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From the ECWG Team
Women’s Collectives and Individual Enterprise: A Livelihoods Model for Rural Women in Central India
This blog presents an example of an existing livelihoods model to undertake a critical evaluation of how entrepreneurship is conceived for rural women in self-help groups (SHGs) in two parts. The purpose of this two-part blog is to show that the dominant construction of entrepreneurs as autonomous economic agents who move with, and towards, opportunities does not necessarily apply to our sample of rural SHG women in Chhattisgarh. Using data from an ongoing impact evaluation study, Part 1 describes the design and strengths of our livelihoods model, Haqdarshak, in improving incomes of SHG women who are trained in a mobile application for fee-based enrolment of community members in public welfare schemes. Despite the model’s obvious merits of skill training, efficiency in service delivery, and greater public awareness about entitlement programs, this piece initiates a discussion on how these "market-driven”, “competitive entrepreneurial” models are not rooted in an understanding of the normative risks that can impede women’s agency. No matter their level of engagement with Haqdarshak activities, SHG women are deeply rooted in, and give primacy to giving care. Part 2 in this blog series digs deeper into the normative environment that defines women's work, and the presence/absence of support systems at home and outside that affect women's agency and inform their decisions to achieve a work-life balance. Findings from our study have implications for the sustainability of the Haqdarshak model, and inform a set of policy recommendations for institutionalizing income-augmenting opportunities for rural SHG women.
©Gates Archive/Saumya Khandelwal
From our partners
Impact Evaluation of the Nigeria For Women Project
The World Bank, in partnership with the Nigerian Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development (MOWASD) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), is supporting the implementation of the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP). The program aims to facilitate access to economic markets for women using a model of women’s affinity groups (WAGs). The American Institutes for Research (AIR) will conduct quasi-experimental impact evaluations to determine (a) the gendered impacts of the NFWP and (b) the impact of the NFWP on group functioning and inclusiveness. The researchers will combine the two impact evaluations with a formative assessment, a process evaluation, and the collection of data to monitor the intervention. They will also assess both the cost-effectiveness and the return on investment of the NFWP. For both impact evaluations, opportunities to identify impacts for individual program components, such as messages related to social norms and the layering of health interventions and interventions to reduce gender-based violence (GBV) will be explored. These evaluations of individual program components could include randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies to determine effects of these interventions relative to a control or comparison group that received access to the NFWP but did not receive social norms, health layering interventions, or layered interventions to reduce GBV.
Read the Inception report here
©Gates Archive/Nelson Owoicho
Recent research on women’s groups
Evaluation of Impact of Microfinance Institutions on Different Socioeconomic Aspects of Nepali Economy and Society
This paper investigates the impact of microfinance institutions (MFIs) on incidences of social unrest in Nepal. Using data on social unrest and variation of the presence of microfinance institutions in Nepal, we estimate that microfinance institutions have contributed to the decrease in social unrest. The evidence of such decrease was more pronounced in the case of political violence. However, the impact of the MFIs on non political violence was small and nonlinear. The first MFI in a district had generally a significant impact on all kinds of violence, including domestic, but the impact became significant as the number of MFIs increased. The MFIs facilitated the access to finance, which our data showed increased number of small firms in the country. We also found that increased number of MFIs also contributed to the increased agricultural output. Overall increase in wealth therefore reduced the incentive to take part in political violence. However, since overall increase in wealth did not alter intra-household power structure, impacts of MFIs on domestic violence against women and children were insignificant.
Village savings and lending associations: a roadmap for small-scale entrepreneurs capital formation in Kenya
Globally, Savings and Lending institutions are critical institutions within economies that energize a culture of saving which is critical for capital formation. However, most of them operate and provide services in areas which are economically dynamic because investment opportunities are more diverse in such areas. However, Village Savings and Lending Associations in Kenya have come in handy in place of the more formal Savings and Lending institutions as facilitative platforms helping the poor unserved entrepreneurs to save and accumulate capital for small investments as well as consumption. The study investigated the effect of Village Savings and Lending Associations on capital formation among small-scale entrepreneurs in Kenya. Specifically, the study was investigating the role of group dynamics, unique aspects of the saving model, group legislation and duration of membership in these groups on capital accumulation for members in Kenya. Institutionalist theory of Capital Formation and the Game theory anchored the study. A descriptive research design was used while a sample size of 398 respondents was picked from a target population of 4,595 registered members using proportionate stratified and random sampling designs. A questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed using multi-linear regression. The analysis was done using STATA. The results indicated that Group Dynamics, uniqueness aspect of the saving model, legislation, and duration of membership, had a positive effect on Village Saving and Lending Associations in influencing Capital Formation in Villages in Kenya. It was concluded that indeed VSLAs play an important role in enhancing Capital Formation among rural part of Kenya. Hence, there is need to strengthen the Capital Formation through relevant trainings and guided group management, the model and its unique aspects be promoted throughout the County so as to increase reach to as many small-scale entrepreneurs as possible. The groups should be properly legislated and educated on all legal procedures that are involved in running and management of groups. Finally, to enhance Capital Formation, smallscale entrepreneurs in Kenya must continually be encouraged to maintain membership in saving groups.
Evaluating microfinance and the potential to economically empower women in the sacred valley of Peru
In the past 30 years, microfinance loans have become a highly popular strategy to reduce poverty and economically empower people in developing countries. Women in particular have become the primary recipients of microfinance loans. However, recent studies show that the loans only have short-term benefits, and ultimately contribute to the indebtedness of the Global South. This paper studies the effectiveness of microfinance loans in the Sacred Valley of Peru (Cusco), and their ability, or lack thereof, to economically empower women in this region.
News and commentary on Women’s Groups
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Savings and Climate Resilience"
Although savings groups mostly generate positive impact, they sometimes lead to investment in “climate vulnerable activities.” For example, women’s savings groups in Ethiopia planted crops and bought livestock through a Partners for Resilience project in order to diversify their incomes. However, a prolonged drought resulted in poor crop yields and deaths of many of the animals. Hence, when climate variability is high, it may be wiser to pursue income diversification in sectors unrelated to agriculture.
‘Nearly 3 million women farmers set up agri-nutrition gardens in their backyards in two years’
Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, 5.1 million women farmers have been covered under agro-ecological practices and 16.8 million women mobilised into more than 1.58 million SHGs, informs the Ministry of Rural Development.
Vaccination drive for women SHGs kicks off in Hyderabad
There are 46,255 self-help groups with over 4.67 lakh women and the vaccination drive was taken up at 60 centres across the city. These centres include the existing 31 vaccination centres that were set up by the civic body to vaccinate people falling under the high risk category.