Effectiveness of entrepreneurship development interventions for women entrepreneurs: an ILO-WED issue brief

This brief is the result of an in-depth review of six meta-evaluations and 23 rigorous impact studies undertaken during the past 10 years in women's entrepreneurship development initiatives around the world. It provides a synthesis of impact findings and identifies interventions which seem to have worked more effectively. The brief corroborates that combining finance and business training - although more costly - seems to be more effective in supporting women's business start-up than either finance or business training alone. Also, training packages that combine business and gender knowledge are more likely to lead to women's empowerment. While more evidence is still needed, the brief concludes with a series of recommendations for future interventions and impact evaluations including providing more than access to skills and finance, by also addressing gender-based barriers and women's strategic needs, in order to ensure the business success and consolidation of women entrepreneurs.

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