Promoting Productive Inclusion and Resilience in National Safety Nets: A Four-Country Evaluation in the Sahel

Households living in extreme poverty face a wide range of challenges that limit their ability to make productive investments or cope with unpredictable shocks such as droughts or disease. Productive inclusion programs combine cash transfers with trainings and other support to increase household earnings while also helping households withstand and recover from shocks. However, little is known about the impact of productive interventions when implemented at scale within national safety net systems, or about the optimal combination of interventions. In partnership with country governments and the World Bank, the research team has been evaluating how different productive packages impact the wellbeing and economic stability of safety net beneficiaries in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. In Niger, a multi-faceted economic inclusion program delivered to women beneficiaries of a national cash transfer program improved women’s consumption and food security, increased their off-farm business activities, and improved their psychosocial well-being