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