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Impact Report Empowering Women and Youth for Sustainable Entrepreneurship through Agro Business
The idea of EWYSEA (Empowering Women and Youth for Sustainable Entrepreneurship through Agro-business) project was
conceived with the objective to create opportunities for earning income and becoming self-reliant, for both rural women and
youth groups through avenues of entrepreneurship. Krishi Utsho is a successfully proven supply chain model which has
improved the food security situation of vulnerable farmers and their families. As part of its commitment to improve the
gender parity in rural areas, where women and youth are the most vulnerable segments of society, and to improve the food
security situation in its program areas, KU implemented EWYSEA under its umbrella project to act as a vehicle for support.
This endline study was commissioned to assess the economic and social impact of the project and its initiatives on the target
groups, and the satisfaction level of customers and stakeholders of the EWYSEA project, with direct impact of EWYSEA on
beneficiaries. The endline study was designed as mixed methodology.
In the case of women entrepreneurs, major sources of income were found to be petty trade, agriculture and livestock farming.
All depended on cash income and only 33% on in-kind income. Range of monthly average income varied from BDT 2,100-
9,300, and major expenditures were for food, health, household purchase and children’s education. Most respondents
reportedly take household decisions jointly with their husbands; furthermore as earning members in HH they now enjoy more
decision making authority. Community level participation has increased since EWYSEA started. Women entrepreneurs found
training and awareness sessions conducted by Krishi Utsho highly informative and enlightening, by receiving information on
business strategy and marketing. Read More...
conceived with the objective to create opportunities for earning income and becoming self-reliant, for both rural women and
youth groups through avenues of entrepreneurship. Krishi Utsho is a successfully proven supply chain model which has
improved the food security situation of vulnerable farmers and their families. As part of its commitment to improve the
gender parity in rural areas, where women and youth are the most vulnerable segments of society, and to improve the food
security situation in its program areas, KU implemented EWYSEA under its umbrella project to act as a vehicle for support.
This endline study was commissioned to assess the economic and social impact of the project and its initiatives on the target
groups, and the satisfaction level of customers and stakeholders of the EWYSEA project, with direct impact of EWYSEA on
beneficiaries. The endline study was designed as mixed methodology.
In the case of women entrepreneurs, major sources of income were found to be petty trade, agriculture and livestock farming.
All depended on cash income and only 33% on in-kind income. Range of monthly average income varied from BDT 2,100-
9,300, and major expenditures were for food, health, household purchase and children’s education. Most respondents
reportedly take household decisions jointly with their husbands; furthermore as earning members in HH they now enjoy more
decision making authority. Community level participation has increased since EWYSEA started. Women entrepreneurs found
training and awareness sessions conducted by Krishi Utsho highly informative and enlightening, by receiving information on
business strategy and marketing. Read More...
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Programme II 2016-2019
CARE Norway runs the GEWEP II program, which continues the efforts of GEWEP I (2014-2015) and the Women Empowerment Program (2009-2013), in 6 countries including Niger. In Niger, GEWEP II is implemented by PROMEESS II. The ultimate vision is for the full realization of women's socio-economic and political rights. The program works in 25 communes in Niger, which is about 10% of all communes in the country. These municipalities have nearly 3,136,812 inhabitants, or 16% of the country's population. Phase II of PROMEESS runs for the period 2016-2019. The end line evaluation is carried out at the end of 2018, and provides information on the main achievements (services, products, and changes (effects) in the economic, social and political conditions of women. The end line evaluation sanctions the current phase, but will also serve as baseline (reference) for the next phase. [45 pages- Read More...
Baseline Survey of Hariyo Ban Program II
Building on the accomplishments and learnings of Hariyo Ban Phase I, the second phase is being implemented in Nepal since July 2016. The objective of phase II is to increase ecological and community resilience in Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) and Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) across 15 districts (Figure 1). The program focuses interventions on specific working sites having common issues, threats and opportunities in the biological corridors in TAL while it works in sub-river basin in CHAL. The program is implemented by a consortium of WWF Nepal, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), with WWF serving as the managing partner for the program. [55 pages] Read More...
ADVANCING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR SAVINGS GROUPS (LINK UP)
LINK Up, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed to link 10,000 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to formal financial institutions; building financial inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania, assessing the impacts of access to formal financial services on VSLAs and their
members and determining whether serving such groups presented a viable business case for financial service providers (FSPs).
Over the course of this program, LINK Up partners have opened 13,165 group savings accounts and have served approximately 322,000 members, 81% of which were women.
To implement LINK Up, CARE partnered with four financial service providers; co-designing and copromoting group products and alternative channel solutions tailored to the needs of savings groups and their members. The collaborations resulted in the creation of four new group-focused products and a host of innovations in the mobile and agent banking solutions deployed to deliver those products. Read More...
members and determining whether serving such groups presented a viable business case for financial service providers (FSPs).
Over the course of this program, LINK Up partners have opened 13,165 group savings accounts and have served approximately 322,000 members, 81% of which were women.
To implement LINK Up, CARE partnered with four financial service providers; co-designing and copromoting group products and alternative channel solutions tailored to the needs of savings groups and their members. The collaborations resulted in the creation of four new group-focused products and a host of innovations in the mobile and agent banking solutions deployed to deliver those products. Read More...
Ghana Social Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) Annual Report Year 4
The fourth year of implementation of the USAID-funded Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) project covered the period October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018, during which the GSAM Consortium – CARE, OXFAM and ISODEC – continued with its activities in the 50 districts, known as the Social Accountability Districts. These activities were aimed primarily at strengthening the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and citizens to monitor and assess capital projects of their MMDAs, using scorecards, and to use the information generated to engage with the MMDAs to demand accountability and improved performance in capital project delivery. Read More...
CARE Rapid Gender Analysis in Lao PDR
Tropical Storm Son Tinh, which hit Lao PDR on 18-19 July 2018, led to a breach in the Xe Pien-Xe Nam Noy hydropower saddle dam dam on 23 July 2018, causing a flash flood through 13 villages downstream in Sanamxay district, Attapeu Province. The Government declared the affected areas a National Disaster Area. CARE undertook a two-phase rapid gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) analysis in Attapeu to provide information and recommendations about the different needs, capacities and coping strategies of women, men, boys and girls including people with a disability and ethnic minority groups. This report is the second version of this evolving analysis and provides a valuable contribution to the limited information available on communities’ lives in the temporary residence camps where they are now residing. [25 pages] Read More...
Women’s Empowerment Program (WEP) Midterm Report
In 2009, Norad-funded women empowerment programs (WEPs) started implementation in seven countries: Burundi, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. In 2009 and early 2010, an extensive quantitative baseline study was conducted in these countries around a common set of indicators. The present mid-term review (MTR), which was done using qualitative methodology, analysed in depth the process and nature of changes that the programs are contributing towards. In all the program countries, the country WEP team carried out the review internally with the technical assistance of an external consultant and CARE Norway (CN).
With slight variations, the overall objectives of the country WEPs focused on the economic, social, and political empowerment of women. The village savings and loan association (VSLA) methodology was common for all the programs; and these groups create the platform for working on other aspects of the program besides economic empowerment. The initial changes that the programs produce are seen in terms of increased access to savings and loans, employment opportunities, and asset ownership. The ability of the women to earn income, generate their own savings and make financial contributions in the household (HH) has greatly improved their self-esteem, thereby giving them better leverage to involve in and influence HH decision making processes. Men were highly appreciative of the income women were able to bring in to the family as a result of being involved in VSLAs. Through their improved position in the household, women reported being able to negotiate the use of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and the abandonment of different harmful practices. Through the use of couples-based approach and engaging men initiatives, HH relationships are beginning to improve; men in these households are reportedly starting to have a more positive attitude towards women’s empowerment and are themselves even taking part in domestic activities in some contexts. The VSLA approach is enabling women to create strong social networks that are becoming an influential force for social change. As a result of increased knowledge on their human rights and increasing leadership skills, women are beginning to understand how they have to position themselves to realize their strategic interests. The VSLA groups and networks also enable women to mobilise support when they are running for elections; this support has increased number of women being elected into different posts. The contribution of women in VSLAs and in community leadership positions is being increasingly recognised and appreciated by local authority figures, which can be seen when they actively seek the advice of women and VSL groups in relation to different community development initiatives.
Through working in partnership with others, the programs are being implemented in a high quality and timely manner. Engagement with strategic partners has occurred effectively in some countries, and been instrumental in enabling the programs to link grassroots evidence to national level advocacy activities which have achieved concrete results. [52 pages] Read More...
With slight variations, the overall objectives of the country WEPs focused on the economic, social, and political empowerment of women. The village savings and loan association (VSLA) methodology was common for all the programs; and these groups create the platform for working on other aspects of the program besides economic empowerment. The initial changes that the programs produce are seen in terms of increased access to savings and loans, employment opportunities, and asset ownership. The ability of the women to earn income, generate their own savings and make financial contributions in the household (HH) has greatly improved their self-esteem, thereby giving them better leverage to involve in and influence HH decision making processes. Men were highly appreciative of the income women were able to bring in to the family as a result of being involved in VSLAs. Through their improved position in the household, women reported being able to negotiate the use of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and the abandonment of different harmful practices. Through the use of couples-based approach and engaging men initiatives, HH relationships are beginning to improve; men in these households are reportedly starting to have a more positive attitude towards women’s empowerment and are themselves even taking part in domestic activities in some contexts. The VSLA approach is enabling women to create strong social networks that are becoming an influential force for social change. As a result of increased knowledge on their human rights and increasing leadership skills, women are beginning to understand how they have to position themselves to realize their strategic interests. The VSLA groups and networks also enable women to mobilise support when they are running for elections; this support has increased number of women being elected into different posts. The contribution of women in VSLAs and in community leadership positions is being increasingly recognised and appreciated by local authority figures, which can be seen when they actively seek the advice of women and VSL groups in relation to different community development initiatives.
Through working in partnership with others, the programs are being implemented in a high quality and timely manner. Engagement with strategic partners has occurred effectively in some countries, and been instrumental in enabling the programs to link grassroots evidence to national level advocacy activities which have achieved concrete results. [52 pages] Read More...
Women’s Empowerment Program (WEP) 2009-2013
CARE Norway, collaborating CARE country offices (COs), and partners have from 2009 through 2013 run the “Women Empowerment Programme” (WEP). With funding from NORAD, it has been implemented in Mali, Niger, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Myanmar and DRC (from 2013).
The results presented in this report derive from CARE’s monitoring systems, thematic assessments and research done over the 5 years. This final report is intended to give NORAD an overview of key results within the program’s four thematic focus areas: 1)Women’s Economic Empowerment, 2)Women’s Participation in Decision Making, 3) Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and 4) Prevention and Mitigation of Gender-based violence. In agreement with NORAD, the end-line evaluation of the WEP is due in May 2015. [55 pages] Read More...
The results presented in this report derive from CARE’s monitoring systems, thematic assessments and research done over the 5 years. This final report is intended to give NORAD an overview of key results within the program’s four thematic focus areas: 1)Women’s Economic Empowerment, 2)Women’s Participation in Decision Making, 3) Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and 4) Prevention and Mitigation of Gender-based violence. In agreement with NORAD, the end-line evaluation of the WEP is due in May 2015. [55 pages] Read More...
Strengthening Non-State Actors for Peace (SNAP) Final Evaluation
‘Strengthening Non-State Actors for Peace in Kayah State’ (SNAP) project is a 36 months project (Jan/2016 to December/2018), implemented by CARE Myanmar in partnership with the Karenni State Women’s Network (KSWN) across Kayah State. The budget allocation for which is €575,423. Kayah State is one of the smallest by population in the Union, it is conflict-affected and lately has been the site of tension between Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and State Government representatives. Despite its size, Kayah State hosts a relatively high number of INGO and UN agency development and peace support partners working in a range of sectors. The SNAP project’s overall Goal is to enable non-state actors, with a focus on KSWN to support women’s organisations and grass roots members in representing their constituents’ interests in governmental and peace processes. The Objective of the project is to have KSWN able to ‘advocate for the needs of their constituents with decision-makers and provide community education and services through their members’. [59 pages] Read More...
Women and Youth Entrepreneurs Leading Change (OBADER)
Report on the Baseline Assessment carried out for the CARE West Bank and Gaza (now CARE in the occupied Palestinian territory) project OBADER (Women and Youth Entrepreneurs Leading Change). [102 pages] Read More...