New Research Highlights Complex Path To Economic Empowerment For Women In Kenya

A new report released today by BFA Global reveals that boosting the incomes of low-income women micro-entrepreneurs requires a far more nuanced approach than previously thought.

Findings from the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Opportunity Leads Umbrella Program, a two-year collaboration with 11 enterprises in Kenya, identify five interconnected areas crucial for sustained income growth.

The research challenges the idea that income increases follow a straightforward trajectory. Instead, it demonstrates that lasting gains depend on a combination of reinforcing factors working in tandem.

“We began with a simple question: what actually works to increase incomes for women in low-income situations, beyond just theoretical models?” explained co-authors Phoebe Kiboi and Maha Khan.

“What we discovered is that no single intervention is effective on its own. Income growth happens when multiple elements align.”

The WEE Program’s interventions resulted in an average income rise of 49% for 1,800 women micro-entrepreneurs – an increase of approximately $85 per month.

The report identifies five key, interconnected domains:

Support Structures: Factors like childcare provision, time constraints, transport, and societal norms significantly impact women’s ability to participate in economic opportunities. Businesses that acknowledge and address these realities can unlock wider participation.

Skills and Confidence: Skills training is most impactful when it fosters both practical ability and self-belief, and when women have genuine opportunities to put their new skills into practice.

Networks: Peer-to-peer networks provide vital support, facilitating access to finance, customers, and crucial information. These informal structures often form the bedrock of women’s economic activity.

Productive Capital and Assets: Access to capital is only effective when it’s appropriately timed and tailored to individual needs. Poorly designed financial products can actually hinder progress.

Market Linkages: Connecting women to markets creates opportunities, but sustained income relies on the strength of the other four domains.

The report stresses that a weakness in any one area can stall progress. Skills training without market access, for example, won’t translate into income. Capital without capability creates risk, and market access is ineffective without adequate support structures.

BFA Global advocates for more integrated approaches that address multiple domains simultaneously, rather than focusing on optimising individual interventions in isolation.

BFA Global is an impact innovation firm that combines research, consultancy, venture building, and investment expertise to create a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient future for underserved communities and the planet.

They partner with leading public, private, and philanthropic organisations, both globally and locally, to stimulate innovation ecosystems for impact across emerging markets.

Since 2006, BFA Global has completed 646 projects in over 107 countries, supported over 250 ventures in Africa, Latin America, and Asia – collectively raising over $1 billion in follow-on funding – and boasts a venture survival rate exceeding 80% (compared to a global average of around 20%).
They have also cultivated a network of over 100 global and African investors, innovators, and funders.