How the Private Sector Measures Social Inclusion and its Return on Investment: A Framework to Inform Future Research

  • Partner: USAID
  • Publication Type: Brief
  • Date: May 25, 2021

This brief documents how different private sector actors understand and measure social inclusion and its return on investment (ROI) as an initial step to frame further research on the business case for social inclusion in developing countries. This brief was produced as part of MSA’s work with the Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Activity, a set of learning initiatives around social inclusion.

Read More

Measuring what matters: Monitoring and results measurement

  • Partner: Springfield Centre
  • Publication Type: Book Chapter
  • Date: April 2021

In Chapter 4 from "Making Markets Work for the Poor," a recent edited work inspired by the life and legacy of Alan Gibson, MSA Founder and Principal Ben Fowler and co-author Jake Lomax examine the shift in M4P programmes from monitoring and evaluation to monitoring and results measurement to inform decision-making and understand system-level change.

Read More

What Does It Take to Achieve Scale in Women’s Empowerment Activities?

  • Partner: USAID
  • Publication Type: Blog
  • Date: February 18, 2021

Insights and examples of approaches to scaling women’s empowerment from the Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment (AWE) program team, particualrly relating to gains in agricultural productivity, resilient and sustainable livelihoods and nutrition.

Read More

Pathways to Systemic Change in Kenya’s Livestock Sector

  • Partner: Kenya Markets Trust, Gatsby Africa, UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Case Study
  • Date: May 2020

This case study examines Kenya Markets Trust's impactful interventions in the Kenyan livestock sector, emphasizing market-driven solutions and collaborative efforts with various stakeholders to enhance productivity, income generation, and overall livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

Read More

Does Market Systems Development Work for Women’s Financial Empowerment?

  • Partner: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, The SEEP Network, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Webinar
  • Date: April 16, 2020

This webinar builds on MSA’s work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. Funded by the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) and working in Jordan and Egypt, AWEF has been one of DFID’s flagship women’s economic empowerment programmes and the first to innovatively apply a market systems development approach to enhance women’s participation in markets.

Read More

Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region: 8 Lessons from the Field

  • Partner: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Blog Post
  • Date: April 13, 2020

This blog builds on MarketShare Associates' work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach in Jordan and Egypt. Drawing from AWEF’s Practitioner Learning Brief, Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region (2020), the authors explore opportunities and challenges of Digital Financial Services (DFS) and highlight eight lessons on how to design and implement interventions that can pave the way for women’s digital financial empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and more widely.

Read More

Making Digital Finance Work for Women in the MENA Region: 8 Lessons from the Field

  • Partner: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Report
  • Date: April 2020

This Practitioner Learning Brief builds on MarketShare Associates' work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. The Brief explores opportunities and challenges of Digital Financial Services (DFS) and highlights eight lessons from 14 case studies on how to design and implement interventions that can pave the way for women’s digital financial empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and more widely. This Brief aims to encourage others to test and scale innovative approaches to making digital finance work better for women’s empowerment.

Read More

Discovering A Route to Formalize Women-Owned Businesses in Jordan

  • Partner: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Blog Post
  • Date: March 10, 2020

This blog builds on MarketShare Associates' work in Jordan supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. The authors share key results from AWEF's work with local municipalities to facilitate home-based vocational licensing. To date, AWEF’s approach has led to adoption of the home-based licensing process across 20 municipalities within Jordan, with over 300 women obtaining vocational licenses. As part of the licensing process women are trained to adjust production to meet market and supplier requirements, enabling many of them to grow and formalize their businesses. Several women who were licensed have been connected to large, national buyers.

Read More

Using data to promote women’s empowerment in MSD programmes: the experience of AWEF

  • Partner: Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF), DAI, UK Department for International Development (DFID)
  • Publication Type: Blog Post
  • Date: February 11, 2020

The MarketShare Associates team shares lessons learned as part of the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) for effectively collecting and using data to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. Funded by the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), AWEF has been one of DFID’s flagship women’s economic empowerment programmes working in Jordan, Egypt and until March 2018, the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This blog focuses on using data for programme design, to stimulate crowding-in, to learn and pivot strategies, and to understand systemic change.

Read More

Women in the workplace: how better data can lead to systemic change

  • Partner: Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), BEAM Exchange
  • Publication Type: Webinar
  • Date: January 28, 2020

Limited data on the number of women workers, the roles they play, and the barriers and opportunities they face can mean that companies, and even entire sectors, exclude or underutilise women’s talents. This webinar drew on MarketShare Associates' work supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) to stimulate increased women’s economic empowerment through a market systems approach. Speakers presented diverse approaches to collecting and using data to enhance understanding of the risks and opportunities for women within a company’s business operations and supply chains.

Read More