The Vanuatu Business Resilience Council (VBRC) played a role in empowering women as part of Project Phoenix. The VBRC aimed to promote gender equality by ensuring that women had equal access to resources and opportunities in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.

One way the VBRC did this was by working with local women-led organizations and businesses to support their economic recovery. The VBRC provided business training and advice, as well as access to financial resources, to help women start their own businesses and become self-sufficient. This helped to create job opportunities and support entrepreneurship, which was important for women's economic empowerment.

Additionally, the VBRC also aimed to promote the participation of women in the recovery and reconstruction efforts by ensuring that they had equal representation in decision-making processes and had access to information and resources.

This project was made possible by the generous funding support of the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund and is a COVID-19 response program. VBRC’s grant was selected from the global bid process and is the first grant of this nature awarded to Vanuatu.