GIL INFLUENCE SCORECARD AFRICA GIL’s Direct Influence GENDER $10 billion The monetary value of the specific project INNOVATION component(s) that GIL influenced LAB Value for Money $1 spent/ INFLUENCE $188 directly influenced The value of project dollars GIL influenced for every dollar we spent 2021-2022 Update $27.55 Total Value of Operations that billion GIL has Influenced The World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) conducts Between 2021 and 2022, Africa GIL registered an impact evaluations of development additional $3.6 billion in direct (sub-)component interventions and leads policy influence ($11.58 billion in total project value) on research to generate evidence 61 projects across 30 countries. This influence was on how to close gender gaps in not limited to Sub-Saharan Africa, with projects influenced across five of the World Bank’s seven earnings, productivity, assets, developing country regions. Nearly all (86%) of and agency. With these findings, these projects drew on GIL evidence and analysis to GIL helps project teams and inform their design, while the remainder were policymakers design innovative and influenced through the process of GIL experimentally scalable interventions and policies testing an innovative approach. to address gender inequality. To date, GIL has shaped development programming across 176 projects in 56 countries. Yet, GIL’s influence on policy and programming extends beyond development interventions, as highlighted in this brief. GIL INFLUENCES PROJECTS IN THREE WAYS Results from a GIL GIL influences a project’s Project teams copy impact evaluation design by introducing a GIL innovation or policy research an innovative approach currently being tested study influence the through the process of on another project design of a project doing an impact evaluation EXAMPLES OF GIL’S $3.6 BILLION IN NEWLY RECORDED INFLUENCE Scaling up GIL evidence to support job behavioral change approaches being tested by creation and economic transformation GIL in the DRC Small and Medium Enterprise Growth and Development Project. Personal In 2021 and 2022, the GIL team contributed initiative training focuses on developing socio- to the International Development Association emotional skills and successful entrepreneurial (IDA)’s focus on job creation for the most behavior and has been demonstrated to be vulnerable by working closely with Jobs and effective across a range of contexts. Economic Transformation projects, led by the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Another notable example is the $200 million Global Practice. GIL partnered with project IDA operation Competitive Value Chains for teams to develop effective interventions for Jobs and Economic Transformation Project for women entrepreneurs to tackle the skills and Côte d’Ivoire. The project aims to improve the capital barriers they face. One such example is competitiveness of supported value chains, the $300 million IDA operation, Empowering increase access to finance for underserved Women Entrepreneurs and Upgrading Micro-, farmers and firms, and respond promptly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) for and effectively to crises. The Africa GIL team Economic Transformation and Jobs project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (TRANSFORME worked closely with the project team during DRC) which aims to enhance the growth of the design stage to incorporate evidence-based new and existing women-owned MSMEs. The interventions to enhance the economic outcomes TRANSFORME DRC project supports self- of women in value chains by reducing gender employed women and growth-oriented women gaps that are hampering female productivity and entrepreneurs to develop an “entrepreneurial entrepreneurship. The two targeted interventions mindset” and access large cash grants. The as part of this collaboration include childcare project is scaling up the effective psychology- services based on GIL pilots in countries such as based entrepreneurial mindset (personal Burkina Faso and the DRC, as well as personal initiative) training to 25,000 women based on initiative training. Reducing occupational segregation Several World Bank operations adopted this through World Bank operations report’s policy lessons in their project designs, including the $500 million Transport and GIL’s research on occupational segregation has Connectivity Support Project in the DRC; the been influential in shaping World Bank operations $217 million Generating Growth Opportunities over the last two years. The report “Breaking and Productivity for Women Enterprises Project Barriers: Female Entrepreneurs Who Cross Over (GROW) in Uganda; the $500 million Livestock to Male-Dominated Sectors”, which synthesizes Productivity and Resilience Support Project in the existing research in this area was one of the Nigeria; and the $133 million First Additional Financing for the Lisungi Emergency COVID-19 key analytical pieces that led to this operational Response Project. For example, in Uganda, where influence. The report was produced jointly by the women’s businesses tend to be located in more Africa, East Asia and Pacific, and Latin America vulnerable sectors and earn 30 percent less in and the Caribbean Gender Innovation Labs under profits than firms owned by men, GIL advised the guidance of the World Bank Gender Group. the GROW team on programs that could help The report identifies interventions and policies that encourage women to cross over to more lucrative could help women cross over into male-dominated sectors, such as increasing women’s exposure to sectors, including those that encourage spousal male-dominated sectors through work placement support, safely connect women to mentors and programs and apprenticeships and providing role models, and provide early exposure to and grants to women who want to expand into these training in male-dominated sectors. profitable sectors. TOTAL VALUE OF GIL INFLUENCE (2013-2022) BY COUNTRY (MILLIONS OF USD) Value of sub-components only None >0 - $5m $5m - 20m $21m - 100m $100m - $4b Breaking silos and adapting proactive, persistent, and future-orientated. In innovation across sectors Somalia, the $52 million World Bank supported “Rajo Kaaba” Education Project is also piloting GIL’s research and promising findings have led to a similar approach, following the example of the the adaptation, testing and scaling of personal Niger SWEDD intervention. initiative (PI) trainings from entrepreneurship to farming. In Togo, the Private Sector Overall, our efforts have resulted in PI training Development Support Project, designed to being scaled-up across 45 projects in 30 provide business trainings to local entrepreneurs countries, shifting more than $1.3 billion in to boost their performance, identified PI development spending. programs as an effective psychology-based entrepreneurship training that outperforms traditional business training. Through this Scaling up promising economic inclusion novel approach, Togolese entrepreneurs programs in the Sahel and beyond: who received the PI training recorded higher The World Bank’s Sahel Adaptive Social Protection profits and increased use of standard business Program, Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), practices, were more innovative, and were and Africa GIL together with Innovations for Poverty more likely to diversify into a new product Action and partner researchers collaborated with line than those in traditional training. Building government safety nets units to design and evaluate upon the success of PI in Togo, the innovation multifaceted interventions to promote productive was adapted to develop entrepreneurial skills economic inclusion and resilience among women for female farmers in Mozambique. The World and their households in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Bank supported Mozambique Integrated Niger, and Senegal. The productive inclusion Growth Poles Project provided a combination of packages, which combine lump sum cash grants agricultural extension services with PI training and psychosocial components delivered through to beneficiaries. Results demonstrate that the government system, reached more than 16,000 women who received the PI training in households in Niger, close to 18,000 households in combination with agricultural extension Burkina Faso, 15,000 households in Senegal, and were twice as likely to run profitable off-farm 2,000 households each in Chad and Senegal. The businesses and their households enjoyed impact evaluation results from Niger show that 25% higher consumption levels. Additionally, productive inclusion packages proved to be a cost- the PI training enhanced the effectiveness of effective poverty reduction strategy, generating agricultural extension, leading to large increases strong impacts on economic outcomes and the in area cultivated, adoption of improved inputs psychosocial well-being of extremely poor female and farming practices, and higher output and beneficiaries. The findings influenced six World crop commercialization. Based on these results, Bank operations: the Niger Adaptive Safety Net the $306 million World Bank-supported Angola Project Additional Financing, the Third Additional Smallholder Agricultural Transformation Project Financing for Social Safety Net Project in Senegal, adopted PI training for female farmers. the Adaptive Safety Net Project in Senegal, the Furthermore, the PI training approach is Cabo Verde Human Capital Project, the Additional being tested in Niger by specifically targeting Financing for the Zambia Girls’ Education and adolescent girls. As part of the World Bank Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods Project, supported Sahel Women’s Empowerment and and the Social Safety Nets System Strengthening Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project, this Program in Côte d’Ivoire. More policy and program initiative is targeting young girls who have influence are expected as governments see never managed a business with the aim of that resilience to shocks is becoming an urgent providing the skills, knowledge, and confidence priority, and productive inclusion packages which needed to pursue an entrepreneurial career, as especially include psychosocial components offer well as the skills to become more self-starting, a cost-effective poverty reduction strategy. ‘PRICELESS INFLUENCE’: FOR SOME INSTANCES OF GIL INFLUENCE, WE CANNOT ASSIGN A MONETARY VALUE Examples include changing government policy, scaling down ineffective interventions, improving the ways companies work, and shaping World Bank Group policy. Promoting innovation in agriculture extension series of meetings and workshops, which have services in Ethiopia: Boosting agricultural provided an overview of the state of the evidence productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa in a way on what works to tackle the constraints facing that is inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and women and girls across these issue areas. Through responsive to emerging climate challenges will these engagements, the SWAG team was invited require innovation, in terms of technologies and to provide inputs during the design of the National service delivery systems. GIL’s Gender Innovation Development Plan 2021-2025 on this important Policy Initiative for Ethiopia (GIPIE) has supported issue—including content on promoting women’s the Government of Ethiopia in designing strategies economic empowerment from NiGIL. Ultimately, to increase the adoption and returns to agricultural these inputs were embedded in a chapter on extension for women farmers. Analysis from the “Accelerating the Realisation of the Demographic World Bank’s 2019 gender diagnostic revealed that Divided in Nigeria”. Moving forward, NiGIL and the women were 15 percentage points less likely than SWAG team will continue working across ministries men to attend an extension program, suggesting to support the mobilization of resources and that women are less likely to be exposed to new operationalization of the strategies laid out in the farming techniques and management practices. National Development Plan. Drawing on impact evaluation and other rigorous evidence from Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan Africa, Boosting worker earnings and productivity the GIPIE team provided inputs to the design of through a private sector financial innovation the Ethiopian Digital Agriculture and Extension in Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa: GIL worked and Advisory Services Roadmap on community- to overcome labor market distortions in close based childcare and innovative financing options partnership with Côte d’Ivoire’s largest savings to promote women’s use of extension services bank, the Caisse Nationale des Caisses d’Épargne and productive agricultural inputs. Furthermore, (CNCE), and OLAM, a leading transnational insights from an ongoing GIPIE study within the agroprocessing firm, by encouraging workers context of Ethiopia’s Second Agricultural Growth in cashew processing plants to refrain from Project, which is examining how digital extension redistributing their earnings among their social improves agriculture outcomes for women, will networks. Although this practice incurs some social also shape the implementation of the roadmap. benefits, the pressure to transfer money to social networks causes a disincentive to work and thus Supporting Nigeria’s aims to achieve a negatively affects the overall economy’s efficiency. demographic dividend: GIL’s country-level GIL and partner researchers developed a financial Nigeria Gender Innovation Lab (NiGIL) has closely innovation—a direct-deposit commitment savings collaborated with the Government of Nigeria and account designed to make it easier for workers key stakeholders on promoting the demographic to convert productivity increases into long-term dividend agenda. The collaboration has focused on savings which cannot be accessed by others. An advancing the policy dialogue around innovative impact evaluation of the intervention showed that and effective interventions to empower women’s this innovation enabled workers to increase their reproductive choice, ensuring that girls stay in earnings without reducing redistribution to their school, and improving economic opportunities respective networks by accessing private blocked and outcomes for women. Under the World Bank’s accounts. Results from the study not only provided multi-sectoral Supporting Women and Girls the basis for OLAM to scale the interventions in Nigeria or SWAG Initiative, NiGIL has been across their operations in Côte d’Ivoire, but also engaging with the Nigeria Population Council, the helped to shape the design of new digital savings Demographic Dividend Community of Practice, accounts for a seafood market platform, ABALOBI, and the Nigerian National Assembly through a in South Africa. Shaping the World Bank’s Regional Gender as well as the architecture, in terms of how we Action Plan for Western and Central Africa: organize ourselves internally to deliver on this Under the guidance of the World Bank Front work. It not only identifies the priority themes and Office for Western and Central Africa (AFW), GIL frontier issues around which to mobilize the World led a multi-sectoral team in the development of Bank’s efforts over the next five years (FY23- the AFW Regional Gender Action Plan (RGAP). FY27), but also ways to better leverage World A team of core members from three World Bank Bank resources for greater impact on gender Practice Groups worked closely with GIL to design equality and women and girls’ empowerment. The the RGAP. The team conducted a series of key AFW RGAP was publicly launched in March 2023, stakeholder consultations with over 150 individuals with further internal and external dissemination from management and staff in the World Bank’s planned as a part of a broader communications Practice Groups and in all the Country Management campaign on gender across Western and Central Units in the region, as well as with clients and Africa. Moreover, GIL and the multisectoral team development partners. The RGAP covers both the are currently preparing a RGAP for Eastern and substance of the World Bank’s gender work, in Southern Africa. terms of prioritization of gender gaps to address, This work has been funded in part by the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), which is a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through experimentation and knowledge creation to help governments and the private sector focus policy and programs on scalable solutions with sustainable outcomes. The UFGE is supported with generous contributions from Australia, Canada, For more information, visit the Gender Innovation Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Lab’s website: www.worldbank.org/africa/gil Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.