March 25 – Newly launched platform H3R is aiming to fill a critical gap for women, and young girls in particular, across a broad platform of social, career and life opportunities, including sport and football, media, technology, and financial literacy.
A women-led global movement, the focus is on growing a network to equip girls – particularly those excluded by cultural or economic barriers – with leadership skills, digital literacy, and narrative power. The ultimate objective is to create and showcase pathways that can lead to financial ownership and participation at senior levels, whether in sport, media, technology, or business.
Founded by Nichelle Gainey, a global sports and media strategist who has worked across international football, media, and partnership development, H3R is built on storytelling, sport, technology engagement, digital literacy, and the creation of a safe community designed to help women and girls move from access to opportunity and ultimately to ownership. H3R is designed as both a platform and a pipeline — connecting sport, media, technology, and education to long-term economic participation and ownership opportunities for women and girls.
“The solution isn’t more programs. It’s integrated access – combining storytelling, sports, technology, and community into one scalable platform,” said Gainey.
‘Ownership’ is a word that Gainey uses often, and it isn’t just about providing platforms for women and girls to build their own pathways on their terms and with their skills, but about opening real opportunities to financial ownership, leadership, and capital participation.
Gainey(pictured above) highlights the need to fill a gap that sees 132 million girls out of school globally, 90% of adolescent girls in low-income countries offline, and 35% of women globally lacking internet access. One in three girls globally is without access to sport. The figures are concerning not only for developing regions but highlight a global economic gap and untapped potential.
“Millions of girls and women are shaping global culture and sports yet they remain excluded, and this goes all the way through the social chain up to ownership and capital participation,” said Gainey. “Harnessing their power, creating, showing and sharing opportunities isn’t just helping them as individuals — it opens new and meaningful horizons for everyone.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States is a prime example of opportunities being lost and a whole socio-economic group of women and girls being left behind. While a number of host cities are building legacy programs to engage new communities, few are building them into a connected value chain that provides ongoing inclusion, digital skills, and economic opportunity.
“This movement is about building the education, trust, and participation infrastructure for global ownership through partnership,” said Gainey. “We are investing in women. Investing in girls. And investing in the future we want to see.”
Gainey has already begun building strategic partnerships across media, technology, finance, and sport, including collaborations and conversations with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, a16z Cultural Leadership Fund, and VIVA Deportes Media Group. The organisation is also exploring future participation in women’s football business and ownership structures, including opportunities connected to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and global women’s football markets, with the goal of increasing women’s participation not only on the field, but in the business of sport — including media, technology, and ownership.
H3R is also working alongside global leaders and advisors, including Ambassador Andrew Young, and is in the final stages of two major grant initiatives focused on young girls with limited access to technology. These programmes will use gamified learning to increase digital literacy and financial literacy skills, ensuring girls are better prepared for the modern economy.
These initiatives are being developed around three 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities in the United States, with the goal of ensuring that women and girls in underserved communities are not left behind as billions of dollars flow into infrastructure, media, and sport around the World Cup. The focus is to create not just participation opportunities, but education, digital skills, and financial pathways that connect local communities to the long-term economic opportunities created by global sporting events.
H3R has also engaged with global institutions including UNICEF and participated in the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), an annual global gathering focused on gender equality, economic empowerment, and access to education and technology for women and girls. Participation in CSW70 positioned H3R within a broader global conversation around closing the digital divide and increasing economic participation for women and girls worldwide.
In the United States, H3R has also received support and recognition from U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who has been a supporter of initiatives focused on economic opportunity, digital access, and financial inclusion. Her work on the GENIUS Act, legislation focused on expanding access to financial innovation, digital assets, and economic participation, aligns with H3R’s mission to ensure women and underserved communities are not left behind in the rapidly changing digital and financial economy.
“We have to make sure that as the economy evolves — whether through technology, sport, media, or digital finance — women and underserved communities are not left behind,” said senator Alsobrooks. “Initiatives that focus on education, access, and financial literacy are critical to building inclusive economic growth.”
The alignment between public policy, global development organizations, and private sector partnerships is a key part of H3R’s model, which is built on the idea that long-term change happens through partnerships that connect education, technology, sport, media, and economic opportunity.
As part of its global storytelling and media platform, H3R also announced its first documentary project, Becoming Malu: A Journey of Becoming, scheduled for release in 2027. The film, which Malu will serve as Co-Producer on, will document a journey of leadership, identity, and opportunity and will serve as part of the organisation’s global storytelling and media strategy.
At the launch of H3R at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., Tobeka Madiba, former First Lady of the Republic of South Africa and founder of the TMZ Foundation, said: “For our young girls to truly flourish in today’s world they need more than just a connection to their past; they need the tools to command their future.
“The mission of H3R strikes at the very heart of what is required for sustainable empowerment:
- Her Roots: Grounding our girls in their identity so they may stand tall in any room.
- Her Rhythm: Finding the unique pace and voice that allows them to lead with authenticity.
- Her Rise: Equipping them with the tangible, practical skills — specifically financial literacy — to achieve true economic sovereignty.
“When we invest in a girl’s mind and her pocketbook, we are investing in the stability of our global community.”
Gainey believes the long-term goal is clear:
“We are not building a program. We are building infrastructure that connects girls and women to the global economy through sport, media, technology, and ownership. That is the gap we are trying to close.”
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