Papers by Dr. Jack A Onyisi
Information and Knowledge Management, 2015
This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competi... more This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) amongst Humanitarian Agencies-HAs through the use of IT systems as an enabler of knowledge management. The objective of study was to examine how information technology systems affect sustainable competitive advantage in humanitarian agencies- HAs- in Kenya. The study population was 42 HAs with 10,487 employees in Kenya. Both the primary and secondary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklists. The questionnaires were administered by a drop and collect method to ensure high response rates. Employees were stratified into management and junior staff. Purposive sampling was then used to sample management staff in the agencies surveyed and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample employees at the junior level. Statistical tools such as cross-tabulation and frequency tables were used to analyze the data. This study adopted...
ERN: Africa (Development) (Topic), 2016
This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competi... more This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) amongst Humanitarian Agencies-HAs through the use of organizational culture as an enabler of knowledge management. The objective of study was to show how organizational culture affects sustainable competitive advantage in humanitarian agencies - HAs - in Kenya. The study population was 42 HAs with 10,487 employees in Kenya. Both the primary and secondary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklists. The questionnaires were administered by a drop and collect method to ensure high response rates. Employees were stratified into management and junior staff. Purposive sampling was then used to sample management staff in the agencies surveyed and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample employees at the junior level. Statistical tools such as cross-tabulation and frequency tables were used to analyze the data. This study ado...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
The United Nations General Assembly rolled out a new framework for international development call... more The United Nations General Assembly rolled out a new framework for international development called the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development to take over form the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The new agreed framework for sustainable development presents a broader scope than its predecessor (MDGs) having incorporated various issues and lessons learnt in the implementation of the MDGs. Succinctly, Agenda 2030 deliberately features environmental and economic sustainability with a particular aspiration for peaceful and inclusive societies in all the member states. Most importantly, is a call for action to all countries as opposed to focusing only on the developing countries making it a more ambitious particularly in eradicating poverty, combatting climate change, ending violence against women while also creating a peaceful, equitable, resilient as well as safe societies. Above all, Agenda 2030 presents a well thought through and stand-alone goal five on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls and further strengthens the goal five’s aspirations by including other gender-related targets in other goals. Finally, Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development is in cognizance of the fact that there is limited sex disaggregated data across various themes of development and in its response consistently and emphatically call for sex data disaggregation across nearly all SDGs targets. Based on this backdrop, this paper seeks to analyze how the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development integrates women’s rights issues in its goals and targets.
Interorganizational Networks & Organizational Behavior eJournal, 2016
This study investigated the main Obstacles and Constraints in Practicing Knowledge Management amo... more This study investigated the main Obstacles and Constraints in Practicing Knowledge Management amongst Humanitarian Agencies in Kenya. While knowledge and its management have generally been credited with improving productivity and establishing more effective management in the developed world, this has not been the case with many other countries in Africa and Kenya in particular. The large divide between the economically advanced knowledge-based regions and the developing regions has meant that Kenya, like most other countries in Africa, has not as yet effectively integrated knowledge management into its humanitarian agencies. The study population was 10,487 employees from 40 humanitarian agencies in Kenya. The sample size of the study was consisting of 375 employees. All employees of the 40 agencies targeted were stratified into management and junior staff for purposes of this study. Purposive sampling was then used to sample management staff. Proportionate simple random sampling tec...
Approaches by African Countries in the Implementation and Localization of SDGs- Web.pdf, 2017
This report presents governments’ approaches to the localization and implementation of the Sustai... more This report presents governments’ approaches to the localization and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with specific reference to seven countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The report was developed through a collaborative process with selected governments via their representatives, UN Women country/multi-country offices and other stakeholders in East and Southern Africa. Initial data and information were collected from a regional consultation on Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The event was held on December 8 & 9, 2016 in Nairobi.
This report is meant to increase learning among diverse actors, (including governments and non-state actors), and help replicate successful approaches and methodologies utilized by different governments in the localization and implementation of the SDGs. The report showcases how African governments should best approach the localization and implementation process to ensure the Agenda 2030 on SDGs is prioritized in national development plans and other interventions. This report is specifically intended to enhance knowledge sharing, learning and replication among African countries on SDG localization and implementation. It speaks to the implementation-related questions of African countries and illustrates the different approaches they have employed. Certain key elements appear throughout the document including: developing a road map for SDG implementation and localization, social mobilization/ awareness creation, integration into national development plans, prioritization, resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation, and regional engagement. The report affirms that strong political commitment is a critical enabler of SDG implementation and localization. Notably, all countries showcased reflect the principle of “leaving no one behind” – including women and girls.
The selected case studies show how these governments have prioritized integration of the SDGs into national development plans and/or related policies, legislation and frameworks to facilitate local ownership and implementation, especially regarding the gender-specific goals.
Stakeholder engagement is another critical enabler of accelerating results for the SDGs with countries prioritizing partnerships that can revitalize achievement of the goals while also focusing on resource mobilization. While all the African governments studied in this report strive to mainstream the Agenda 2030 on SDGs in national development process, the publication showcases the variety of coordination mechanisms they employ. The seven countries analysed have initiated SDG social mobilization through community, political and stakeholder mobilization. They widely publicize their efforts to all stakeholders and citizens, including women and girls, to ensure buy-in and political support, and to mobilize all resources required – technical, financial or otherwise – to ensure operationalization of the Agenda.
Despite these important enablers, there are critical challenges including: inadequate political will; limited technical and financial resources; perceived challenges on prioritization of goals; and capacity gaps on localization, data and statistics on gender equality and women’s empowerment. A further constraint regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) is the lack of standardized approaches to localization and implementation given that the only relevant lessons are those derived from the experience of operationalizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The report notes that implementation and localization efforts remain uneven and at different stages, weakly-resourced and uncoordinated – all of which could hamper ownership, implementation efforts and accountability to the SDG agenda, and the attainment of the GEWE agenda in particular. Countries reporting at the High-level Political Forum in 2017 with their Voluntary National Review reports – Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe – described an additional challenge around the limited availability of sex-disaggregated and gender-specific data. This paucity of information constrains reporting on and accountability for the SDG targets. The same challenge was experienced by Uganda during their Voluntary National Review at the High-level Political Forum in 2016.
Multi-Country Analytical Study of Policies, Interventions & Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa, 2019
his report presents a Multi-Country Analysis of Legislation, Policies, Interventions and Cultural... more his report presents a Multi-Country Analysis of Legislation, Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa. The study assessed the state of child marriage in Africa from practice to policy and interventions towards its eradication with a focus on ten countries with a comparatively higher prevalence of child marriage in the continent and globally. A critical emphasis of the study was on the nexus between the existence and implementation of the policies/legislation, and the dominant cultural and religious practices that affect the outcomes of the interventions in those countries, especially in identified hotspot areas within the countries. By focusing on the socio-cultural conditions, policy environment and eradication initiatives, the study provides critical information and perspectives, effective and appropriate programs/investment and policies in Africa to delay the age of marriage and end child marriage as a practice. The study confirms a decline in the prevalence of child marriage in the ten study countries (Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania) over the last three decades. Efforts have been intensified in eradicating child marriage, but it remains a persistent problem in Africa, with the study countries included in the 17 African countries ranked among those with the highest rates of child marriage globally.
Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa - Executive Brief_Web, 2019
This executive brief is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country anal... more This executive brief is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country analytical study by UN Women on child marriage in Africa covering ten countries selected due to their comparatively higher prevalence of child marriage in the continent and globally. The focus of the study was on the state and implementation of policies/legislation, interventions, cultural/religious practices in the countries in relation to the elimination of child marriage. A critical emphasis of the study was on the nexus between the existence and implementation of the policies/legislation, and the dominant cultural and religious practices that affect the outcomes of the interventions in those countries, especially in identified hotspot areas within the countries. The study was conducted in the period 2017/2018 and targeted DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania. The study builds on the African Union’s (AU) Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The specific objectives of the study included: conducting an analytical review of existing customary practices and statutory policies on child marriage with the view of identifying drivers of success and gaps that are hampering success; assessing and mapping existing and ongoing child marriage community, national and regional initiatives and identifying the intervention gaps and; proposing programmatic interventions that could be adopted to reduce the high prevalence of child marriage in the targeted countries specifically and in Africa in general. The background, methodology and detailed findings and recommendations of the study are found from the overall report of the study- Multi-Country Analytical Study of Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa.
Unleashing the Potential of Youth in Africa-Prioritizing Investment in Youth Within the Post-2015 Agenda-Published, 2019
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, is the international community’s a... more The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, is the international community’s ambitious response to today’s most pressing global development challenges and will guide our development priorities for an entire generation. Young people played a key role in shaping this agenda and experience first-hand many of the issues it seeks to address. Recent decades have witnessed significant advances in terms of human development, but deep challenges remain. Progress has been uneven, with many young people across the globe still experiencing interlocked forms of discrimination, limited political inclusion, high levels of poverty, and limited access to health, educational opportunities, entrepreneurship and decent jobs. The goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda are interconnected, aiming to integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. Explicitly or implicitly, young people are deeply embedded within their fabric. Their knowledge, reach and innovative solutions are essential if sustainable development is to be realized. The youth act as agents of change in the realization of the agenda and will be indispensable to its achievement in the coming 15 years. The scale and scope of the ambition requires particularly strong partnerships at every level with young people, who are already engaged in making the SDGs a reality.
Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa - Executive Brief, 2019
This executive brief is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country anal... more This executive brief is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country analytical study by UN Women on child marriage in Africa covering ten countries selected due to their comparatively higher prevalence of child marriage in the continent and globally. The focus of the study was on the state and implementation of policies/legislation, interventions, cultural/religious practices in the countries in relation to the elimination of child marriage. A critical emphasis of the study was on the nexus between the existence and implementation of the policies/legislation, and the dominant cultural and religious practices that affect the outcomes of the interventions in those countries, especially in identified hotspot areas within the countries. The study was conducted in the period 2017/2018 and targeted DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania. The study builds on the African Union’s (AU) Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The specific objectives of the study included: conducting an analytical review of existing customary practices and statutory policies on child marriage with the view of identifying drivers of success and gaps that are hampering success; assessing and mapping existing and ongoing child marriage community, national and regional initiatives and identifying the intervention gaps and; proposing programmatic interventions that could be adopted to reduce the high prevalence of child marriage in the targeted countries specifically and in Africa in general. The background, methodology and detailed findings and recommendations of the study are found from the overall report of the study- Multi-Country Analytical Study of Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa.
This background paper highlights the current situation regarding gender responsive financial incl... more This background paper highlights the current situation regarding gender responsive financial inclusion in Africa. It also highlights the key barriers that contribute towards creating and sustaining the gender gap in financial inclusion, including collateral challenges; the gender-blind approach to financial inclusion by financial institutions; asset ownership challenges among women; uncompetitive and high interest rates and bank charges offered by financial institutions; poor documentation and business history for accessing financial loan products by women entrepreneurs; challenges of formalization of businesses by women entrepreneurs among others. The paper also outlines concrete actions that all stakeholders and duty bearers should take to address the gender gap in financial inclusion in Africa.
This paper reports that financial inclusion for women, specifically access and usage of financial services and products is increasingly attracting great attention. Research and data reveal a trend in reducing the gender gap in access to and utilization of financial services with the introduction of digital literacy and mobile financial services and products in Africa. Although women are lagging behind men, women’s participation in financial inclusion has improved economic growth and better living standards in society. A synopsis is given of entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in Africa and of the methods through which financially excluded women could explore to improve their participation and benefit. Financial position and participation of women in financial inclusion were the focus of discussions by different actors, women entrepreneurs and stakeholders in a workshop gathering at the SEED Africa symposium held in Nairobi in 2016. The substance of the background paper is drawn from those discussions. The emerging good practices and innovative solutions together with the valued comments from participants are published herewith.
This paper targets;
• Governments; by providing evidence to inform policy formulation, implementation and accountability mechanisms;
• Private sector agencies; specifically, the financial sector, to increase learning and appreciation of feasible models, strategies and good practices from different countries that can enable gender responsive financial inclusion through women- friendly and sustainable financial products, services and policies;
• Development practitioners; in designing gender- responsive financial inclusion programmes and interventions that contribute to the vision of realizing financial inclusion for women in Africa;
• Civil society; by providing evidence to inform related advocacy efforts;
• Women entrepreneurs; in developing sustainable models for collective agency on gender responsive financial services and products by financial institutions;
• Academia and research think-tanks; to contribute to their knowledge base; and
• The general public; for sensitizing their orientation on innovative models of financial inclusion for women in Africa and to create demand for these services and products from duty bearers while holding them to account.
This paper highlights the need for financial inclusion for the development and productivity of women entrepreneurs. The objective of the Symposium was to unveil the associated reasons and factors of financial exclusion and to identify emerging opportunities and benefits of financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial development, growth and productivity.
Important ingenuities to increase financial literacy are highlighted, and the challenges faced in increasing financial inclusion in Africa are examined. The Symposium consultations also emphasized interesting positions on emerging opportunities driving women’s financial inclusion in the African set up.
The paper affirms that gender -responsive financial inclusion models (including women -friendly and quality financial products, services, innovations, collateral modalities, procedures, affordability, availability and accessibility thresholds etc.) are essential to ensure that women’s economic growth is sustained and inclusive especially considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This involves tailored initiatives to develop women- friendly formal financial services that are affordable, available and accessible. It further agrees on three substantive areas of gender financial inclusion; access, usage and quality. The paper estimates that women-owned businesses in developing countries have an estimated financing gap of $154–188 billion. It is reported that developing countries face an estimated financing gap of $2.1 to $2.6 trillion which is equivalent to 30-36 percent of current outstanding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) credit. Further, more than 90 percent of the financially excluded enterprises are formal micro enterprises or informal MSMEs of which 200 to 245 million formal and informal enterprises have no access to loans and finance. The paper reports that 70 percent of women in Africa were financially excluded by 2012 and that women’s access to financial services is behind that of their male counterparts. According to the findings, women in developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have an account at a formal financial institution in comparison to men and 17 percent less likely to have borrowed formally in the past year. Similarly, financing constraints and exclusion are a major hindrance to women-owned enterprises which tend to be small in size but contribute significantly to economic growth.
The paper discusses innovative solutions to women’s financial inclusion covering but not limited to leveraging mobile money services and digital saving facilities, agency banking, using social media and Google analytics for credit scoring and determining credit worthiness of individuals, the use of alternative and flexible collateral regimes and modalities, leveraging rotational savings and credit groups table and village banking schemes.
The paper concludes with policy recommendations to promote financial inclusion. Some of the recommendations include developing a simplified collateral regime to encourage women entrepreneurs to access more financial products, offering basic financial literacy and trainings, creating a low barrier to entry into financial inclusion by encouraging innovation and relaxation of financial procedures that are not gender-responsive, improving gender-disaggregated data collection and research to help reform and guide evidenced- based policy formulation and implementation, accountability mechanisms for duty bearers, and advocacy. The paper reports that closing the gender gap in financial inclusion is the right thing to do for countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; the smart thing to do as like achieving financial inclusion can help boost inclusive growth and economic development and is good for business as reaching out to the women can be profitable in the long term. Enhanced access to finance, usage and training coupled with better support networks among female entrepreneurs have the potential to sustain entrepreneurial development and raise the productivity of enterprises owned and managed by women. The paper, therefore concludes that for sustained and inclusive financial interventions to thrive in Africa, greater levels of innovation are needed to ensure that appropriate financial services, products and instruments are put in place for the benefit of women, entrepreneurial development, productivity, accelerated economic growth and ensuring women are lifted from poverty and exclusion to sustainable livelihoods.
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women) in partnership with ... more United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women) in partnership with Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Development Bank (AfDB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and other partners have partnered to host a multi stakeholder Regional Sharefair on Gender and Resilience with the theme of ‘Strengthening Resilience by Empowering Women’. The initiative focuses on the role of women in building and strengthening resilience, promoting dialogue and sharing of experiences on gender-responsive resilience-related programmes, innovations, good practices and policies in Africa with the aim to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
The intervention is a sharing and learning event and provides opportunity to further explore the role of women in building and strengthening resilience and promoting dialogue and sharing of experiences on gender-responsive resilience-related programmes and policies in Africa to accelerate development and humanitarian responses and the overall achievement of the SDGs. The intervention will also facilitate a long-term collaboration amongst regional stakeholders with the aim of identifying problems, using data and predictive methods, and mobilizing support and resources to incubate, accelerate, and scale effective solutions. The proposed intervention situates women’s perspectives at the center of resilience solutions, and will hence generate novel and sustainable and transformative approach to resilience solutions, at scale, drawing on a tight and diverse team to redress this complex challenge from its many angles. The main expected outcome is the creation of a strong regional network to amplify resilience solutions beyond the event, sustaining change in policy and practice within relevant macro-economic frameworks.
The innovations and good practices were collected through a Call for Innovations. Innovators across Africa were invited through the call to show cutting edge innovations, including social innovations that best provide solutions on how women, girls and their communities can build and strengthen resilience through resilient technologies and associated innovative strategies, initiatives, interventions and methods which are scalable. The innovations showcased in the catalogue are both at pilot level, medium or advanced and have the potential to strengthen women’s and girls’ capacities to mitigate, adapt, recover, and learn from shocks and stresses while achieving the longer-term goal of reducing vulnerability and increase well-being of women and their communities.
This booklet is a collation of innovations and good practices by diverse organizations/ agencies demonstrating promising and good practices in operationalizing the gender and resilience agenda within their interventions at Country and/ or Regional level. The initiatives documented are evidence and constitute innovative and cutting edge examples of interventions/ programmes that could be replicated elsewhere and scaled up for impact to increase the resilience for women and girls in Africa. The catalogue has been compiled from submissions from a call for innovations and has also leveraged on existing innovative models documented by various UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization- FAO and UN Women. The catalogue calls for a culture of innovative business and/ or programme models and initiatives that guarantee resilience for women while implementing ideas that create transformation in the resilience agenda in the lives of women and girls in Africa.
- See more at: http://auth-africa.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/11/catalogue-of-innovations-and-good-practices-on-gender-and-resilience#view
Health and safety consideration, although serving an important role in any organizations, is ofte... more Health and safety consideration, although serving an important role in any organizations, is often overlooked. Workplace accidents, associated injuries and illnesses are significantly underestimated, putting over 500 hundred permanent workers and thousands of contract workers in the horticultural research institutes at risk. Health and safety programs conformity with the set standards as measures in disaster risk reduction strategy in selected Kenya’s horticultural research institutions has not been entirely understood and there is limited existing documented data in this area. The study adopted a descriptive research design. A sample of 167 staff was drawn using stratified random sampling from four horticultural research institutes in Kenya namely Kandara, Matuga, Tigoni and Kibos, comprising technical and non-technical staff. Data instruments were questionnaires, observation checklists and interview guides. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data. There was 60.4% compliance to the set standard in policy implementation guidelines. This is reflected in 46.5% of respondents who said safety audits are carried out in their institutions. Notwithstanding the high level of compliance to set requirements, there was low response to accidents and incidents by management. The study recommends full compliance with set requirements to enhance health and safety and safety audits be done independently.
The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) is a non-governmental, non-partisan organis... more The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) is a non-governmental, non-partisan organisation whose goal is to ‘change you, and transform all’. CREAW is implementing the ‘Addressing
Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Kibera’ project, taking a participatory approach in involving health and legal providers, police, provincial administration and community members. CREAW is working towards
integrating services and building networks of support under a one-stop shop platform. Taking a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to creating cross-organisational awareness of the necessary support systems –
along with the impact and prevention of GBV – is key to reducing the incidences of GBV in Kibera. Coordinating services under an integrated service delivery platform in Kibera will increase survivor’s
abilities to access justice, medical facilities and also work to provide a solution to the limited community resources. The project is complemented through community empowerment activities, partnering with organisations to develop collaborative measures to address GBV, educational activities, and utilising community radio. CREAW is drawing on best-practice examples of the safe spaces theme to guide
practices with this project. Kibera is characterized by poor infrastructure and limited delivery of social services, with a large proportion of cases of GBV including rape, incest, child defilement and abuse,
sodomy and assault. To inform the initial outreach program, CREAW carried out a baseline survey to establish community awareness and attitudes towards GBV, the extent, causes, gaps in implementation
and challenges faced by community members and law enforcement. CREAW’s outreach program is addressing the challenges in regards to access to justice and access to post GBV services, while enhancing
the community’s access to information on human rights issues as they relate to GBV. This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this paper are the responsibility of CREAW and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
In Brief This publication on Broadening Options for Promoting Women's Participation in the Extrac... more In Brief This publication on Broadening Options for Promoting Women's Participation in the Extractive Industries Sector is a valuable contribution to exploring solutions for putting women at the heart of extractive industries activities and taking them to scale in Africa. This is only a beginning. The sector cannot afford to lose momentum. It must now seize the opportunity to invest in genuine solutions which put social, economic and political empowerment for women in the extractive industries at the center of overcoming the gender barriers and issues women have vehemently faced in the sector to accelerate economic development and create expanded opportunities for women's economic empowerment.
This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competi... more This study investigated the influence of Knowledge Management (KM) systems on Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) amongst Humanitarian Agencies-HAs through the use of IT systems as an enabler of knowledge management. The objective of study was to examine how information technology systems affect sustainable competitive advantage in humanitarian agencies-HAs-in Kenya. The study population was 42 HAs with 10,487 employees in Kenya. Both the primary and secondary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklists. The questionnaires were administered by a drop and collect method to ensure high response rates. Employees were stratified into management and junior staff. Purposive sampling was then used to sample management staff in the agencies surveyed and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample employees at the junior level. Statistical tools such as cross-tabulation and frequency tables were used to analyze the data. This study adopted a descriptive research design. The study used resource-based theory of knowledge management for competitive advantage as its theoretical basis. The resource-based view and theory of the firm defines a strategic asset as one that is rare, valuable, imperfectly imitable and non-substitutable. Knowledge is seen as one such strategic asset with the potential to be a source of competitive advantage for an organization. By adopting a resource-based theory of the firm with an extension of a knowledge-based perspective, this study aimed at developing and validating a conceptual model of the relationships between knowledge management enabler-it Systems and their influence on competitive advantage amongst humanitarian agencies in Kenya. From the study, there is substantial evidence to show that knowledge management has a strong positive influence on sustainable competitive advantage. The results from the 42 agencies surveyed reconfirmed a general agreement found in the literature that technological systems are ideal to bring significant positive correlations in improving organizational competitive advantage. Finally, recommendations were offered from practical ideas, drawn from experience, and intended for practitioners working with HAs but are also based on the theory behind the knowledge management concept and are just as relevant for consideration by knowledge management and development theorists alike.
UN Women in collaboration with Timeless Conference organized a Market Place at the Timeless Confe... more UN Women in collaboration with Timeless Conference organized a Market Place at the Timeless Conference 2016. This booklet is a collation of case studies, good practices and innovations by diverse organizations/ agencies demonstrating good practices in operationalizing normative framework on Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment. The initiatives documented form part of the Market Place at the Timeless Conference and are innovative and cutting edge examples of interventions/ programmes that could be replicated elsewhere and scaled up for impact to increase socio-economic impacts on women and girls in Africa. They demonstrate evidence on how organizations/ agencies work on women’s socio-economic empowerment and have contributed to improving women’s social and economic empowerment in Africa. The main purpose of the market place is to create a culture of innovative business models and initiatives that guarantee wealth and job creation while implementing ideas that create socio-economic transformation in the lives of women in Africa.
In the booklet, initiatives around cross border trade have been shared. In this regard, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) shares their work in addressing the gender-based constraints that prevent women from participating in regional and international trade.
Initiatives around energy and environment have also been documented. The National Environment Trust Fund showcases their support to rural households in the upscaling of innovative and cost effective interventions to expand the off-grid access of rural households to electricity through mini-hydroelectricity generation. Green Energy Africa has showcased their work on increasing the use of solar energy as an alternative form of energy in Kenya.
Innovative models of entrepreneurial initiatives targeting women entrepreneurs were also documented. While Small and Medium Entrepreneurial Resource Centre-SME offers information, assistance and empowerment in entrepreneurship to women entrepreneurs, Etiquette Xllent provides professional etiquette skills development to women entrepreneurs. Mpension by CPF Financial Services Limited has been showcased under this category and is reported to drive social security adoption through its flexible payment options to women.
Agricultural and environmental innovations have been showcased including that of KPMC which provides comprehensive inputs and packages to farmers. In the category, The Hive Ltd also showcases an integrated Apibusiness model of The Hive Beekeepers Kits which aims to economically empower women by introducing them to Apibusiness. Another initiative by Christian Aid Malawi which delivers positive and sustainable change in the lives of 9000 Malawian small holder farmers through increasing productivity and incomes whilst creating an environment that promotes growth of pigeon peas value chain has also been documented. Botanic Treasures Ltd has shown how they transform lives through nutrition- working with over 500 small holder farmers to cultivate highly nutritious, drought resistant Moringa tree and processing the plant into marketable health food products that are marketed nationally and internationally.
Women’s engagement in the male dominated sectors like the construction industry has also been showcased by the Timeless Women of Wonder Foundation.
Finally, a regional innovation focusing on women in the extractive industries has also been showcased in the booklet. The initiative, hosted by UN Women Eastern and Southern Regional Office in collaboration with the African Union, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and various partners focused on the overarching theme of Building on Good Practices while offering an inspiration for sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing partnerships and developing solutions to stimulate interest and collaborative efforts in engendering the extractive industries in Africa. It also generated concrete business linkages to women in the extractive industries.
It is our hope that the documented initiatives are replicated to increase and expand impact on women’s lives in our countries and communities. At its core, the Market Place functions through gallery dialogues, knowledge mapping and sharing, and production of knowledge products exhibiting selected initiatives on women’s socio-economic empowerment. This is also premised on the fact that South-South (S-S) cooperation has been on the radar screen for several years now. Finding mechanisms to make it work is a challenge for all stakeholders who believe S-S cooperation can significantly support development. The Market Place offers a sustainable solution to South- South Corporation besides offering a platform for regional linkages.
This UN Women ESAR Knowledge Management Strategy serves to collect, disseminate and preserve the ... more This UN Women ESAR Knowledge Management Strategy serves to collect, disseminate and preserve the region’s intellectual output through diverse mechanisms to support the localization process of SDGs in Eastern and Southern Africa region. By extending access to data and analyses, the strategy aims to provide UN Women Eastern and Southern Africa multi/ country offices and the regional office, development practitioners, knowledge management specialists and policy makers with insight that will improve the impact of making progress towards the implementation of SDGs across the globe, specifically focusing on SDG 5 on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls and other gender related targets.
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Papers by Dr. Jack A Onyisi
This report is meant to increase learning among diverse actors, (including governments and non-state actors), and help replicate successful approaches and methodologies utilized by different governments in the localization and implementation of the SDGs. The report showcases how African governments should best approach the localization and implementation process to ensure the Agenda 2030 on SDGs is prioritized in national development plans and other interventions. This report is specifically intended to enhance knowledge sharing, learning and replication among African countries on SDG localization and implementation. It speaks to the implementation-related questions of African countries and illustrates the different approaches they have employed. Certain key elements appear throughout the document including: developing a road map for SDG implementation and localization, social mobilization/ awareness creation, integration into national development plans, prioritization, resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation, and regional engagement. The report affirms that strong political commitment is a critical enabler of SDG implementation and localization. Notably, all countries showcased reflect the principle of “leaving no one behind” – including women and girls.
The selected case studies show how these governments have prioritized integration of the SDGs into national development plans and/or related policies, legislation and frameworks to facilitate local ownership and implementation, especially regarding the gender-specific goals.
Stakeholder engagement is another critical enabler of accelerating results for the SDGs with countries prioritizing partnerships that can revitalize achievement of the goals while also focusing on resource mobilization. While all the African governments studied in this report strive to mainstream the Agenda 2030 on SDGs in national development process, the publication showcases the variety of coordination mechanisms they employ. The seven countries analysed have initiated SDG social mobilization through community, political and stakeholder mobilization. They widely publicize their efforts to all stakeholders and citizens, including women and girls, to ensure buy-in and political support, and to mobilize all resources required – technical, financial or otherwise – to ensure operationalization of the Agenda.
Despite these important enablers, there are critical challenges including: inadequate political will; limited technical and financial resources; perceived challenges on prioritization of goals; and capacity gaps on localization, data and statistics on gender equality and women’s empowerment. A further constraint regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) is the lack of standardized approaches to localization and implementation given that the only relevant lessons are those derived from the experience of operationalizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The report notes that implementation and localization efforts remain uneven and at different stages, weakly-resourced and uncoordinated – all of which could hamper ownership, implementation efforts and accountability to the SDG agenda, and the attainment of the GEWE agenda in particular. Countries reporting at the High-level Political Forum in 2017 with their Voluntary National Review reports – Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe – described an additional challenge around the limited availability of sex-disaggregated and gender-specific data. This paucity of information constrains reporting on and accountability for the SDG targets. The same challenge was experienced by Uganda during their Voluntary National Review at the High-level Political Forum in 2016.
This paper reports that financial inclusion for women, specifically access and usage of financial services and products is increasingly attracting great attention. Research and data reveal a trend in reducing the gender gap in access to and utilization of financial services with the introduction of digital literacy and mobile financial services and products in Africa. Although women are lagging behind men, women’s participation in financial inclusion has improved economic growth and better living standards in society. A synopsis is given of entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in Africa and of the methods through which financially excluded women could explore to improve their participation and benefit. Financial position and participation of women in financial inclusion were the focus of discussions by different actors, women entrepreneurs and stakeholders in a workshop gathering at the SEED Africa symposium held in Nairobi in 2016. The substance of the background paper is drawn from those discussions. The emerging good practices and innovative solutions together with the valued comments from participants are published herewith.
This paper targets;
• Governments; by providing evidence to inform policy formulation, implementation and accountability mechanisms;
• Private sector agencies; specifically, the financial sector, to increase learning and appreciation of feasible models, strategies and good practices from different countries that can enable gender responsive financial inclusion through women- friendly and sustainable financial products, services and policies;
• Development practitioners; in designing gender- responsive financial inclusion programmes and interventions that contribute to the vision of realizing financial inclusion for women in Africa;
• Civil society; by providing evidence to inform related advocacy efforts;
• Women entrepreneurs; in developing sustainable models for collective agency on gender responsive financial services and products by financial institutions;
• Academia and research think-tanks; to contribute to their knowledge base; and
• The general public; for sensitizing their orientation on innovative models of financial inclusion for women in Africa and to create demand for these services and products from duty bearers while holding them to account.
This paper highlights the need for financial inclusion for the development and productivity of women entrepreneurs. The objective of the Symposium was to unveil the associated reasons and factors of financial exclusion and to identify emerging opportunities and benefits of financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial development, growth and productivity.
Important ingenuities to increase financial literacy are highlighted, and the challenges faced in increasing financial inclusion in Africa are examined. The Symposium consultations also emphasized interesting positions on emerging opportunities driving women’s financial inclusion in the African set up.
The paper affirms that gender -responsive financial inclusion models (including women -friendly and quality financial products, services, innovations, collateral modalities, procedures, affordability, availability and accessibility thresholds etc.) are essential to ensure that women’s economic growth is sustained and inclusive especially considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This involves tailored initiatives to develop women- friendly formal financial services that are affordable, available and accessible. It further agrees on three substantive areas of gender financial inclusion; access, usage and quality. The paper estimates that women-owned businesses in developing countries have an estimated financing gap of $154–188 billion. It is reported that developing countries face an estimated financing gap of $2.1 to $2.6 trillion which is equivalent to 30-36 percent of current outstanding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) credit. Further, more than 90 percent of the financially excluded enterprises are formal micro enterprises or informal MSMEs of which 200 to 245 million formal and informal enterprises have no access to loans and finance. The paper reports that 70 percent of women in Africa were financially excluded by 2012 and that women’s access to financial services is behind that of their male counterparts. According to the findings, women in developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have an account at a formal financial institution in comparison to men and 17 percent less likely to have borrowed formally in the past year. Similarly, financing constraints and exclusion are a major hindrance to women-owned enterprises which tend to be small in size but contribute significantly to economic growth.
The paper discusses innovative solutions to women’s financial inclusion covering but not limited to leveraging mobile money services and digital saving facilities, agency banking, using social media and Google analytics for credit scoring and determining credit worthiness of individuals, the use of alternative and flexible collateral regimes and modalities, leveraging rotational savings and credit groups table and village banking schemes.
The paper concludes with policy recommendations to promote financial inclusion. Some of the recommendations include developing a simplified collateral regime to encourage women entrepreneurs to access more financial products, offering basic financial literacy and trainings, creating a low barrier to entry into financial inclusion by encouraging innovation and relaxation of financial procedures that are not gender-responsive, improving gender-disaggregated data collection and research to help reform and guide evidenced- based policy formulation and implementation, accountability mechanisms for duty bearers, and advocacy. The paper reports that closing the gender gap in financial inclusion is the right thing to do for countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; the smart thing to do as like achieving financial inclusion can help boost inclusive growth and economic development and is good for business as reaching out to the women can be profitable in the long term. Enhanced access to finance, usage and training coupled with better support networks among female entrepreneurs have the potential to sustain entrepreneurial development and raise the productivity of enterprises owned and managed by women. The paper, therefore concludes that for sustained and inclusive financial interventions to thrive in Africa, greater levels of innovation are needed to ensure that appropriate financial services, products and instruments are put in place for the benefit of women, entrepreneurial development, productivity, accelerated economic growth and ensuring women are lifted from poverty and exclusion to sustainable livelihoods.
The intervention is a sharing and learning event and provides opportunity to further explore the role of women in building and strengthening resilience and promoting dialogue and sharing of experiences on gender-responsive resilience-related programmes and policies in Africa to accelerate development and humanitarian responses and the overall achievement of the SDGs. The intervention will also facilitate a long-term collaboration amongst regional stakeholders with the aim of identifying problems, using data and predictive methods, and mobilizing support and resources to incubate, accelerate, and scale effective solutions. The proposed intervention situates women’s perspectives at the center of resilience solutions, and will hence generate novel and sustainable and transformative approach to resilience solutions, at scale, drawing on a tight and diverse team to redress this complex challenge from its many angles. The main expected outcome is the creation of a strong regional network to amplify resilience solutions beyond the event, sustaining change in policy and practice within relevant macro-economic frameworks.
The innovations and good practices were collected through a Call for Innovations. Innovators across Africa were invited through the call to show cutting edge innovations, including social innovations that best provide solutions on how women, girls and their communities can build and strengthen resilience through resilient technologies and associated innovative strategies, initiatives, interventions and methods which are scalable. The innovations showcased in the catalogue are both at pilot level, medium or advanced and have the potential to strengthen women’s and girls’ capacities to mitigate, adapt, recover, and learn from shocks and stresses while achieving the longer-term goal of reducing vulnerability and increase well-being of women and their communities.
This booklet is a collation of innovations and good practices by diverse organizations/ agencies demonstrating promising and good practices in operationalizing the gender and resilience agenda within their interventions at Country and/ or Regional level. The initiatives documented are evidence and constitute innovative and cutting edge examples of interventions/ programmes that could be replicated elsewhere and scaled up for impact to increase the resilience for women and girls in Africa. The catalogue has been compiled from submissions from a call for innovations and has also leveraged on existing innovative models documented by various UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization- FAO and UN Women. The catalogue calls for a culture of innovative business and/ or programme models and initiatives that guarantee resilience for women while implementing ideas that create transformation in the resilience agenda in the lives of women and girls in Africa.
- See more at: http://auth-africa.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/11/catalogue-of-innovations-and-good-practices-on-gender-and-resilience#view
Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Kibera’ project, taking a participatory approach in involving health and legal providers, police, provincial administration and community members. CREAW is working towards
integrating services and building networks of support under a one-stop shop platform. Taking a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to creating cross-organisational awareness of the necessary support systems –
along with the impact and prevention of GBV – is key to reducing the incidences of GBV in Kibera. Coordinating services under an integrated service delivery platform in Kibera will increase survivor’s
abilities to access justice, medical facilities and also work to provide a solution to the limited community resources. The project is complemented through community empowerment activities, partnering with organisations to develop collaborative measures to address GBV, educational activities, and utilising community radio. CREAW is drawing on best-practice examples of the safe spaces theme to guide
practices with this project. Kibera is characterized by poor infrastructure and limited delivery of social services, with a large proportion of cases of GBV including rape, incest, child defilement and abuse,
sodomy and assault. To inform the initial outreach program, CREAW carried out a baseline survey to establish community awareness and attitudes towards GBV, the extent, causes, gaps in implementation
and challenges faced by community members and law enforcement. CREAW’s outreach program is addressing the challenges in regards to access to justice and access to post GBV services, while enhancing
the community’s access to information on human rights issues as they relate to GBV. This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this paper are the responsibility of CREAW and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
In the booklet, initiatives around cross border trade have been shared. In this regard, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) shares their work in addressing the gender-based constraints that prevent women from participating in regional and international trade.
Initiatives around energy and environment have also been documented. The National Environment Trust Fund showcases their support to rural households in the upscaling of innovative and cost effective interventions to expand the off-grid access of rural households to electricity through mini-hydroelectricity generation. Green Energy Africa has showcased their work on increasing the use of solar energy as an alternative form of energy in Kenya.
Innovative models of entrepreneurial initiatives targeting women entrepreneurs were also documented. While Small and Medium Entrepreneurial Resource Centre-SME offers information, assistance and empowerment in entrepreneurship to women entrepreneurs, Etiquette Xllent provides professional etiquette skills development to women entrepreneurs. Mpension by CPF Financial Services Limited has been showcased under this category and is reported to drive social security adoption through its flexible payment options to women.
Agricultural and environmental innovations have been showcased including that of KPMC which provides comprehensive inputs and packages to farmers. In the category, The Hive Ltd also showcases an integrated Apibusiness model of The Hive Beekeepers Kits which aims to economically empower women by introducing them to Apibusiness. Another initiative by Christian Aid Malawi which delivers positive and sustainable change in the lives of 9000 Malawian small holder farmers through increasing productivity and incomes whilst creating an environment that promotes growth of pigeon peas value chain has also been documented. Botanic Treasures Ltd has shown how they transform lives through nutrition- working with over 500 small holder farmers to cultivate highly nutritious, drought resistant Moringa tree and processing the plant into marketable health food products that are marketed nationally and internationally.
Women’s engagement in the male dominated sectors like the construction industry has also been showcased by the Timeless Women of Wonder Foundation.
Finally, a regional innovation focusing on women in the extractive industries has also been showcased in the booklet. The initiative, hosted by UN Women Eastern and Southern Regional Office in collaboration with the African Union, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and various partners focused on the overarching theme of Building on Good Practices while offering an inspiration for sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing partnerships and developing solutions to stimulate interest and collaborative efforts in engendering the extractive industries in Africa. It also generated concrete business linkages to women in the extractive industries.
It is our hope that the documented initiatives are replicated to increase and expand impact on women’s lives in our countries and communities. At its core, the Market Place functions through gallery dialogues, knowledge mapping and sharing, and production of knowledge products exhibiting selected initiatives on women’s socio-economic empowerment. This is also premised on the fact that South-South (S-S) cooperation has been on the radar screen for several years now. Finding mechanisms to make it work is a challenge for all stakeholders who believe S-S cooperation can significantly support development. The Market Place offers a sustainable solution to South- South Corporation besides offering a platform for regional linkages.
This report is meant to increase learning among diverse actors, (including governments and non-state actors), and help replicate successful approaches and methodologies utilized by different governments in the localization and implementation of the SDGs. The report showcases how African governments should best approach the localization and implementation process to ensure the Agenda 2030 on SDGs is prioritized in national development plans and other interventions. This report is specifically intended to enhance knowledge sharing, learning and replication among African countries on SDG localization and implementation. It speaks to the implementation-related questions of African countries and illustrates the different approaches they have employed. Certain key elements appear throughout the document including: developing a road map for SDG implementation and localization, social mobilization/ awareness creation, integration into national development plans, prioritization, resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation, and regional engagement. The report affirms that strong political commitment is a critical enabler of SDG implementation and localization. Notably, all countries showcased reflect the principle of “leaving no one behind” – including women and girls.
The selected case studies show how these governments have prioritized integration of the SDGs into national development plans and/or related policies, legislation and frameworks to facilitate local ownership and implementation, especially regarding the gender-specific goals.
Stakeholder engagement is another critical enabler of accelerating results for the SDGs with countries prioritizing partnerships that can revitalize achievement of the goals while also focusing on resource mobilization. While all the African governments studied in this report strive to mainstream the Agenda 2030 on SDGs in national development process, the publication showcases the variety of coordination mechanisms they employ. The seven countries analysed have initiated SDG social mobilization through community, political and stakeholder mobilization. They widely publicize their efforts to all stakeholders and citizens, including women and girls, to ensure buy-in and political support, and to mobilize all resources required – technical, financial or otherwise – to ensure operationalization of the Agenda.
Despite these important enablers, there are critical challenges including: inadequate political will; limited technical and financial resources; perceived challenges on prioritization of goals; and capacity gaps on localization, data and statistics on gender equality and women’s empowerment. A further constraint regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) is the lack of standardized approaches to localization and implementation given that the only relevant lessons are those derived from the experience of operationalizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The report notes that implementation and localization efforts remain uneven and at different stages, weakly-resourced and uncoordinated – all of which could hamper ownership, implementation efforts and accountability to the SDG agenda, and the attainment of the GEWE agenda in particular. Countries reporting at the High-level Political Forum in 2017 with their Voluntary National Review reports – Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe – described an additional challenge around the limited availability of sex-disaggregated and gender-specific data. This paucity of information constrains reporting on and accountability for the SDG targets. The same challenge was experienced by Uganda during their Voluntary National Review at the High-level Political Forum in 2016.
This paper reports that financial inclusion for women, specifically access and usage of financial services and products is increasingly attracting great attention. Research and data reveal a trend in reducing the gender gap in access to and utilization of financial services with the introduction of digital literacy and mobile financial services and products in Africa. Although women are lagging behind men, women’s participation in financial inclusion has improved economic growth and better living standards in society. A synopsis is given of entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in Africa and of the methods through which financially excluded women could explore to improve their participation and benefit. Financial position and participation of women in financial inclusion were the focus of discussions by different actors, women entrepreneurs and stakeholders in a workshop gathering at the SEED Africa symposium held in Nairobi in 2016. The substance of the background paper is drawn from those discussions. The emerging good practices and innovative solutions together with the valued comments from participants are published herewith.
This paper targets;
• Governments; by providing evidence to inform policy formulation, implementation and accountability mechanisms;
• Private sector agencies; specifically, the financial sector, to increase learning and appreciation of feasible models, strategies and good practices from different countries that can enable gender responsive financial inclusion through women- friendly and sustainable financial products, services and policies;
• Development practitioners; in designing gender- responsive financial inclusion programmes and interventions that contribute to the vision of realizing financial inclusion for women in Africa;
• Civil society; by providing evidence to inform related advocacy efforts;
• Women entrepreneurs; in developing sustainable models for collective agency on gender responsive financial services and products by financial institutions;
• Academia and research think-tanks; to contribute to their knowledge base; and
• The general public; for sensitizing their orientation on innovative models of financial inclusion for women in Africa and to create demand for these services and products from duty bearers while holding them to account.
This paper highlights the need for financial inclusion for the development and productivity of women entrepreneurs. The objective of the Symposium was to unveil the associated reasons and factors of financial exclusion and to identify emerging opportunities and benefits of financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial development, growth and productivity.
Important ingenuities to increase financial literacy are highlighted, and the challenges faced in increasing financial inclusion in Africa are examined. The Symposium consultations also emphasized interesting positions on emerging opportunities driving women’s financial inclusion in the African set up.
The paper affirms that gender -responsive financial inclusion models (including women -friendly and quality financial products, services, innovations, collateral modalities, procedures, affordability, availability and accessibility thresholds etc.) are essential to ensure that women’s economic growth is sustained and inclusive especially considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This involves tailored initiatives to develop women- friendly formal financial services that are affordable, available and accessible. It further agrees on three substantive areas of gender financial inclusion; access, usage and quality. The paper estimates that women-owned businesses in developing countries have an estimated financing gap of $154–188 billion. It is reported that developing countries face an estimated financing gap of $2.1 to $2.6 trillion which is equivalent to 30-36 percent of current outstanding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) credit. Further, more than 90 percent of the financially excluded enterprises are formal micro enterprises or informal MSMEs of which 200 to 245 million formal and informal enterprises have no access to loans and finance. The paper reports that 70 percent of women in Africa were financially excluded by 2012 and that women’s access to financial services is behind that of their male counterparts. According to the findings, women in developing economies are 20 percent less likely to have an account at a formal financial institution in comparison to men and 17 percent less likely to have borrowed formally in the past year. Similarly, financing constraints and exclusion are a major hindrance to women-owned enterprises which tend to be small in size but contribute significantly to economic growth.
The paper discusses innovative solutions to women’s financial inclusion covering but not limited to leveraging mobile money services and digital saving facilities, agency banking, using social media and Google analytics for credit scoring and determining credit worthiness of individuals, the use of alternative and flexible collateral regimes and modalities, leveraging rotational savings and credit groups table and village banking schemes.
The paper concludes with policy recommendations to promote financial inclusion. Some of the recommendations include developing a simplified collateral regime to encourage women entrepreneurs to access more financial products, offering basic financial literacy and trainings, creating a low barrier to entry into financial inclusion by encouraging innovation and relaxation of financial procedures that are not gender-responsive, improving gender-disaggregated data collection and research to help reform and guide evidenced- based policy formulation and implementation, accountability mechanisms for duty bearers, and advocacy. The paper reports that closing the gender gap in financial inclusion is the right thing to do for countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; the smart thing to do as like achieving financial inclusion can help boost inclusive growth and economic development and is good for business as reaching out to the women can be profitable in the long term. Enhanced access to finance, usage and training coupled with better support networks among female entrepreneurs have the potential to sustain entrepreneurial development and raise the productivity of enterprises owned and managed by women. The paper, therefore concludes that for sustained and inclusive financial interventions to thrive in Africa, greater levels of innovation are needed to ensure that appropriate financial services, products and instruments are put in place for the benefit of women, entrepreneurial development, productivity, accelerated economic growth and ensuring women are lifted from poverty and exclusion to sustainable livelihoods.
The intervention is a sharing and learning event and provides opportunity to further explore the role of women in building and strengthening resilience and promoting dialogue and sharing of experiences on gender-responsive resilience-related programmes and policies in Africa to accelerate development and humanitarian responses and the overall achievement of the SDGs. The intervention will also facilitate a long-term collaboration amongst regional stakeholders with the aim of identifying problems, using data and predictive methods, and mobilizing support and resources to incubate, accelerate, and scale effective solutions. The proposed intervention situates women’s perspectives at the center of resilience solutions, and will hence generate novel and sustainable and transformative approach to resilience solutions, at scale, drawing on a tight and diverse team to redress this complex challenge from its many angles. The main expected outcome is the creation of a strong regional network to amplify resilience solutions beyond the event, sustaining change in policy and practice within relevant macro-economic frameworks.
The innovations and good practices were collected through a Call for Innovations. Innovators across Africa were invited through the call to show cutting edge innovations, including social innovations that best provide solutions on how women, girls and their communities can build and strengthen resilience through resilient technologies and associated innovative strategies, initiatives, interventions and methods which are scalable. The innovations showcased in the catalogue are both at pilot level, medium or advanced and have the potential to strengthen women’s and girls’ capacities to mitigate, adapt, recover, and learn from shocks and stresses while achieving the longer-term goal of reducing vulnerability and increase well-being of women and their communities.
This booklet is a collation of innovations and good practices by diverse organizations/ agencies demonstrating promising and good practices in operationalizing the gender and resilience agenda within their interventions at Country and/ or Regional level. The initiatives documented are evidence and constitute innovative and cutting edge examples of interventions/ programmes that could be replicated elsewhere and scaled up for impact to increase the resilience for women and girls in Africa. The catalogue has been compiled from submissions from a call for innovations and has also leveraged on existing innovative models documented by various UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization- FAO and UN Women. The catalogue calls for a culture of innovative business and/ or programme models and initiatives that guarantee resilience for women while implementing ideas that create transformation in the resilience agenda in the lives of women and girls in Africa.
- See more at: http://auth-africa.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/11/catalogue-of-innovations-and-good-practices-on-gender-and-resilience#view
Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Kibera’ project, taking a participatory approach in involving health and legal providers, police, provincial administration and community members. CREAW is working towards
integrating services and building networks of support under a one-stop shop platform. Taking a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to creating cross-organisational awareness of the necessary support systems –
along with the impact and prevention of GBV – is key to reducing the incidences of GBV in Kibera. Coordinating services under an integrated service delivery platform in Kibera will increase survivor’s
abilities to access justice, medical facilities and also work to provide a solution to the limited community resources. The project is complemented through community empowerment activities, partnering with organisations to develop collaborative measures to address GBV, educational activities, and utilising community radio. CREAW is drawing on best-practice examples of the safe spaces theme to guide
practices with this project. Kibera is characterized by poor infrastructure and limited delivery of social services, with a large proportion of cases of GBV including rape, incest, child defilement and abuse,
sodomy and assault. To inform the initial outreach program, CREAW carried out a baseline survey to establish community awareness and attitudes towards GBV, the extent, causes, gaps in implementation
and challenges faced by community members and law enforcement. CREAW’s outreach program is addressing the challenges in regards to access to justice and access to post GBV services, while enhancing
the community’s access to information on human rights issues as they relate to GBV. This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this paper are the responsibility of CREAW and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
In the booklet, initiatives around cross border trade have been shared. In this regard, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) shares their work in addressing the gender-based constraints that prevent women from participating in regional and international trade.
Initiatives around energy and environment have also been documented. The National Environment Trust Fund showcases their support to rural households in the upscaling of innovative and cost effective interventions to expand the off-grid access of rural households to electricity through mini-hydroelectricity generation. Green Energy Africa has showcased their work on increasing the use of solar energy as an alternative form of energy in Kenya.
Innovative models of entrepreneurial initiatives targeting women entrepreneurs were also documented. While Small and Medium Entrepreneurial Resource Centre-SME offers information, assistance and empowerment in entrepreneurship to women entrepreneurs, Etiquette Xllent provides professional etiquette skills development to women entrepreneurs. Mpension by CPF Financial Services Limited has been showcased under this category and is reported to drive social security adoption through its flexible payment options to women.
Agricultural and environmental innovations have been showcased including that of KPMC which provides comprehensive inputs and packages to farmers. In the category, The Hive Ltd also showcases an integrated Apibusiness model of The Hive Beekeepers Kits which aims to economically empower women by introducing them to Apibusiness. Another initiative by Christian Aid Malawi which delivers positive and sustainable change in the lives of 9000 Malawian small holder farmers through increasing productivity and incomes whilst creating an environment that promotes growth of pigeon peas value chain has also been documented. Botanic Treasures Ltd has shown how they transform lives through nutrition- working with over 500 small holder farmers to cultivate highly nutritious, drought resistant Moringa tree and processing the plant into marketable health food products that are marketed nationally and internationally.
Women’s engagement in the male dominated sectors like the construction industry has also been showcased by the Timeless Women of Wonder Foundation.
Finally, a regional innovation focusing on women in the extractive industries has also been showcased in the booklet. The initiative, hosted by UN Women Eastern and Southern Regional Office in collaboration with the African Union, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and various partners focused on the overarching theme of Building on Good Practices while offering an inspiration for sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing partnerships and developing solutions to stimulate interest and collaborative efforts in engendering the extractive industries in Africa. It also generated concrete business linkages to women in the extractive industries.
It is our hope that the documented initiatives are replicated to increase and expand impact on women’s lives in our countries and communities. At its core, the Market Place functions through gallery dialogues, knowledge mapping and sharing, and production of knowledge products exhibiting selected initiatives on women’s socio-economic empowerment. This is also premised on the fact that South-South (S-S) cooperation has been on the radar screen for several years now. Finding mechanisms to make it work is a challenge for all stakeholders who believe S-S cooperation can significantly support development. The Market Place offers a sustainable solution to South- South Corporation besides offering a platform for regional linkages.
Initiatives around energy and environment were also showcased. The National Environment Trust Fund showcased their support to rural households in the upscaling of innovative and cost effective interventions to expand the off-grid access of rural households to electricity through mini-hydroelectricity generation. Green Energy Africa has showcased their work on increasing the use of solar energy as an alternative form of energy in Kenya.
Innovative models of entrepreneurial initiatives targeting women entrepreneurs were also shared at the Market Place. While Small and Medium Entrepreneurial Resource Centre-SME offers information, assistance and empowerment in entrepreneurship to women entrepreneurs, Etiquette Xllent provides professional etiquette skills development to women entrepreneurs.
Agricultural and environmental innovations were showcased including that of KPMC which provides comprehensive inputs and packages to farmers. In the category, The Hive Ltd also showcases an integrated Apibusiness model of The Hive Beekeepers Kits which aims to economically empower women by introducing them to Apibusiness. Another initiative by Christian Aid Malawi which delivers positive and sustainable change in the lives of 9000 Malawian small holder farmers through increasing productivity and incomes whilst creating an environment that promotes growth of pigeon peas value chain has also been documented. Botanic Treasures Ltd shared how they transform lives through nutrition- working with over 500 small holder farmers to cultivate highly nutritious, drought resistant Moringa tree and processing the plant into marketable health food products that are marketed nationally and internationally.
Women’s engagement in the male dominated sectors like the construction industry was also showcased by the Timeless Women of Wonder Foundation.
Finally, a regional innovation focusing on women in the extractive industries was showcased in the Market Place. The initiative, hosted by UN Women Eastern and Southern Regional Office in collaboration with the African Union, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and various partners focused on the overarching theme of Building on Good Practices while offering an inspiration for sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing partnerships and developing solutions to stimulate interest and collaborative efforts in engendering the extractive industries in Africa. It also generated concrete business linkages to women in the extractive industries.
It is our hope that the documented initiatives are replicated to increase and expand impact on women’s lives in our countries and communities. At its core, the Market Place functioned through gallery dialogues, knowledge mapping and sharing, and production of knowledge products exhibiting selected initiatives on women’s socio-economic empowerment. This is also premised on the fact that South-South (S-S) cooperation has been on the radar screen for several years now. Finding mechanisms to make it work is a challenge for all stakeholders who believe S-S cooperation can significantly support development. The Market Place offered a sustainable solution to South- South Corporation besides offering a platform for regional linkages.