Publication database

Women play a key role in the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where women make up the majority of those who are entrepreneurs. However, a range of impediments render women’s businesses less productive and having fewer employees than those owned by men. This new report seeks to focus attention on the challenges that Africa’s women entrepreneurs face and identify practical solutions. The report draws on new, high-quality, household and firm level data to present the clearest evidence to date about the barriers to growth and profitability faced by women entrepreneurs.The report offers policy makers evidencebased guidance on designing programs to target multiple obstacles and improve the performance of women entrepreneurs.  

This case study traces Evidence Action from origin to the launch and expansion of Dispensers for Safe Water in Uganda. It first describes the Dispensers’ pilot in eastern Uganda and then explore Evidence Action’s process of preparing for and scaling Dispensers across Uganda.

BIF engages with businesses either by first identifying a market in which to operate, and then finding appropriate companies with whom to work; or by identifying multinationals that are looking to innovate, and then introducing a programme to develop the market in which they are working. This report explores examples from both of these strands and distils learning from three countries.

This report provides analysis and key findings on the set-up and implementation of the mAgri mNutrion Initiative by GSMA. It provides insights to the design and impact of the services, with key considerations for existing service providers or those launching a new service. It also provide six case studies for a comprehensive snapshot of each service.

This note explores how and why market systems programmes and companies need to identify common goals in order to be able to engage with each other.

This indepth report pulls together existing research and 60 interviews with local and national impact investors to analyse the landscape for impact investing country by country in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This includes over 81 non-DFI impact investors and 26 development finance institutions with over 8,000 disclosed investments.

This paper is one of 13 country studies on access to energy in Sub-Saharan Africa. It describes the current situation for off-grid solutions in Malawi and identifies key policy measures to enable accelerated access to electricity.

The report presents a Value Chain Analysis (VCA) of three commodities; tomato, onion and Irish potato, in the Jenda area of Mzimba District, in Malawi. The VCA tool examines the mechanisms and drivers which control the mode by which a product reaches its end market and it gives an understanding of how to improve the competitiveness of the chain whilst increasing participation in a manner that fairly distributes value down the chain.

This report summarises the findings of a study which assessed the potential for the development of renewable energy resources at the three estates operated by Global Tea Commodities Ltd (GTC) in Malawi.

This report looks at eight different models that CARE has explored to connect savings groups with formal financial services including Barclays, Vision Finance, Vodacom and Mwanga Community Bank, Orange and Equity Bank and Jubilee Insurance. It recommends that customer protection must be maintained, and it outlines a set of ‘Linkage Principles’ that CARE has designed to help guard their interests.