Assessing the Enabling Environment for Women in Growth Enterprises: An AfDB/ILO Integrated Framework Assessment Guide

This guide to assess the environment for Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs (GOWEs) has been prepared jointly by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the purpose of identifying critical forms of support that can enable women to grow and expand their enterprises, and in the process to create jobs and income for themselves and others. The guide also aims to highlight critical areas where AfDB, ILO and other development partners can provide assistance and strategic tools to African countries to enable them to promote, nurture and develop women’s entrepreneurship.

The guide demonstrates a comprehensive assessment of ten core and interlinked
components of the business environment, and presents the assessment in the form of an Integrated Framework. In addition to the ten core areas of assessment contained in this guide, there are
several templates and matrices included as annexes that will assist in categorizing and organizing the statistical and interview information captured during the assessment process.
This guide is based around the AfDB/ILO Integrated Framework for assessing the enabling environment for the growth of women’s enterprises