Issuu

UPDATE

Knowledge Management Update

Sept. 2024

The KM Update is an occasional publication of Opportunity Knowledge Management that presents a sampling of Opportunity learnings across various programs. Returning after a pandemic-driven pause, this issue provides a review with more to come.

What are Opportunity’s Key Client Outcomes? Women’s Empowerment Project Boosts Agricultural Production and Income Opportunity’s Roots of Change Program (2018-2021) targeted female farmers in northern Ghana and the DRC. The program evaluations, which captured sample client data at baseline and endline, indicate strong outcomes for women farmers and the community (see Figure 1): X The majority of women borrowers increased yields (75%), income (73%), and wellbeing (70%). X 83% of women improved farms and business. X 88% of women experienced greater decision-making power and better relationships in their households. X The loan clients sustained or created nearly 75,000 jobs. The program addressed not only poor credit access, but also other barriers like social norms, limited agricultural knowledge, and limited technology knowledge. Women received training in financial literacy, digital finance tools, agricultural practices, business development, and marketing. In addition, Roots of Change raised gender awareness through radio campaigns and training at various community, institutional, family, and personal levels. The program’s outreach target was exceeded, with 12,259 women accessing loans against a target of 8,000. ♦

Figure 1. Client Benefits

Challenges Facing African Women Farmers African women face barriers in rural economies, impacting their families’ economic lives. Without women’s full participation, Africa, a potential “breadbasket,” remains a net food importer, with many farmers living in poverty. Women, making up half of the farmers, produce significantly less than men. Equal resource access could boost their production by 30%, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to empower women, end hunger, and end poverty.

EduFinance Enhances Education Practices and Student Learning Outcomes Opportunity’s Education Finance Program (EduFinance) trains school leaders and teachers to improve learning outcomes for students. Four studies conducted between 2020 and 2024 demonstrate how improvements in school quality and teaching practices contribute to enhanced student learning.

Improvements in School Quality The vast majority of schools (83%) have improved quality over a 2-year period, based on the “Improvement in Education Quality” data analysis. The overall self-assessment score increased from 2.3 (out of 4) at baseline to 3.1. Improvements occurred in the following areas: X School Culture: 79.6% of schools improved, with an average score increase from 2.2 to 3. This includes behavior management, improved by 69% of schools, parent/community engagement (65% of schools), and child protection (61% of schools). X School Management: 79.2% of schools improved, with an average score increase from 2.2 to 3.0. This includes finance and business management (62% of schools), school leadership and government (62% of schools), and teacher development and oversight (62% of schools).

Four Key EduFinance Studies • “Improvements in Education Quality: 3 Year School Quality Self-Assessment” Data from partner school self-assessments from over 1,000 schools in 6 countries, over a 2-year period, completed in 2024. • “Classroom Observations Endline Research” Data from detailed observations in 628 classrooms, in 6 countries over three years, completed in 2023. • “Opportunity EduFinance Impact on Learning Outcomes” Data from a 3-year, quasi-experimental study in Kenya comparing student learning outcomes from 131 EduFinance participating schools with 70 comparison schools, completed in 2024. • “School Improvement Loans Linked to Increased Learning Outcomes in Uganda” A comparison of the 2022 national test scores of 77 borrowing primary schools with those of 9,580 schools in Uganda between 2010 and 2019.

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