Through a partnership between CARE and Humble Bundle, more than $340,000 was raised to support women globally in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Each purchase on Humble’s platform acted like a modern-day CARE Package®, delivering not only digital content but also opportunity, dignity, and hope to women. The funds contributed to CARE’s Women’s Economic Growth Fund, expanding access to economic opportunities for at least 8,500 women who are starting businesses, leading in their communities, and building brighter futures for their families.
The year 2025 presented significant challenges for women entrepreneurs, with global cuts to foreign assistance limiting access to capital, mobility, digital tools, and support. Despite these obstacles, women continued to persevere. Flexible funding from Humble Bundle enabled hundreds of women in Guatemala to participate in CARE-facilitated savings groups, where they learned to save, diversify their businesses, and gain the confidence and stability necessary to support their families and communities.
Women supported by CARE around the world have turned challenges into opportunities, launching nature-based businesses in Colombia, creating and selling handicrafts in refugee camps, running food and garment businesses in Vietnam, and developing home gardens, family farms, and daycare programs in Africa. Many women are now leveraging digital tools to market products, access loans, manage finances, and drive growth, expanding their reach beyond local markets.
Individual stories illustrate the impact of this support. In Multan, Pakistan, Shahjahan Begum, widowed at 14, built a thriving embroidery business employing dozens of women. With CARE’s digital marketing training, she increased orders significantly and now dreams of expanding to global markets while empowering younger women with skills and employment. In Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Barbra Safar overcame personal loss and societal barriers to launch a mealworm farming business. CARE-supported training in digital marketing helped her grow her customer base and connect with other women entrepreneurs, allowing her to scale operations and become a confident family and business leader. In the Peruvian Amazon, Micaela founded Wame, a circular-economy enterprise using the region’s largest fish to create various products. CARE’s financial and digital skills training enabled her to manage her business effectively, expand into new markets, and represent her community at regional trade fairs.
CARE’s economic growth programs demonstrate the critical importance of supporting women to start and grow businesses, access financial services, develop digital skills, build resilience, and create opportunities for others in their communities. Together with Humble Bundle, these efforts highlight the transformative potential of investing in women’s economic empowerment and trusting them as leaders capable of shaping sustainable, thriving communities.
