ENGIE announces the winning initiatives of the third call for proposals under the Women of our Neighborhood Program, established in 2020 for meeting the challenges posed by the pandemic with the focus on generation of income for women. In this edition, 33 local businesses and 3 innovative ideas were selected for acceleration and distributed among the following categories: Small Enterprises, Solidarity Kitchens and Social Innovation.

Out of the total chosen, 27 initiatives are classified as Local Enterprises, a category focusing on women entrepreneurs from any segment of activity. The winning projects will receive an incentive payment of R$ 10 thousand each and consultancy in entrepreneurial education from the Instituto Consulado da Mulher, the social action arm of the Consul group, the latter, for the second time, a partner with ENGIE in the call for proposals.

In the case of Solidarity Kitchens – a category set up this year for awarding initiatives which combat food insecurity, of recent a reality in Brazil – six projects were chosen and will receive an injection of R$ 25 thousand as well as management training from the Consulado da Mulher, electrical domestic appliances donated by Consul itself  as well as the donation of foodstuffs by the Pereira Group retailer’s Fort Atacadist wholesale network.

As for Social Innovation, directed towards initiatives involving solutions for the future, three enterprises were selected and will receive R$ 50 thousand each as well as mentoring from Social Good Brasil, a civil society organization (OSCIP), a structure created by the United Nations Organization, which seeks to inculcate social wellbeing through technologies with a positive socioenvironmental impact.

The selected initiatives have been distributed among 25 municipalities in 12 states of Brazil where the company carries on its business. The criteria analyzed for choosing the winning entries were Generation of Income; Economic Viability, considering the continuity of the business post donation; the potential contribution for improving the conditions in the environment and the positive relationship with the UN’S Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and eventual positive impacts for the development of the communities. And of course, all the enterprises must be headed up by women – be they cis- or transgender.

“Women of Our Neighborhood is a program aligned to our commitment for seeking gender equality with a focus on generation of income and the development of the regions where we are located. It is gratifying to see how our socially responsible initiatives have a direct impact on the life of thousands of people, and on occasions, providing an impulse to the maturing and continuity of their businesses. We would like to thank the participation of all contributors and partners that make this edition even more especial”, says Luciana Nabarrete, Chief People, Processes and Sustainability Officer at ENGIE Brasil Energia.

The joint organization of this call for projects between ENGIE, Consulado da Mulher, Portonave, the Pereira Group, through its Fort Atacadista wholesaler, and Social Good Brasil was made possible thanks to the Goodwill Partnerships initiative, a program established by ENGIE for potentializing the reach of social actions through the engagement of its clients.

The complete list of winners can be found in the website mulheresdonossobairro.com.br/. On December 16 at 3:00 p.m., ENGIE will hold a live in its official Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/ENGIEBrasil) with the presentation of all the winners and their projects.