Management Response

: Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa)
: 2026 - 2030 , Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa) (MCO)
: Evaluation of the Accelerate Women-Owned Micro Enterprises (AWOME) – EntreprenHER Programme 2018 -2025
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Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa)

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SACO Management accept the recommendations of EntreprenHER Evaluation and agrees with all eight recommendations and commits to integrating the findings into programme design and implementation. Key actions include adopting a two-track results model to accommodate enterprises at different stages of growth; introducing readiness-based sequencing of interventions; redesigning grant and asset support to strengthen transparency, targeting and enterprise outcomes; establishing structured, results-oriented mentorship; strengthening commercially driven partnerships to expand access to markets, finance and procurement opportunities; developing country-specific institutionalisation and transition strategies to promote sustainability; enhancing the Management Information System (MIS), monitoring and financial reporting through unique beneficiary identifiers and 6-, 12- and 24-month follow-up assessments; and operationalising gender-transformative and Leave No One Behind (LNOB) commitments through disaggregated data on age, disability, geography and accessibility. The agreed actions are being implemented, with the evaluation findings informing the design of Phase IV of EntreprenHER (2027–2029) to strengthen programme effectiveness, sustainability, accountability and measurable results for women entrepreneurs across participating countries.
: Approved
Recommendation: Adopt a two-track results and delivery model. Retain broad foundational training and group support for low-income women entrepreneurs while establishing a smaller catalytic-growth pathway for enterprises selected through transparent need- and readiness-based criteria. Define separate outcomes and budgets for the two tracks.
Management Response: Phase IV will differentiate between broad-based enterprise capability development and a catalytic enterprise-growth pathway. This will allow EntreprenHER to maintain focused reach while concentrating intensive resources on enterprises with demonstrated potential for growth, job creation, and increased business revenue.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities, Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability, Efficiency, Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Establish Foundation Track and Growth/Catalytic Track within the Phase IV programme model. 2. Develop transparent criteria for movement into the Growth Track based on enterprise stage, need, readiness and potential. 3. Define separate outputs, outcomes and budgets for each track. 4. Use the Foundation Track for SIYB-based training, digital basics, group coaching, referrals and peer learning. 5. Use the Growth Track for diagnostics, intensive mentoring, finance/asset support, market access, compliance and procurement readiness. 6. Pilot the model before full-scale rollout Agness Phiri 2027/12 Initiated This is part of Phase IV, negotiations underway with the donor.
Recommendation: Redesign grants and productive-asset support as a transparent enterprise-investment window. Publish eligibility criteria, indicative ceilings, modalities, timelines and selection responsibilities. Link support to a documented business case, verified market opportunity, implementation milestones and mandatory post-investment mentoring. Distinguish EntreprenHER-funded support clearly from complementary external grants.
Management Response: Phase IV will strengthen the governance and enterprise-investment logic of grants and productive assets. Support will be linked to a clearly documented business constraint and expected business result.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Develop and publish clear eligibility, selection and scoring criteria. 2. Define indicative funding/asset ceilings and eligible support modalities. 3. Require a concise business case demonstrating the constraint, proposed investment, market opportunity and expected result. 4. Where relevant, use supplier/direct-payment or productive-asset mechanisms rather than unrestricted cash. 5. Introduce milestone-based disbursement/support where appropriate. 6. Clearly distinguish EntreprenHER-funded support from other external grants or financing. 7. Make post-investment mentoring and monitoring mandatory. Agness Phiri 2027/12 Initiated Actions subject to part of Phase IV recommendation and any other project in WEE
Recommendation: Establish a structured and adequately resourced mentoring system. Define mentor profiles, expected contact frequency, caseloads, follow-up responsibilities and quality standards. Combine general business coaches with sector, market, finance and compliance specialists. Use group and digital approaches to extend coverage without eliminating hands-on support where required.
Management Response: Phase IV will treat mentoring as a core programme intervention, not an add-on to training. Mentoring intensity will be matched to enterprise stage, sector and support needs.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Define mentor profiles, competencies and minimum service standards. 2. Establish reasonable mentor-to-enterprise caseloads and contact frequency. 3. Develop a regional/country mentor directory by sector and technical expertise. 4. Combine general business advisers with specialist support in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, beauty, food, retail and services. 5. Introduce market, finance and compliance specialists for Growth Track enterprises. 6. Use group clinics and digital mentoring to extend coverage, while retaining hands-on support for enterprises requiring intensive assistance. 7. Monitor mentoring contacts, action plans and enterprise progression through the MIS(https://www.awomemis.org/). Agness Phiri 2027/12 Initiated In Botswana the negations with Stanford Seed Transformation Program are at advanced stage, to provide mentoring to entrepreneurs- SA and Namibia to identify mentoring partners.
Recommendation: Approve country-specific institutionalization and transition plans. In Botswana and Namibia, deepen the absorption of training, mentoring, referral and reporting functions within government systems and clarify domestic financing for resource-intensive components. In South Africa, establish a co-owned delivery model with enterprise-development and market institutions beyond municipal mobilization and venue support. Each plan should identify functions, responsible institutions, resources and milestones.
Management Response: Country will develop country-specific institutionalisation and handover plans to ensure programme sustainability beyond the funding period. The plans will define the institutional arrangements, core functions, responsible lead institutions, resource requirements
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Require country-specific institutionalisation and handover plans. Deepen ministry systems in Botswana/Namibia; in South Africa establish a co-owned enterprise-ecosystem anchor beyond venue/mobilisation support. Specify functions, lead institution, resources and handover milestones. Tresia, Tshegofatso and Mmakeng 2027/12 Initiated Namibia has institutionalized the programme within the National Development Plan 2026-2030 and is budgeted accordingly
Recommendation: Strengthen the MIS and financial information needed for adaptive management and value-for-money analysis. Assign each enterprise a unique identifier; record baseline characteristics and the support received; and conduct proportionate follow-up at approximately 6, 12 and 24 months. Track business status, revenue or sales band, employment, market access, finance or asset use and selected empowerment outcomes. Record actual expenditure by country and major support modality.
Management Response: The MIS will become the backbone for results management, enterprise progression, intervention targeting and donor reporting. A unique enterprise identifier and longitudinal tracking will allow management to understand what support each enterprise received and what changed afterwards.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy, Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM, Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Impact, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Assign a unique Enterprise/Beneficiary ID from intake through post-programme follow-up. 2. Capture baseline characteristics, enterprise stage, sector, geography and support history. 3. Track progression through defined programme stages. 4. Track business status, revenue/sales band, employment, market access, finance/assets, compliance/formalisation and selected empowerment outcomes. 5. Introduce systemic/automated quarterly, 6-, 12- and 24-month beneficiary follow-ups 6. Record actual expenditure by country and major support modality. 7. Link financial and programme data to enable cost and value-for-money analysis. 8. Maintain a small, stable outcome indicator panel to minimise reporting burden. 9. Use dashboards for management decisions, not only donor reporting. Patrick Gomane/Sbu Mdamba 2027/12 Initiated M&R Analyst has commenced submission of the input and recommendations into MIS Consultants for Newer Version under review
Recommendation: Operationalize gender-transformative and LNOB commitments in programme design and monitoring. Include age, disability, geographic location and accessibility requirements in beneficiary profiling and outcome analysis. Establish minimum accessibility requirements for outreach, venues, communication and digital delivery. Track selected measures of economic agency, control over business decisions and, where feasible, unpaid-care or time constraints.
Management Response: Phase IV will strengthen the gender-responsive and LNOB dimensions of programme design, targeting, delivery and monitoring. Data collection will remain proportionate and ethical, focusing only on variables that can inform programming decisions
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy, Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Integrate age, disability, geographic location and accessibility requirements into participant profiling. 2. Establish minimum accessibility standards for venues, communications and digital delivery. 3. Strengthen analysis by age, disability, geography and other relevant dimensions where data permit. 4. Add selected measures of economic agency and control over business decisions to outcome monitoring. 5. Where appropriate, monitor time/care constraints that affect participation and enterprise progression. 6. Ensure accessibility requirements are costed in programme design rather than addressed retrospectively. 7. Use disaggregated evidence to adapt outreach, support modalities and intervention design. Tshegofatso, Mmakeng and Tresia 2027/06 Not Initiated N/A
Recommendation: Reorient partnerships towards commercial progression. Prioritize a manageable number of partnerships that can provide buyer access, procurement opportunities, standards and certification support, finance preparation, supplier development, digital sales channels or productive technology. Define concrete services, referral targets and follow-up responsibilities in partnership agreements.
Management Response: Phase IV will shift towards a smaller number of strategic, outcome-oriented partnerships that directly address enterprise growth constraints and create measurable commercial opportunities.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy, Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Impact, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Map priority ecosystem partners in each country. 2. Categorise partners by function: buyers/procurement, finance, compliance/certification, technology, markets and enterprise development. 3. Establish partnership agreements with clearly defined services and responsibilities. 4. Set measurable referral and opportunity targets for strategic partners. 5. Track enterprises referred, opportunities generated, procurement secured, finance applications and finance accessed. 6. Strengthen links with private-sector buyers, financial institutions, enterprise agencies, chambers and sector bodies. 7. Reduce reliance on broad partnerships/MOUs without defined deliverables. Tshegofatso, Mmakeng and Tresia 2027/12 Not Initiated N/A
Recommendation: Sequence support according to enterprise needs and readiness. Establish a pathway comprising intake and baseline profiling, foundational training, enterprise diagnostic and action plan, tailored mentoring, assessment for finance or productive assets, market and compliance linkage, and post-investment follow-up. Progression should depend on evidence of need and readiness rather than training completion alone.
Management Response: Phase IV will move from a largely activity-based support model towards an outcome progression-based enterprise support cycle, with the MIS used to identify where each enterprise is within the pathway and what intervention is required next.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women's economic empowerment
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1. Conduct an intake and baseline enterprise profile for each business t. 2. Introduce a short enterprise diagnostic/readiness assessment after training. 3. Develop an individual or enterprise-level action plan for Growth Track participants. 4. Establish clear progression gates between training, mentoring, finance/assets and market support. 5. Introduce intervention triggers in the MIS for enterprises requiring grants, branding, procurement, exhibitions, finance or other support. 6. Conduct structured post-support follow-up to assess whether the intervention generated the intended business change. Agness Phiri 2027/12 Not Initiated N/A