measuring the empowerment of rural women ‘mkubwa’: the tanzania virtual business incubator for...

MEASURING THE EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL

WOMEN

‘MKUBWA’: THE TANZANIA VIRTUAL BUSINESS INCUBATOR FOR WOMEN

PAOLA CIRILLO

‘Expo delle Donne’Milan, 29 May 2015

AIDOS

NGO Data collected from field projects Demonstrative projects Small scale: pilot, budget Influence government policies

based on field experience

The economic empowerment of rural women: AIDOS’ approach

Since 1995:

Palestine

Jordan

Syria

Nepal

Tanzania

Innovative business incubation approach ‘without walls’

Target: HoH, economically productive age, basic literacy and numeracy skills, potential and existing entrepreneurs

Holistic and flexible from entrepreneurial orientation to business expansion

Micro & small sized women-led enterprises Focus on innovation and PD&D Carefully adapted to local context and

needs RH and GBV integrated

MANAGEMENT local partner NGO

FUNDING –IFAD / Italian Gov. / EU / Private

VBI: a team of ad hoc trained local

professionals

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE - AIDOS

Technical

Training

Business

Planning

Product developmentMarketingFinance

facilitation

Business

Managemen

t Tra

iningOrie

ntat

io

n

Village/Virtual Business Incubators (VBI): a tested methodology

Mkubwa the ‘BIG’ Tanzanian VBI

2009-2012

Tanzania Gatsby Trust

World Bank

Italian Gov.

AIDOS

817 women from Dar es Salam and Kibaha, randomly selected, assigned to 3 groupsCONTROL BASIC ENHANCED

290 271 256

Entrepreneurial orientation and business health check

Enterprise Management Training

Technical Training

Specialized technical assistance/ PD&D Individualized coaching/ counseling/ mentoring

Micro-finance facilitation

Gender Based Violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS, Human Trafficking and handling disabilities.

MKUBWA: a variation to AIDOS’ model

Two approaches at measuring impact and empowerment

Randomized approach (Probability sampling)

Counterfactuals Ad hoc survey Large-scale

AIDOS:

measuring impact for sustainability

WORLD BANK:

measuring impact to test a methodology

Focus on enhanced group only (101 women – non probability sampling)

Quantitative/qualitative Consistent data ‘before

/after’ Business performance to

date & intra-household/gender dynamics

Establishing trust/ constant follow-up

AIDOS: assessing impact for sustainability

The case of 101 closely assisted enterprises

Business Sector

BEFORE MKUBWA AFTER MKUBWA

Existing Businesses

Start - up Profit increase after MKUBWA

Business' contribution to family income

Animal husbandry (poultry)

9 6 90% 61%

Handicraft (soap processing; Tailoring; Textile)

28 7 31% 45%

Food processing 11 10 116% 46%

Services (food, catering decoration, commercial, trading)

19 11 73% 53%

Total 67 34 75% 53%

AIDOS: assessing impact for sustainability The case of 101 closely assisted

entrepreneurs

More respected in the community

Improved household dynamics

Enhanced self-confidence Increased peer-support (vs.

individualized approach) Enhanced growth and

technology- orientation Willing to receive more

assistance

WB: measuring impact to test a methodology

the case of BASIC & ENHANCED groups (447 women)

Enhanced training improved business practices (budget/ business plan/ self-paid/ registered/licence/dedicated premises)

Training did not improve revenues on average Training did not improve profits on average Entrepreneurs who received enhanced training

with 9+ years of tenure and those with loan at baseline benefited the most (25% profits)

What conclusion?

Small numbers count! for substantial results and sustainable impact

AIDOS’ personalized, step-by-step approach works Building trust and accountability between VBI and

entrepreneurs, although demanding and time consuming pays off

Already established businesses show results in the short-term vs start ups which need more time

Socio-cultural, economic, political and security factors affect the project’s and businesses’ performance. Each country presents a specific context

What approach at measuring empowerment

Consistent baseline – endline data

Relationship of trust - constant monitoring for realiable data

It is not just about profits! (agency, decison making, use of time, mobility, RH, GBV)

Holistic approach in looking at business/household/community dynamics

Involve family and community in systematic and rigorous baseline, mid-term and endline survey

What can be done together

NGOs: small scale demonstrative/pilot, qualitative measurement

Int. Institutions: large scale measurement

Together: build narrative to influence donors and government policies for scaling up and women’s rights promotion /implementation

To discover morewww.aidos.it

‘Promoting women-led small scale enterprises - practices and lessons from business incubators and support centers in developing countries’ AIDOS, IFAD 2012

Thank you!