A new project between Cook Islands businesswomen and the government will see 330,000 US dollars spent over two years on boosting local opportunities for women.
The help comes from Australia, and was promised by the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, when she visited Rarotonga in 2013 for the Pacific Women's Ministerial Meeting.
The Cook Islands National Gender Equality Project coordinator, Maureen Hilyard, says it will involve many stakeholders, both male and female, in supporting the contribution that women can make to the country's economic development.
She says they will use the funding to expand their current business projects to women, especially in the outer islands.
It will involve soft loan options, learning opportunities and other programmes, with the collaboration of the Business Trade Investment Board, the Cook Islands Tertiary Training Institute and the Chamber of Commerce.
