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Leapfrogging with technology: introduction of a monitoring platform to support a large-scale Ebola vaccination program in Rwanda

Building Resilient Micro-Enterprises: Grameen's COVID-19 RELIEF Program

Grameen Foundation launched the COVID-19 Response to Enhance Livelihood of Individual Entrepreneurs and Families (COVID-19 RELIEF) program in May of 2020. The program aimed to respond to the critical needs of women micro-entrepreneurs as a result of the pandemic by piloting innovative digital technologies, including the use of e-wallets to deliver aid and digital education designed to build self-reliance and resilience in the face of a crisis. Supported by J.P. Morgan, this one-year, two-phased project aimed to provide 3,500 individual entrepreneurs and their families with noncash immediate relief assistance and longer-term crisis management and recovery support. It benefitted microfinance members of RAFI Micro-finance Inc. (RAFI) in Cebu City and Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI) in Metro Manila. This case study report details the implementation and results of Grameen’s COVID-19 RELIEF program and identifies best practices, challenges, and lessons learned from piloting a digitally-based crisis response and recovery program in the midst of a global pandemic.

Women's Entrepreneurship in Timor-Leste: An Assessment of Opportunities, Barriers, and a Path Forward

In support of the WAGE BEST initiative, the objectives of this assessment are to understand the multifaceted barriers and opportunities for women’s business growth in Timor-Leste, and map the existing local service providers with the potential to address these barriers. In addition, this report identifies opportunities for linkages to enable local service providers to extend a more holistic and high-impact package of financial, business and social services to their clients. This assessment was supported by a preliminary gender and inclusion analysis conducted at project launch through a desk review as well as field research which leveraged focus group discussions and key informant interviews with women entrepreneurs, community members, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and women’s empowerment civil society organizations (WE CSOs).

The Continuing Toll of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the F2F COCOS Host Organizations

To better understand the continuing effects of the pandemic on the coconut sector, Grameen Foundation interviewed 13 F2F COCOS host organizations. Topics ranged from the effect of the pandemic on their business operations, client/member engagement, and crisis response. The interviews were conducted from February 15 to March 05, 2021.

WomenLink II: Catalyzing Women's Economic Empowerment through Community Agents and Expansion of Digital Financial Services to Low-Income Women

Improvements to Female Autonomy and Household Decision-Making Power from an Intervention Targeting Improved Food Security: A Gender-Based Analysis of the Rajasthan Nutrition Project

In India, women and children continue to experience food insecurity. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP) led to changes in 1) dietary habits and nutrition, and 2) indicators of gender equality, female autonomy, and empowerment. This study surveyed women belonging to self-help groups who were pregnant or who had young children. Over the course of the intervention, significant improvements were seen in the following indicators: breastfeeding within one hour of birth, exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, food insecurity of children and mothers, household decision-making, communication, mobility, and domestic violence. These findings suggest that the RNP is a promising intervention for improving nutrition and female autonomy in Rajasthan, India. Additional research is needed to determine if the RNP would be equally as effective in other regions of India, or in populations outside of India.

Evidence Review on Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) and its relationship with Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE)

Map to the Future (M2F): Integrating soil mapping into cocoa farm development plans in Ghana

In collaboration with The Sustainability Innovation Lab at the University of Colorado (SILC), Boulder USA, USDA Agricultural Research Unit, and Touton Ghana, Grameen Foundation conducted a research project to evaluate the integration of site-specific soil data (such as through Grameen’s FarmGrow and SILC’s Land Potential application (LandPKS)) with traditional soil data products (e.g., regional-to-global soil maps) in an effort to provide location-specific soil information that smallholder cocoa farmers can use to improve soil health and overall farm productivity. The research found that the integration of LandPKS site-specific soil data, in combination with soil map data, into FarmGrow and other similar agronomic advisory tools could support smallholder farmers with more comprehensive soil data that would influence decisions regarding activities such as replanting and fertilizer use in addition to the suitability of other crops for the land. Further refinement of which data points are critical for these decisions is needed to ensure the additional data collection requirements are feasible for farmers.

Reducing Incidence of Child Labor and Harmful Conditions of Work in Economic Strengthening Initiatives (RICHES) - Philippines (Tagalog)

Proyecto RICHES para la reducción de la incidencia del trabajo infantil y las condiciones de trabajo inaceptables en las iniciativas de empoderamiento económico