Alpine Group partners with Herfinance

Alpine Group, the manufacturing partner for leading brands including The North Face and Sweaty Betty, is partnering with the financial inclusion programme, Herfinance to digitalise wages for women.

The partnership with Herfinance will enable women working in its global supply chains and empower them to harness the benefits of digital wages. The group’s Egyptian-based manufacturing division, Alex Apparels is at the heart of the partnership and is developing a work-based training programme intended to create financial inclusion within its apparel workforce in the country.

Herfinance focuses on educating women on the significance of migrating from cash to digital wages and its advantages, as well as supplying training on financial planning, managing finances and the use of digital tools. The programme will also provide guidance on evaluating the benefits and risks of financial services.

The programme will launch under Herproject, a collaborative initiative by global non-profit organisation BSR, which brings together global brands, their suppliers, and local NGOs. The initiative empowers low-income women working in global supply chains and offers workplace-based interventions on health, financial inclusion, and gender equality. Since its inception in 2007, the Herproject has worked in more than 1,000 workplaces across 17 countries and has increased the wellbeing, confidence, and economic potential of more than 1,225,000 women and 775,000 men.

Commenting on the partnership, a spokesperson for BSR, said in a statement: “The support of Alpine Group is paramount in our journey to driving change. Alex Apparel’s leading facilities in Egypt will play a crucial part in the support of providing peer educators to deliver a greater understanding in the digitalisation of wages. With its support, the growth of financial inclusion and the empowerment of women in global supply chains will thrive.”

The news follows Alpine Group’s recent announcement that its “factory of the future” facilities in Egypt will open in Q1 2023, providing an additional 2,000 jobs for the local community.