurship. By developing women’s capacity to leverage their existing assets for income-generation, we help women create sustainable livelihoods for themselves. Greater financial autonomy and the ability to generate their own income empowers them to exert a positive influence in their families and their communities. In partnership with local women artisans and farmers, we evaluate their existing assets and help them identify opportunities to generate increased revenues and improve their standard of living. We design and implement training programs to develop the skills they need to achieve sales and growth goals on a sustainable basis.
We support women in developing countries because they rank among the poorest and most marginalized people of the world. We work with small producers and craftspeople because we believe they have indigenous knowledge and skills that can become key strategies to improve their livelihood. And we believe in the value of culture and heritage traditions. Most artisans who are part of the global poor are also farmers or other types of labourers who need to look to a variety of ways to create a sustainable source of income.
Our Why
The women we work with struggle to create income from their handicrafts, farming, food transformation and other strategies–this income is essential to sustain their families. Women who earn a living independently have a powerful positive impact not just on their families and local communities, but also on the national and global economy. Women who earn income invest in the health, nutrition, and education of their boy AND girl children, which in turn results in a reduction in infant mortality, maternal mortality, the transmission of STDs, an increase in per capita GDP, among other positive impacts.
The world can be a better place. Empowered women will make it happen.
Artistri Sud Measures Impact on Women’s Lives

40% of married women that contributed less than half of household income now bring in an equal amount or more

92% of women in the program reported an increase in their overall household income after completing the program

Women double their involvement in their community within one year of completing the program.

Graduates’ incomes increased by an average of 67% within one year.

The women in the program also create new jobs in their community, with an average of 2.3 jobs created post program

100% of women reported feeling more confident, included and successful after having completed the program
How We Do It?
In partnership with local women artisans and farmers, we evaluate their existing businesses and assets, and look for ways to help them generate increased revenues and improve their standard of living. Then we design and implement tailored training using our core ASSET program (Artistri Sud Social Entrepreneurship Training), to develop the skills they need to achieve sales and profit growth in a sustainable way. Our ASSET program uses an accessible, activity-based workshop approach to learning: we work with the know-how, skills, and knowledge they already have.
We analyze how the women’s small businesses work using a holistic view and explore their competencies and assets, as well as their challenges to determine what skills they need to develop in order to run their micro-enterprise more effectively.