16,700 Women Get $2M in Clean Energy Loans in Philippines

Over 16,700 women business owners across the Philippines now have access to clean energy that's slashing their costs and saving their livelihoods, thanks to a United Nations initiative that's proving women are powerful climate allies.

The EmPower program, led by UN Women and the UN Environment Programme, has distributed over $2 million in clean energy loans specifically designed for women-led small businesses. In a country where severe weather, high energy costs, and thin profit margins threaten rural entrepreneurs daily, this program is changing the game.

Mary Grace Moreno runs a livestock farm in Maasin, Iloilo, where keeping twenty pigs cool during brutal summer heat is essential for their survival. For years, she struggled with an unstable electricity supply and a cheap solar system that powered her cooling fans for just one hour. Through an EmPower loan, she installed a quality solar home system that now keeps her animals safe during power outages while cutting her monthly electricity bills.

In nearby Zarraga, Avelina Simpia's pastry and food vending business was stuck in place because rising power rates ate up her profits. She needed electricity for food preparation, cold storage, and her online store, but couldn't afford to expand. After securing a clean energy loan through EmPower's partnership with local microfinance institutions, she installed rooftop solar panels that dropped her operating costs and freed up money to grow her bakery shop.

The program works by partnering with microfinance institutions like Ahon sa Hirap and Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation to give rural women entrepreneurs both financing and practical business training. These aren't handouts but strategic investments that recognize a simple truth: when women get the tools they need, entire communities benefit.

Iloilo became the first province in the Philippines to pass a renewable energy ordinance with its own budget allocation. Now, through EmPower's strategic collaboration, provincial officers are embedding gender equality into local energy plans, ensuring women's needs shape renewable energy investments from healthcare services to public safety and green jobs.

The Ripple Effect

The impact reaches far beyond individual businesses. EmPower is now supporting 31 other provinces across the Philippines as they advance gender-responsive clean energy transitions. Rosenne Baco Fiscal, who runs a hog and poultry farm in Zarraga, says her solar setup protects her entire livestock population from heat-related deaths during power failures while lowering her electricity costs.

"Women are proving to be viable clients for green finance when products and tools are designed according to their realities, needs, and constraints," said Rosalyn Mesina, Country Programme Coordinator at UN Women Philippines. "Once addressed, the impact goes beyond their businesses to the communities where they belong."

The initiative shows how intentional design in climate financing unlocks economic security and local development simultaneously. When clean energy reaches the hands of women entrepreneurs, it becomes a powerful pathway toward climate resilience that lifts entire regions.

Thousands of women across the Philippines are now running more profitable, sustainable businesses while building a cleaner future for their communities.