Submitted by: Submitted by samali
Views: 366
Words: 2437
Pages: 10
Category: Other Topics
Date Submitted: 06/08/2012 05:54 AM
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...