Technology, markets and care: how Bolivian women are strengthening their economic autonomy

^{Photo: UN Women Bolivia}

“Before, I produced 60 dozen items a month by cutting the leather by hand; I worked a lot and earned little. Now I produce 180 dozen, and with the profits I am building my house,” Judith explains. The adoption of technology has enabled women to stop producing merely to survive and start producing to invest and compete.

Like Judith, 387 women and their families in Bolivia are experiencing tangible economic growth. Between the end of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026, the results of the project “Strengthening Women-Led Productive Units by Applying a Gender Approach in Bolivia” — financed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Productive Development, Rural Development and Water — are compelling: the women producers have increased their incomes by an average of 95 per cent and their production by 75 per cent. The data comes from field monitoring conducted in the production workshops.

^{Photo: UN Women Bolivia}

Resilience and technology: drivers of dignity

Historically, women’s artisanal and manufacturing work has been characterized by exhausting working hours and limited levels of production and income. In municipalities such as El Alto, Achacachi, Viacha, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Warnes and Montero, access to specialized and modern machinery has changed this reality. Access to specialized machinery has improved production conditions and strengthened women’s economic resilience.

However, the scope of the project extends far beyond the provision of machinery. Through a large-scale outreach strategy, 3,600 women have strengthened their technical production skills, while another 3,150 have received training in business management, enhancing the competitiveness of their businesses in an increasingly challenging market.

This comprehensive impact has been made possible thanks to the work on the ground of partners such as the CODESPA Foundation, World Vision and Educo.

^{Photo: UN Women Bolivia}

Accessing new markets and making the digital leap

The project has also overcome the barriers that prevented small-scale women producers from accessing major commercial platforms. In 2025, some 30 women entrepreneurs participated in the Santa Cruz International Fair (Fexpocruz), achieving sales of up to US$7,000, equivalent to approximately 15 times Bolivia’s national minimum wage. “Being there was a major opportunity; it is not easy to access a space like that because of its high cost,” reflects artisan Karina Fernández.

Likewise, the women producers have ceased to be mere spectators of technology and have begun to embrace it. Through personalized assessments and training in digital marketing, local brands have gained a presence on social media. “I started livestreaming, and my sales increased. People began to learn about my products and place orders,” says Mayra Nina, a producer of handcrafted flowers.

^{Photo: UN Women Bolivia}

Time as a resource for their development

One of the most strategic results of this intervention is improved time-use efficiency. Eighty-four per cent of the women who received machinery reported significant time savings, which they now devote to production, marketing, and caring for themselves and their families.

In Bolivia, access to affordable, quality childcare services is limited; this constitutes one of the invisible barriers to women’s economic development, as women still spend twice as much time as men on these tasks. To create an environment of shared responsibility, the project strengthened 34 municipal and community childcare centres in the municipalities of El Alto, Achacachi, Viacha, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Warnes and Montero, transforming inadequate facilities into safe, dignified educational spaces.

A key innovation has been the provision of mobile childcare equipment at trade fairs. This solution enables mothers who are entrepreneurs to balance their productive roles with the peace of mind that their children are in quality spaces.

^{Photo: UN Women Bolivia}

This physical intervention has been supported by a policy milestone: the advancement of three care policies—one national and two municipal policies in El Alto and Santa Cruz de la Sierra—which are moving toward approval to institutionalize this right. In addition, awareness-raising activities have reached 3,000 people in person and more than 217,000 through digital platforms, promoting a society in which care is a shared responsibility among the State, the private sector, communities and families.

The Bolivian experience shows that economic empowerment is not an abstract concept; it is the intersection of technology, modern machinery, strategic training, access to markets and an environment that promotes shared responsibility for care work, where Bolivian women are not only redesigning their businesses; they are claiming their economic autonomy and their right to live a life of dignity.