英文【世界銀行】建立婦女的經(jīng)濟(jì)包容性和韌性技能

PublicDisclosureAuthorizedPublicDisclosureAuthorized

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10980

BuildingWomen’sSkillsforEconomicInclusionandResilience

MeganLangJuliaSeither

WORLDBANKGROUP

DevelopmentEconomics

DevelopmentResearchGroupNovember2024

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10980

Abstract

Canskills-basedprogramspromotewomen’seconomicinclusion?Thisstudyrandomizesaccesstoaprogramteach-ingentrepreneurshipskillsinruralUganda.Theprogramcoversrecord-keeping,identifyingbusinessopportunities,raisingcapital,andsoftskillslikeperseveranceandconfi-dence,butitprovidesnoaccesstocashorcapital.Treatedwomenare17percentmorelikelytogenerateincomefromtheirownbusinesses18monthspost-program.Theyheav-ilyre-investintheirbusinesses.High-frequencydatashow

thattreatedwomenalsofaresignificantlybetterduringtheCOVID-19lockdownthanwomeninthecontrolgroup.Exploitingsocialnetworkdata,thispaperdetectspositivenetwork-basedspilloverstothecontrolgroupandpro-videsnoveltoolstoadjustestimatesaccordingly.Althoughtheprogramisnottransformative,theresultsindicateanimportantroleforskills-basedprogrammingineffortsforeconomicinclusionamongrural,low-incomewomen.

ThispaperisaproductoftheDevelopmentResearchGroup,DevelopmentEconomics.ItispartofalargereffortbytheWorldBanktoprovideopenaccesstoitsresearchandmakeacontributiontodevelopmentpolicydiscussionsaroundtheworld.PolicyResearchWorkingPapersarealsopostedontheWebat

/prwp

.Theauthorsmaybecontactedatmlang@.

ThePolicyResearchWorkingPaperSeriesdisseminatesthefindingsofworkinprogresstoencouragetheexchangeofideasaboutdevelopmentissues.Anobjectiveoftheseriesistogetthefindingsoutquickly,evenifthepresentationsarelessthanfullypolished.Thepaperscarrythenamesoftheauthorsandshouldbecitedaccordingly.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

ProducedbytheResearchSupportTeam

BuildingWomen’sSkillsforEconomicInclusionandResilience*

MeganLangt,andJuliaSeither?

*WearegratefultoIreneNamaganda,andalargeteamofenumerators,andtheteamofcoachesatStreetBusinessSchoolinUganda.WethankMariaSofiaCasabianca,CatalinaDuran,andJenniferLiuforexcellentresearchassistance.WeareindebtedtoCatiaBatistaandJeremyMagruderforsupportandguidancethroughoutthisproject.Thispaperbene-fitedfromcommentsbyKathleenBeegle,ClaireDuquennois,KarlDunkle-Werner,GabrielEnglander,ErinKelley,SylvieLambert,DavidMcKenzie,JuanVargas,InesVilela,andparticipantsatvariousconferencesandseminars.Wewishtoacknowledgefinancialsup-portfromtheArgidiusFoundationthroughtheInnovationGrowthLab,theWeissFundforResearchinDevelopmentEconomics,theAlianzaEFI-ColombiaCientíficagrant(code

60185andFP44842-220-2018).TheopinionsandconclusionsexpressedhereinaresolelythoseoftheauthorsandshouldnotbeconstruedasrepresentingtheopinionsorpoliciesofthesponsoringagenciesortheWorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations.Thisstudyispre-registeredasAEARCTR-0003214Z(Lang,Magruder,andSeither,2022).Ithasap-provalfromtheUgandanNationalEthicsCommittee(REF0207-2018)andIRBapproval

intcn.m.s.ee,o8G-0-9m).ail:mlang@

?UniversidaddelRosario.Email:julia.seither@.co

2

programmingineffortsforeconomicinclusionamongrural,low-incomewomen.

Keywords:FemaleEmpowerment,RuralDevelopment,PovertyAlleviation,

Uganda.

JELCodes:D13,D23,D91,J16,O12.

3

1Introduction

Flagshipprogramsforwomen’seconomicinclusionoftenincludeprogrammingtodevelophardandsoftskillsalongsidecashandassettransfers(e.g.,BRAC,ConcernInternational).Developingskillsforwomenistheoreticallyattrac-tive.Womenwithlimitedaccesstoeducationandwageworklikelyhavefewopportunitiestodevelopskills,skillsmayhelpprogramimpactspersist,andunlikeloans,cashtransfers,orassettransfers,skillscannotbeexpropriated.However,skills-basedprogrammingisintensiveintermsofstafftimerelativetootherinterventions(Banerjee,Duflo,Goldberg,etal.2015).Itisalsodifficulttotargetbecausethereturnstoskillsareheterogeneousandhardtopredict.Uncertaintyaroundthereturnstoskillsandthepracticeofpairingskills-basedprogrammingwithotherinterventionsmakesitdifficulttounderstandtowhatextentskillsarearelevantbarriertowomen’seconomicinclusion.

Canskills-basedprogramspromotewomen’seconomicinclusion?1Wetakeanintentionallybroadviewofeconomicinclusionthatincludeswomen’sca-pacitytogenerateincome,makeinvestmentandconsumptionchoices,andcopewitheconomicshocks.Wemakeprogressonourquestionfirstbyus-ingarandomizedcontroltrialofaskills-basedprogramwith601ultra-poorwomeninruralUganda.Themassive,unanticipatedshockofthefirstnationalCOVID-19lockdowninUgandaaugmentsouroriginalexperimenttoprovideevidenceofprogramimpactsonincomeresilience.

Theprogramwestudyteachesgeneralskillsforbusinessandentrepreneur-shipineight,2–3hourmodulesoversixmonths,complementedwithoptionalindividualcoachingfromprograminstructors.Thehardskillscomponents

targetlow-literacypopulationsandaimtoimprovebusinesspracticesthroughsimpleheuristics(similartoe.g.,Drexler,Fischer,andSchoar(2014)andBatista,Sequeira,andVicente(2022)).Theprogrambuildsadditionalskillsthroughmodulesonidentifyingbusinessopportunitiesandperformingmarket

1By“skills-based”werefertoprogramsthatdonotexplicitlyprovidecapital,cash,oraccesstocredit.However,webroadlydefineskillstoincludetechnicalandmanagementskillsalongwithsoftskills.

4

research.2Modulesonsteppingoutofone’scomfortzoneandexposingwomentosuccessstoriesaimtobuildsoftskills.Critically,theprogramdoesnotin-cludeaccesstocreditoranytransferofcashorcapital.Womenself-selectintoparticipationafterattendingadetailedorientationsession.Self-selectionmitigatesconcernsaboutineffectiveprogramtargeting,allowingustofocusontheimportanceofskillsforeconomicinclusionamongwomenmotivatedtolearnnewskills.3

Wecollectthreetypesofdatatobuildaholisticunderstandingoftheroleskillsplayineconomicinclusionamongthewomeninoursample.First,wecollectdetailedin-personsurveydataonhouseholdsandbusinessesatbaselinebeforetheinterventionbegins,midlineshortlyafterwomengraduatefromtheprogram,andendline12–18monthsaftergraduation.4Ourthreeroundsofin-persondatacollectionelicitinformationaboutallbusinessesawomanruns,allowingustoobservehowwomen’sbusinessportfolioschangeovertime.Second,wecollecthigh-frequencySMSdataonrevenuesovertheentirestudyperiodtounderstandwhethertheprogramenableswomentobettercopewithnegativeshocks.Finally,wecollectdataonthesocialandbusinessnetworksofwomeninoursample.Doingsoallowsustoquantifynetwork-basedspillovers.

Theprogramstrengthenshardandsoftskills.Weobserveimprovedbusi-nesstracking,pricemanagement,andmorehoursspentworkinginthemainbusiness.Effectsonselectbusinesspracticespersistinthemedium-run(18-24months).Entrepreneurialsoftskillsalsoimprove,withtreatedwomenbeing38%morelikelytosetgoalsthanwomeninthecontrolgroupandexhibitingimprovementsingritatendline.

Improvementsinskillsleadtogainsinwomen’seconomicinclusion.At

2TheseprogramcomponentsaresimilarinspirittotheILO’sStartandImproveYourBusinessprogramasindeMel,McKenzie,andWoodruff(2014)andthepersonalinitiativetraininginCamposetal.(2017).

3Westudythedifferentialimpactsofavariationofthisprogramthatdeliverscoachingatwomen’shomesorbusinessesinLangandSeither(2022).Thefulldesignispre-registeredasAEARCTR-0003214Z(Lang,Magruder,andSeither,2022).

4ThesedifferencesintimingfortheendlinesurveywerecausedbyCOVID-19restrictionsthatpreventedtravelwithinUganda.

5

baseline,thewomenwhoself-selectintooursamplearepoorerthantheaver-ageruralUgandanhousehold.5Upongraduatingfromtheprogram,treatedwomenare16ppmorelikelytohaveanactivebusinessthanwomeninthe

controlgroup.Theyown0.22morebusinesses,onaverage,atendline.Theprogramisalsoeffectiveatpromotingproductiveentrepreneurship:treatedwomenare10ppmorelikelytogeneratepositiveprofits(offacontrolmean

of59%)andtheyare8ppmorelikelytohavepositiveprofitsinadditional

businesses(offacontrolmeanof16%).Althoughindividualeffectsonprofit

levelsinboththemainbusinessandallotherbusinessesarenoisy,ourindexofintensive-marginbusinessperformanceshowspositive,significanteffectsatbothmidlineandendline.Importantly,oureffectsrepresentgainsinwomen’semployment,notsimplyswitchingbetweensalariedandself-employment:treatedwomenare8ppmorelikelytobeemployedatmidline(overacontrolmeanof

72%ofwomenbeingeitheremployedorself-employed).

WeexploittheunanticipatedmarketshockofthefirstCOVID-19lock-

downinUgandatotestforwomen’sabilitytocopewithnegativeeconomicshocks.High-frequencySMSdatashowsthattheprogramishighlyeffectiveatenablingwomentonavigatethefirstCOVIDlockdown.Treatedwomenex-periencenodecreaseinrevenuesrelativetotheperiodimmediatelyprecedingthelockdown.Bycontrast,thecontrolgrouponlyrecoverstopre-lockdownrevenuelevelsamonthbeforethelockdownwasfullylifted.Weinterpretthisaspromisingevidencethatskills-basedprogramscanincreasewomen’seconomicresilience.

Weexaminedynamictreatmenteffectsonsavings,investments,andhouse-holdconsumptionspendingtounderstandhowwomenallocatetheirearnings.Wefindnosignificanteffectsonsavingsorinvestmentsatmidline,rightaf-terprogramcompletion.However,treatedwomeninvest97%moreinotherbusinessesatendlineandourindexofsavingsandinvestmentoutcomesshowspositive,significanteffects.Together,resultsonsavingsandinvestmentsindi-

5Halfofthesampledwomenhaveanactivebusinessatbaseline,andmerely11%areemployedoutsideofself-employment.Manyexistingbusinessesareinperishablegoods,livestock,andenergy,butwealsoobserveservice-basedbusinesseslikesalonsaswellasrestaurants,retail,andconstruction.

6

catehighratesofre-investmentinwomen’sbusinessportfolios,whichwetaketobeindicativeofincreasesintheresourceswomencontrol.Wefindnosignif-icantincreasesinconsumptionexpendituresatmidlineorendline,indicatingthattheprogramdoesnothavesignificantimpactsonpovertyreductionovertheperiodofourstudy.Givenhighobservedratesofre-investmentandover-alllowbaselineprofits,ourresultsonconsumptionspendingalignwithotherprogramimpacts.

Ourstudybridgesagapbetweentheevidenceongraduationfrompovertyprogramsandthatonentrepreneurshiptrainingprograms.Wedosobystudy-ingtheeffectsofbuildingskillsforentrepreneurshipinanultra-poorpopu-lationofwomen.Thewomeninoursampledemographicallyresemblethepopulationstargetedbygraduationprograms(Banerjee,Duflo,Goldberg,etal.2015,Blattmanetal.2016,Bandiera,Burgess,etal.2017,Banerjee,Duflo,andSharma2021,Bossuroyetal.2022,Angelucci,Heath,andNoble2023).Althoughtheindividualcoachingandsomeofthefinancialmanagementunitsintheprogramwestudyresembleskills-basedcomponentsofgraduationpro-grams,theentrepreneurshipskillsaremorecloselyrelatedtothosestudiedinthebusinesstrainingliterature(seeMcKenzie,Woodruff,etal.(2023)forasystematicreviewoftheliterature).

Inbridgingthesetwobodiesofevidence,wemakethreecontributions.First,ourresultssupporttheinclusionofskillsingraduationapproachesbyshowingthatskillsalonegenerategainsinwomen’seconomicinclusion.Sec-ond,wedemonstratethatgeneralentrepreneurshipskillscanpromoteeco-nomicinclusionforultra-poor,ruralwomen,particularlyontheextensivemarginofwomenenteringentrepreneurship.OurresultsalignwiththoseinCalderoneetal.(2022),whotoourknowledgeprovidetheonlyotherexper-imentalevidenceonextensive-marginimpactsinruralareas.6Morebroadly,ourresultssuggestthattheheavilymixedresultsonbusinesstrainingpro-gramsmaybedrivenbydifferencesinthepopulationsstudied.7Thewomen

6deMel,McKenzie,andWoodruff(2014)andBrudevold-Newmanetal.(2023)documentpositiveextensivemargineffectsinurbanpopulationsthatdiminishovertime.

7ThirteenofseventeenstudiesofprogramswithexistingentrepreneursinurbanmarketscitedinMcKenzie,Woodruff,etal.(2023)foundnosignificanteffectonprofits(Berge,

7

whoself-selectintooursamplearenotallexistingentrepreneursandtheyfallwellbelowmedianlevelsofconsumptioninruralUganda,incontrasttomoststudiesthatfocusonurbanentrepreneurs.Ourresultshighlightthatthepopulationwhereskills-basedconstraintsbindmaynotbethepopulationtypicallytargetedbyentrepreneurshipprograms.

Third,ourpapermakestwomethodologicalcontributionsthatprovideacomprehensiveunderstandingofthevalueofentrepreneurshipskillsinthelivesofultra-poor,ruralwomen.First,weusehigh-frequencySMSdatatobetterunderstandhowtheprogramwestudyaffectsincomevolatilityandwomen’sabilitytocopewithlargeeconomicshocks.Understandingvolatilityisfirst-ordertoalleviatingpovertyinruralareas,buttraditionalsurveysareill-suitedtomeasuresuchdynamics.Second,wedemonstratetheeffectivenessofarelativelyfast,low-costmethodforcollectingsocialnetworkdatausingrandomlyorderedphotobooksofstudyparticipants.Ourphotobooksallowlow-literacyrespondentstofullyparticipate,avoidconcernsaboutdifferentnamesbeingusedforthesameperson,andreducerespondentfatiguebyal-lowingrespondentstoquicklyidentifynetworklinks.Thisishelpfulinanysettingwheremeasuringsocialnetworksisimportantbutisnotthecentralfocusofanintervention.Weadditionallydemonstratethatinsettingswherenetwork-basedspilloversmayoccur,researcherscanusebaselinenetworkdatatoquantifythem.

Positivespilloversthroughbusinessnetworks,butnotfriendshipnetworks,speaktopeereffects.8OurresultsstandincontrasttoFieldetal.(2016),who

Bjorvatn,andTungodden(2015),BruhnandZia(2013),deMel,McKenzie,andWoodruff(2014),Brooks,Donovan,andJohnson(2018),Camposetal.(2017),Arráiz,Bhanot,andCalero(2019),Alibhaietal.(2019),Andersonetal.(2020)).Bycontrast,fiveoutofsevenstudiesonexistingentrepreneursinruralmarketsfindpositiveeffectsfromtraining(Calderon,Cunha,andGiorgi(2020),Bakhtiar,Bastian,andGoldstein(2022),Buvinicetal.(2020),GinéandMansuri(2021)),thoughAvdeenko,Fr?lich,andHelmsmüller(2021)findnullresultsandGinéandMansuri(2021)documentnullresultsforfemaleentrepreneurs.

8Theliteratureonsocialnetworksfindsthatboththesizeandcompositionofanindi-vidual’snetworkcanhavelargeeffectsonoutcomesrangingfromemploymenttotechnologyadoption(e.g.,Munshi(2003);BandieraandRasul(2006);Magruder(2010);BeamanandMagruder(2012);Beaman,Keleher,andMagruder(2018);MunshiandRosenzweig(2016)),butwomenoftenbenefitlessfromthesesocialnetworks.Forinstance,Magruder(2010)findsthatinter-generationalnetworkeffectsonlyincreaseemploymentratesforsons,andBea-

8

findpositivepeereffectsfromsocialties.InlinewiththeresultsbyMcKen-zieandPuerto(2021)andcontrastingthoseinCaiandSzeidl(2022)andBakhtiar,Bastian,andGoldstein(2022),ourresultssuggestthatsuccessfulwomenentrepreneursgeneratepositiveeconomicspillovers.

Combined,ourresultsshowthatbuildingskillscanbeaneffectivetoolforimprovingeconomicinclusionamongultra-poor,ruralwomen.Wefindthatskillsincreasethelikelihoodthatwomeninoursampleindependentlygenerateandcontrolincome,andimprovetheirresiliencetoshocks.Althoughtheresultsweobservearefarfromtransformativeforpovertyalleviationorprivatesectordevelopment,theyprovidekeyevidenceontheimportanceofskillsinlargereffortstopromotewomen’seconomicinclusion.

2BackgroundandContext

Basedonthe2018LivingStandardsandMeasurementSurvey(LSMS)inUganda,74%ofruralwomenareemployedinsomeformofproductiveactiv-ity(includingpaidwork,self-employment,andunpaidworkinfamilybusi-nesses).Thirteenpercentofruralwomenengageinself-employment.Incen-tralUganda,theregionwhereourstudyisbased,averagemonthlyhouseholdexpendituresareUGX678,876(USD172.52withamedianofUGX504,966)perhousehold,andthemedianhouseholdsizeisfour.

AlthoughourpartnerimplementsitsprogramsthroughoutUganda,the

womeninoursampleresideinfivecommunitiesincentralUganda.Ourim-plementingpartnerselectedallstudylocationsbasedonconversationswithcommunityleaders,theirevaluationoftheeconomicneedsofthecommuni-ties,andtheirestimateofthepopulationofwomenwhomightbeinterestedinparticipating.9Ofthefivecommunitieswhereweworked,fourareruraland

manandMagruder(2012)showthatwomenarelesslikelytogetjobreferralsthanequallyqualifiedmen.

9Allowingourpartnertoselectthestudylocationsprecludesrandomsiteselection;however,wearguethatityieldsrepresentativestudysitesgiventhattheprogramwestudyandotherslikeitareunlikelytoworkincommunitiesthatareuninterestedinparticipatingorotherwiseunabletoparticipate.

9

oneisperi-urban.

Onaverage,54%ofwomeninoursamplereportworkingforatleastpartoftheirtimeintheirownbusinessatbaseline,withmedianmonthlyprofitsofUGX50,000(USD13.78).Themostcommontypesofbusinessesarethosesellingfoodproducts,bothperishableandnon-perishable,butaround7%ofwomenalsohavebusinessesraisinglivestock,sellingcharcoal,vendingclothes,andsellingdrinks.Forcontext,womenreportmediandailyexpendituresareUGX5,900(USD1.63)intheirhouseholdsatbaselinewithamedianhouseholdsizeof4,indicatingthatthewomeninoursampletendtobepoorerthantheaverageruralhouseholdincentralUganda.

Self-selectionyieldsasamplewithhigherratesofbusinessownershipthanthenationalaverage;however,nearlyhalfofthewomeninoursampledonothaveabusinessatbaseline.Thissamplecompositioniscriticaltoconsider-ingthedifferentmarginsatplaywhenusingentrepreneurshipasatoolforpovertyalleviation.Althoughprogramsliketheonewestudyaimtohelpexistingentrepreneursrunmoreprofitablebusinesses,theyalsoaimtoremovebarrierstoentrepreneurshipontheextensivemarginforwomenwhohavenotbeenentrepreneursbefore.Self-selectionfurtheractsasarevealedpreferencemeasureforwhichwomenperceiveskills-basedbarrierstoeconomicinclusion:thosewhoareamongthelowest-incomeintheircommunitiesandwhomayhavelimitedopportunitiesforbuildingskills.

3ExperimentalDesign

3.1Treatment

Theprogramwestudyiscalled“StreetBusinessSchool”(SBS).Coachesfromtheprogramteachentrepreneurialandbusinessskills(goodbusinessprac-tices).Beyondthepotentialpsychologicalimpactofskills-basedtraining,StreetBusinessSchoolincludessomecontentthatisexplicitlytargetedatpsychologicalempowerment,whichweconsideraformofentrepreneurialsoft

10

skills.10Afteranorientationdayforwomenwhoareinterestedinparticipat-ing,coachesbeginaseriesofmodulesaswellasindividualizedcoaching.

Thefirstmonthfocusesonteachingskillstostartenterprisesandincreasingwomen’sbeliefsintheirabilities.Coachesschedulethreedifferentsessionslasting2–3hourseach.Thefirstiscalled“gettingoutofyourcomfortzone”andaimstoshowparticipantsthattheyhaveuntappedpotential.Thesecondis“identifyingbusinessopportunities”,whichfocusesonhelpingparticipantsidentifypotentialbusinessideasthatmaybesuccessfulintheircommunities.Thethirdiscalled“findingcapitalandstartingsmall”.Theprogramdoesnotprovidecapital,sothismoduleisdesignedtohelpparticipantsunderstandhowtoraisecapitaltostartabusinessthroughsavings,formalandinformalloans,andbyleveragingsmaller,lesscapital-intensivebusinessesintolarger,morecapital-intensiveones.Itteachesthatevensmallamountsofmoneymaybeenoughtostartgrowinganenterprise.SBSconsidersthelackofcapitalprovisiontobecriticalbecausethewomentheyworkwithoftenfacenegative

shocksthatcancausetheirbusinessestoclose.Byteachingwomentoraisecapitalratherthanprovidingit,SBSattemptstoensurethatwomencanre-startenterprisesaftertheirformalengagementwithSBShasended.

Inthesecondmonth,theprogramschedulestwomodulesonmanagementpractices.Thefirstisbookkeepingandrecord-keeping,wherecoachesteachsimpletechniquesfortrackingkeyaspectsofthebusiness.Thesecondmoduleiscalled“marketresearch”,andisdesignedtohelpparticipantsthinkabouthowtheycanunderstandthelocalmarketbeforeinvestingtheirtimeandresourcestostartabusiness.Thethirdmonthonlyhasonemoduleonskills:businessplanning.Inthismodule,coachesshowparticipantsthestepstoplanningabusinessandemphasizethebenefitsofdevelopingaplanbeforetryingtostartanewbusiness.

Whilethefirstthreemonthsfocusonstartingandrunningabusiness,thelastthreemonthsoftheprogramfocusonteachingskillsforfirmgrowth.Monthfouroftheprogramhastwomodules.Thefirstis“growingyourcus-tomerbase”,whichcoverstopicslikeactivelypursuingcustomers,customer

10SeeFigureA1formoredetailonthecurriculum.

11

service,andofferingpromotions.Thesecondmoduleis“moneymanagement”,whichteachesthevalueofsavingandbudgetingandprovidestoolstohelppar-ticipantsstartseparatingandprioritizingpersonalversusbusinessexpenses.Monthfiveisentirelygiventoimplementation.Ideally,participantsstartorcontinueworkingontheirbusinessinthismonthusingtheskillstheyhavelearned.

Theprogramendswithaformal,publicgraduationceremonytocelebratetheachievementsofthewomenwhoparticipated.Beforetheceremony,womenwalkthroughthevillageinacelebration.Attheceremony,programcoachescallwomenindividuallyandawardcertificatesforsuccessfullycompletingtheprogram.11

Coachesmakethemselvesavailableforofficehoursonthreedesignateddays:oneinthefirstmonthoftheprogram,oneinthethird,andoneinthefinalmonth.Onthesedays,womencanopttocomeandreceiveindividualizedcoachingandaskquestionsspecifictotheirbusiness.Intotal,43%ofwomeninthetreatmentgroupattendedofficehoursatleastonce.12

WhilesomeofthemodulesaresimilartothepersonalinitiativetrainingasdescribedinCamposetal.(2017)andtheILO’sStartandImproveYourBusiness(SIYB)program,SBSdiffersinthefollowingaspects.Theprogramexplicitlytargetswomen:chantsoffemaleempowerment,femalerolemodelsofprogramalumni,anddancesareasubstantialpartofthetraining.Allprogramcoachesarewomen,whichpotentiallyfacilitateslearningbyreduc-inggenderbarriers.Programparticipantsarenotrequiredtohaveconcretebusinessideas,literacy,ortechnicalskills.13Lastly,SBSfallsatthelowendofcomparablebusinesstrainingsintermsofthetimeparticipantsspendintheclassroom:amaximumofaround20hours,includingallclassroomandpotentialmentoringsessions.Forcomparison,McKenzie,Woodruff,etal.

(2023)estimatesthatmosttraditionalbusinesstrainingsinvolve3-12fulldays

11Womenhavetoattendatleastfouroftheeightmodulestoreceivethecertificate.

12Only3%ofwomenattendedtwoindividualcoachingsessions.Noneattendedallthree.

13ThislastrequirementisthemaindifferencetotheILO’sSIYBprogramwhichrequirespotentialentrepreneurstohavethemotivation,idea,andskillstostartabusiness.ExistingentrepreneursinSIYBareselectedonhavingaviablebusinessandbusinessexperience.

12

ofinstruction.

3.2SamplingFrame

Ourimplementationpartnerrecruitedparticipantsineachofourfivestudylocationsoverseveraldays.Programcoachesundertookthesametypeofmo-bilizationtheytypicallydo,butoveraslightlylargerareatoaccommodatethesamplerequiredfortheRCT.Coachesmobilizeinanewcommunitybyspeak-ingwithcommunityleadersandvisitinghouseholdstoinformthemabouttheprogram.Duringtheseefforts,coachesemphasizethattheprogramdoesnotprovideanyfinancialassistancebutoffersskillstrainingandguidanceonhowtobecomeasuccessfulentrepreneur.Coachestheninviteallwomeninter-estedintheprogramtoanorientationdayatacentrallocation.Therearenorestrictionsonwhocanparticipateotherthangender.

Orientationaimstoconvincemotivatedwomentoenrollintheprogram.

Coachesexplainthestructureofthesixmonths,theofficialgraduationcer-emony,andbringsuccessfulalumnitosharetheirstories,buttheyalsoem-phasizethateachwomanisresponsibleforworkinghardtomakeherbusinesssuccessful.Assuch,thewomenwhochoosetosignupfortheprogramhavedetailedinformationaboutthetypesofactivitiesthattheprogramwillentail.Duringtheorientation,theRCTprojectmanageralsointroducedthestudyandexplainedthatbysigninguptoparticipate,thewomenwouldberandomlyassignedtodifferen