TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund recently completed a five-year program to empower women in diplomatic ally Saint Kitts and Nevis, reports said Friday.

The success of the bilateral effort supplied evidence of progress in economic advancement, talent training, and social resilience, according to Taiwan Ambassador in the Caribbean nation Edward Tao (陶令文). The theme of the campaign was “Women’s Employment, Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion,” per CNA.

Graduates from the program handed out self-made souvenirs at a ceremony Nov. 29. The items symbolized the confidence, creativity, and growth they had achieved through the program’s talent training and entrepreneurship courses.

The fund’s empowerment scheme started in 2021, soon after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. As a result, the program was designed to prevent women from losing their source of income.

More than 250 women received training in professional skills, and 60 entrepreneurship proposals obtained advice. A second phase of the project would include youths and men, as well as integrating various aspects of training, practice, and entrepreneurship.

The fund said its efforts assisted women in obtaining new sources of income and strengthened the response of families to unexpected economic shocks. The project in Saint Kitts and Nevis put the values of improving living standards and turning lives around into practice, according to fund officials.