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A Community-Based Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Powered by cUSD and Valora

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, overseas Filipinos who lost their job and were repatriated as a result of the pandemic were eager to find opportunities that would provide an alternative and sustainable livelihood for their families once they returned home. In response to this, Grameen Foundation implemented the Celo Social Dividend Campaign which focused on the plight of 800 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and their families.

With funding from Celo Foundation, Grameen partnered with Ekolife Marketing Cooperative (Ekolife) and local non-government organization (NGO) Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative (Atikha) to identify, onboard, and train beneficiaries who would each receive 200 Celo Dollars (cUSD - a digital cryptocurrency) as capital support to start their own business and contribute to an entrepreneurial ecosystem running on cUSD in their communities.

The pilot project created a digital currency ecosystem where the beneficiaries and cooperatives actively took part as producers, merchants, and consumers using cUSD.

WomenLink Phase II Final Report

WomenLink II, a program supported by Wells Fargo, was a three-year initiative implemented in India and the Philippines whose goal was to increase digital financial inclusion through female agent networks. Lessons gained from recruiting and supporting women to run mobile money businesses and testing various methods for improving digital and financial literacy and uptake of digital financial services include the importance of coupling digital technologies with human interaction for agents and customers alike and the need for ongoing support to agents, particularly effective complaints and customers support mechanisms.

Understanding female and male empowerment in Burkina Faso using the project‑level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro‑WEAI): a longitudinal study

Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is a major global priority. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Building the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Burkina Faso (BRB) project, an agricultural development program, improved women’s empowerment, as measured by the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI).

Evidence Review on the Role of Male Engagement in Women’s Economic Empowerment Programs

In partnership with graduate student researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU), and leveraging Grameen Foundation’s own literature review, this evidence review presents four differ­ent reports outlining the current research and evidence regarding the role of male engagement in women’s economic empowerment (WEE). The first report (Evidence Review Summary) seeks to summarize key findings found in exisiting literature as well as readings that are influencing the work of Grameen Foundation, and that of our technical and in-country partners. The final three reports were developed by BYU graduate student researchers. Aleson and Ricks present positive outcomes that result from increasing a woman’s intra-household bargaining power and the male role in this transformation. Barham and Schenk draw on evidence from several middle- and low-income countries to demonstrate the most effective methods to integrate men at the household, community, and policy levels. Finally, Sheranian and Taylor provide a unique country-specific approach to women’s empowerment by recommending various interventions to improve male engagement.

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.