Rigorous Impact Evaluation of the GIZ project “Promoting employment in the informal sector in Africa by leveraging diaspora money transfers” (WIDU.africa platform)

Remittances, which create a direct link between migration and development, present a huge potential for economic development in Africa. The World Bank estimates that members of the African diaspora in Germany send remittances worth EUR 1.5 billion to their countries of origin each year. However, the money from remittances is rarely used for entrepreneurial investments. 

To realize this potential, a new and innovative digital platform was created – Widu.africa. The platform  enables the diaspora in Germany to support start-up, small and micro-enterprises  in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Togo, Ethiopia, and other countries. In addition, the diaspora’s and entrepreneurs won matching investments,  the sponsored entrepreneurs receive free entrepreneurial coaching and a matching public grant with the aim of promoting employment in the informal sector, increasing income and better economic perspectives in Africa. Since 2019 the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been managing the project “Promoting employment in the informal sector in Africa by leveraging diaspora money transfers”  on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

With our partner Athena Infonomics and in coordination with our client GIZ, we conduct a mixed methods Rigorous Impact Evaluation (using Difference in Difference estimation) to better understand the effects of the WIDU project on outcome indicators such as jobs, income, digital skills, financial capability, entrepreneurial know-how, access to finance, and many more. Our services we deliver include the following: 

  • Conceptualization of an innovative and rigorous evaluation design 
  • Collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data at three different points in time to understand the  differential impact of the WIDU sub-interventions on the treatment and comparison groups across time 
  • Impact report with lessons-learned and recommendations for the further development of the WIDU.africa platform 

The assignment is implemented in Ghana and Cameroon between October 2020 and January 2023. 

For further information on the WIDU project, visit the following website: https://widu.africa/discover