Ifc - Gowe Kenya Report

Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs

(GOWE)-Kenya Program

Quick Facts

Countries: Kenya

Final Evaluation Date: 29th April-2nd July

2010

Mode of Evaluation: Independent

Technical Area: Women SME Capacity

Building & Loan Guarantee

Evaluation Management: ILO Dar es

Salaam Evaluation Team: Stanley Karuga

Project Start Date: 5th March 2007

Project End Date: 30th April 2010

Project Code: KEN/06/01/IFC

Donor: AfDB (US$ 13 Million of which the

ILO component financing amounted to US$

571,893)

Keywords: employment creation, gender

equality, entrepreneurship

Background & Context

Summary of the project purpose, logic

and structure

The overall project purpose/objective was to

create employment and reduce poverty in

Kenya through the economic empowerment

of women focusing on growth-oriented

women entrepreneurs and strengthening of

their member-based associations and

networks. This was to be achieved through

three main interventions: (a) Facilitating

GOWEs’ access to finance using an African

Development Bank (AfDB) partial guarantee

facility with local banks; (b) Enhancing

access to relevant business development

services mainly through training and

business mentorship; and (c) Strengthening

the capacity of local Business Development

Service Providers (BDSPs), financiers and

Women Entrepreneurship

Associations

(WEAs) so as to deliver services to target

beneficiaries more effectively.

Project logic entailed the fact that small

businesses form the backbone of economic

growth in Sub-Saharan Africa including

Kenya where small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) provide livelihood and employment of

the bulk of the people with about 50% of such

businesses being owned and operated by

women. Despite this, the SMEs particularly

those owned and operated by women face a

myriad of challenges that limit growth of their

businesses and hence their empowerment

and “voice in society”. Based on background

studies conducted jointly by the AfDB and the...