Promoting Gender Equality through Entrepreneurship : Spotlight on the Gender Lens Project

As part of our commitment to building a more inclusive society, we invited Mickaëlle Chauvin, an expert in international cooperation and gender equality for over 20 years. Active across both shores of the Mediterranean, she has spent the past decade focusing on inclusion and the participation of all population groups in economic and social life.

Gender Lens: Beyond Women’s Entrepreneurship

The Gender Lens project goes far beyond simply supporting women entrepreneurs. It is a strategic initiative aimed at inclusive entrepreneurship, designed by and for women. Its objectives are threefold:

• To encourage women to launch and invest in projects,
• To ensure decent, equitable employment conditions,
• To promote economic projects that respond to specific challenges faced by women, such as mobility and safety concerns.

🟦 “It’s not enough for women to start businesses—we need the entire economic ecosystem to integrate their realities and needs.”
— Mickaëlle Chauvin

A Territorial and Systemic Approach

The project began with a comprehensive analysis of economic and social inequalities between women and men across various Moroccan regions, using a territorial lens. This mapping helped identify the structural causes of inequality and develop entrepreneurial solutions in response.

Four key target groups were selected to benefit from a holistic support program, co-developed with local actors. The project is now entering its pilot phase, with the selection of beneficiaries and the launch of initial training sessions.

A Visible Impact Already

Beyond the numbers, the project has sparked a new way of thinking among stakeholders. It has initiated a deeper reflection on what gender equality truly means, going beyond the idea of parity. It has also introduced practical tools and a fresh framework for addressing inequality—fostering more impactful, long-term transformations across the ecosystem.

What’s Next?

The next steps involve field-testing the approach, adjusting it as needed based on participant feedback, and strengthening synergy with existing initiatives already underway in Morocco. The goal is to develop a reproducible, sustainable model that serves a more just and inclusive society.

Acting for Equality Every Day

As Mickaëlle Chauvin reminds us, gender equality is built day by day, through concrete, local actions:

• Identifying and measuring inequalities,
• Understanding their root causes,
• Listening humbly to people’s needs, positions, and lived experiences,
• Reassessing our own assumptions and beliefs.

Because equality is not a fixed outcome—it is a living, evolving process that must take root in territories, in practices, and in mindsets.

👉 Click here to watch the full interview with Mickaëlle Chauvin, recorded as part of the Gender Lens project.

– As part of the “Promotion of Entrepreneurship” (PROMET) project, implemented by GIZ Morocco, ANIMA Investment Network has been commissioned to provide technical assistance to TAMWILCOM – the public body financing MSMEs – and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). This initiative is part of the rollout of the Gender Lens program, a strategic mechanism designed to promote a more inclusive form of entrepreneurship, developed with and for women. –