VisionRI shortlisted for research pilot on phone-based training for Ethiopian women entrepreneurs

The evidence on the effectiveness of standard classroom-based financial literacy training programs remain highly contestable and this pilot seeks to test if financial management/business training program delivered over the phone could be a better and cheaper way of delivering more effective training programs.

VisionRI, a global development consulting firm, has been shortlisted for a Research Pilot on Phone-Based Training for Ethiopian Women Entrepreneurs as part of the Innovations in Financing Women Entrepreneurs (IFWE) project based within the World Bank's Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) under the Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region (AFRCE).

IFWE acts as a catalyst for innovation by piloting programs and insights from its research is used to inform the World Bank's programs around women's entrepreneurship and to promote evidence-based policies. This research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of financial management/business training programs delivered over the phone instead of standard classroom-based financial literacy training programs.

GIL seeks to deploy a phone-based training that includes concise and actionable lessons through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform for entrepreneurs, which would eliminate the need for commuting to the classroom. 3,000 women entrepreneurs would be trained over the phone using IVR technology as part of this research project.

"Empowering women with entrepreneurship training can be very beneficial for any country. If we empower women with the right tools, they can not only uplift their family but also the whole community. We would be honored to work with the World Bank on this research pilot and are looking forward to the final bidding," said Mr. J. P. Singh, Managing Director, VisionRI Connexion Services Pvt Ltd.

This research project will continue up to one year starting from November 2020 during which the selected consultant firm will help in finalizing the training sample, identifying engagement strategies, and delivering messages through an IVR platform.