Women for Women International (WfWI) works with groups of marginalized women in conflict-affected countries to help them move from poverty and isolation to self-sufficiency and empowerment in economic and social domains. The Evidence Consortium on Women’s Groups (ECWG) collaborated with WfWI to study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on WfWI’s members and to explore the role of women’s savings groups in providing resilience against the shocks induced by COVID-19.

As is the case around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women and has reversed progress in gender equality across sub-Saharan Africa. However, recent studies indicate that women’s savings groups have adapted in various contexts to the pandemic. For example, studies from Nigeria and Uganda suggest that these groups cushion some of the economic impacts and have been key in supporting community responses during the crisis.

Covid-19 has disrupted lives, networks, and institutions across social, economic, and health dimensions around the globe. We examine how the pandemic has affected adolescent girls and young women in particular, and explore how group-based programs for girls in low- and middle-income countries have been affected by and are responding to the pandemic.

The ECWG has produced a brief on measuring savings group participation rates in Africa. To estimate women’s saving group participation rates in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, the ECWG conducted an analysis of two established data sets on financial inclusion; FinScope and Financial Inclusion Insights (FII). This research brief reviews the findings of the ECWG’s analysis, including an assessment of the trade-offs across different data on savings group participation.

The ECWG is examining the costs and cost-effectiveness of India’s National Rural Livelihoods Mission in Bihar, implemented under Jeevika – the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project. We combined the findings of an impact evaluation of this program in Bihar with audit reports and program outreach data from the World Bank and the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society.

The ECWG conducted a portfolio evaluation, reviewing 46 Foundation investments involving women’s groups, made between 2005 and 2017. This research brief provides an overview of the ECWG’s evaluation findings, identifies evidence gaps, and provides recommendations to improve future investments and evaluations of women’s groups.

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