Women in post-conflict economies face a number of challenges. Often their businesses stay at embryonic stages only, due to three key limitations relating to: knowledge of business vision and management; access to finance and markets; and access to role models and networks.
... See More + Added to the complexity is the risk of having to start all over again due to their countries' political instability and the limited infrastructure to make their businesses proper and become more efficient over time. This report presents findings on the situation of women entrepreneurs in Liberia. It discusses the challenges that female entrepreneurs face as well as enabling factors that they encounter when operating their businesses in Liberia's post-conflict environment. Through the voices and experiences of women - as in the IFC series "Voices of Women Entrepreneurs" that inspires it - this report sheds some light on the specificities of women doing business in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), such as those in Liberia. It identifies operational lessons and proposes recommendations on how to support women entrepreneurs and contribute to their economic empowerment in the transition from post-conflict to reconstruction and development. The women interviewed for this report highlighted how obstacles, such as limited financial infrastructure, restricted access to markets, and most importantly, insufficient networks to support women entrepreneurs, stifle efforts to create sustainable solutions for women entrepreneurs. The report offers operational lessons and recommendations on how to address these challenges and support women's economic participation and empowerment.
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Working Paper 91511 APR 01, 2014
Aril, Maria Elena Ruiz; Ofosu-Amaah, Waafas; Dassanou, Marième Esther; Amani, Lwanzo; Anderlini, Sanam Naraghi; Merchant, Dexter; Giorgis, Haddas Wolde
In mining communities, women in particular often bear the negative consequences associated with mismanagement of extractive industries. Women need to be part of the processes and strategies aimed at transforming the negative aspects of the extractive industries into visible social and economic benefits in affected communities.
... See More + With the permission of senior management of the Ok Tedi mining company, a World Bank consultant was included in the final 5-week long mine life extension (MLE) negotiations as an observer. The purpose was to observe women's roles in the negotiations and, through interviews with the participants, document the women negotiators' aspirations and expectations from the process. The ultimate goal is to provide a forward-looking assessment of the outcomes and draw lessons for analysis and program design not only in the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) regions but elsewhere in Papua New Guinea (PNG) resource areas. This report documents the unique and pioneering experience in PNG of women and their roles in negotiating mining operations' benefit streams for local communities. The lessons it draws for development policy-making, planning, and program implementations are relevant both for PNG and for other countries in their attempts to make policy decisions about translating mineral wealth into inclusive and sustainable development for local communities.
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In mining communities, women in particular often bear the negative consequences associated with mismanagement of extractive industries. Women need to be part of the processes and strategies aimed at transforming the negative aspects of the extractive industries into visible social and economic benefits in affected communities.
... See More + With the permission of senior management of the Ok Tedi mining company, a World Bank consultant was included in the final 5-week long mine life extension (MLE) negotiations as an observer. The purpose was to observe women's roles in the negotiations and, through interviews with the participants, document the women negotiators' aspirations and expectations from the process. The ultimate goal is to provide a forward-looking assessment of the outcomes and draw lessons for analysis and program design not only in the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) regions but elsewhere in Papua New Guinea (PNG) resource areas. This report documents the unique and pioneering experience in PNG of women and their roles in negotiating mining operations' benefit streams for local communities. The lessons it draws for development policy-making, planning, and program implementations are relevant both for PNG and for other countries in their attempts to make policy decisions about translating mineral wealth into inclusive and sustainable development for local communities.
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There is compelling evidence of the importance of gender equality for poverty reduction and sustainable growth. So it should come as no surprise that most development actors-international agencies, bilateral donors, and most developing countries, have an official policy for promoting gender equality.
... See More + Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3) on gender equality and women's empowerment is shared global commitment. With only seven years remaining until the end date for the MDGs, it is an opportune time to take stock of where the world stands in terms of progress toward gender equality. This volume documents trends both on the official MDG3 indicators and on an expanded set of indicators that provide a more complete measure of gender equality, especially in the area of women's economic empowerment. The message that emerges is both hopeful and sobering: progress toward equality in capabilities has been considerable, but progress toward equality of opportunities for women's economic livelihoods leaves much to be desired. Beyond tracking trends toward gender equality, the volume reviews different measures of gender equality and estimates the financial resources required to achieve this objective. While necessarily imprecise, such estimates can provide a rough guide as to whether the level of effort devoted by international donors and developing countries is adequate in the area of women's economic empowerment.
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Publication 45773 SEP 18, 2008
Buvinic, Mayra; Morrison, Andrew R.; Ofosu-Amaah, A. Waafas; Sjoblom, Mirja;
This newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Jordan country unit. This issue features: World Bank Contacts Economic Advancement of Woman in Jordan: A Country Gender Assessment; Recent Economic Developments; Bank Group Operations; News, Recent and Upcoming Activities; Recent World Bank Publications
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Newsletter 37128 MAR 01, 2005
Habib, Chadi Bou; Henderson, Margaret; Kane, Janine C.; Ofosu-Amaah, A. Waafas; Warlop, Sophie; Zacchia, Paolo
This Operational Guide provides specific guidance to national HIV/AIDS program management teams, public-sector ministries, private sector entities, and non-governmental and community-based organizations).
... See More + The immediate objective is to provide the tools needed to identify and analyze gender-specific issues and concerns in HIV/AIDS programs and make appropriate provisions in HIV/AIDS operations to address these concerns. The ultimate goal of this Operational Guide is to enhance the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS interventions by ensuring that the gender inequalities that underlie the epidemic are addressed.
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Energy sector projects and women's empowerment are crucial to poverty reduction efforts, sustainable development, and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
... See More + Energy-related issues are often assumed to be gender neutral. However, energy scarcity can have disproportionately negative effects on women in the developing world. A large proportion of the world's poorest are women, and approximately 70 percent of the energy sources in developing countries come from biomass fuels, which are overwhelmingly the responsibility of women. Historically, this link has not been acknowledged in energy planning and projects, whether governmental or nongovernmental. Similarly, energy as a crucial input to other sectors, such as agriculture, has a myriad of implications when analyzed through a gendered lens with respect to specific times and places. Approaching energy planning in a manner that accounts for changing gender relations can do much to transform the situation of women and their relations to men.
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This development outreach newsletter includes some of the following headlines: access for all: making AIDS related services accessible to everyone; by Debrework Zewdie.
... See More + The time is now to avert a major AIDS epidemic in Asia and the Pacific; by Peter Piot. Fighting HIV/AIDS on all fronts: Cambodia's multisectoral approach; by Mean Chhi Vun. Scaling up the struggle: Barbados HIV/AIDS prevention and control; by Patricio V. Marquez. Learning by doing: Uganda's AIDS control project empowers local managers; by Joseph J. Valadez and Peter Nsubuga. Democratizing HIV communication; by Thomas Scalway. Unprotected women: gender and the legal dimensions of HIV/AIDS; by A. Waafas Ofosu-Amaah. Free by five: the view of an African woman activist; by Rolake Odetoyinbo Nwagwu. Voices from the field, hope amidst a crisis: Zambian youth at risk; by Namvula Muntemba Rennie, with art work by Paul Olaja; knowledge resources; bookshelf; and calendar of events.
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The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998
The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998
The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998
The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998
The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998
The report presents the findings and recommendations of the Study of the Overall Performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which was requested by the GEF Council at its October 1996 meeting.
... See More + The study focused on a set of issues related to institutions, procedures, policies and programming of the GEF. Priority recommendations were identified for the following issues: (a) provision of resources for the global environment; (b) issues at the country level; (c) institutional issues; (d) GEF project cycle procedures; (e) programming issues; and (f) follow up to the pilot phase evaluation. This study is explicitly directed at a set of issues related to the performance of GEF in terms of institutions, procedures, and policies. Since the restructuring, a number of concerns regarding the GEF's identity, internal organization and project development procedures have been addressed. Thus, the study team identified indicators of performance in different areas of activity - from the effectiveness of the GEF Focal Point System in recipient countries to the effectiveness of the institutional structure to the degree of mainstreaming of the global environment in the regular operations of the three Implementing Agencies.
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Global Environment Facility Working Paper 18251 JAN 01, 1998