The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held the event named "More Connected Than Ever," where the main learnings of the Digi-Chiquihuites project were presented: Digital Basket to Safeguard Livelihoods, Social Protection, and Financial Inclusion of Women, implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) and the Salvadoran Tourism Institute (ISTU).  

The COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed that one of the significant inequalities of the 21st century is the digital divide, which mainly affects women in micro and small businesses, who also mainly operate within the informal sector. Digi-Chiquihuites is a pilot initiative that drives learning towards the economic recovery of one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic.  

The initiative comprises designing a set of digital solutions and services to close the digital divide as a strategy for reconstructing the livelihoods of women entrepreneurs and owners of Micro and Small Enterprises (MYPEs) in the network of national recreational parks.   

Chiquihuite is a Nahuatl word meaning "basket." One of the innovations of this project is the "Digital Baskets," which aim to promote digital and financial inclusion of businesswomen from a multidimensional approach and were delivered to 189 individuals from 13 national recreational parks and the tourist site Market of the Sea. 

This article was originally published at: https://www.undp.org/es/el-salvador/press-releases/digi-chiquihuites-mujeres-mas-conectadas-que-nunca