Women play a central role in agriculture across Latin America, yet they continue to face disproportionate barriers to land, finance, training and productive resources. These structural inequalities limit not only women’s economic opportunities, but also the resilience and productivity of rural communities as a whole.
In Part III of Incofin’s Agtech portfolio insights series, we explore how digital agriculture solutions can help close the gender gap, and under what conditions they succeed. Drawing on experience from Incofin-supported agtech companies in Latin America, the article highlights why technology alone is not enough, and why intentional, gender-responsive design and implementation are critical.

Why does gender matter in digital agriculture?

Evidence shows that women farmers often have less access to smartphones, digital skills and financial services than men. Cultural norms, traditional division of roles on the farm in the household, and time constraints linked to caregiving responsibilities can further restrict women’s ability to benefit from digital tools. Without deliberate gender strategies, digital agriculture solutions risk reinforcing existing inequalities rather than reducing them.

At the same time, when designed in an inclusive way, digital solutions can significantly improve women’s access to markets, credit, information and productive assets—unlocking benefits for households and wider communities.

What works: lessons from the portfolio

The new insights piece highlights practical strategies used by agtechs that have successfully reached and retained female smallholder users. 

These include:

• involving women directly in product design and product testing;
• focusing on value chains where women already play a significant role;
• building networks of female agents;
• adapting training formats, locations and schedules to women’s needs;
• integrating non-agricultural content such as information on health or education; 
• using female role models and personas across marketing materials;
• partnering with women’s organisations;
• offering preferential payment terms for female users.

Portfolio examples in action

The article features concrete examples from the Incofin portfolio:

• Colcafé (Colombia) exceeded its gender targets by tailoring training and equipment to women’s roles in coffee drying.
• Imix (Colombia) embedded gender inclusion into its agri-fintech model, enabling more than three times the number of women originally targeted to access credit.
• Hola Tractor (Bolivia) leveraged a network of female agents to expand access to mechanisation while creating income opportunities for rural women.

From intent to impact

Across these cases, one message is clear: successful digital agriculture solutions for women are rarely accidental. They require sustained commitment, partnerships, and an understanding of the social and cultural contexts in which women farmers operate.

Download our new insights piece – Lessons from Incofin’s Agtech Portfolio, Part III