Good practices on Gender Equality in Social Protection Programming

The Sida – MiBanco Guarantee (2018 – 2023) aimed to mobilize private capital and expand access to finance for micro-enterprises in Colombia that face barriers to credit, especially among women, in rural areas and prioritized territories.

Main method: Mixed methods; a difference-in-difference study of effectiveness at the municipal level and an analysis of stakeholder interviews using a grounded theory approach.

Positives: the guarantee expanded access to credit in higher-risk contexts. There were statistically significant increases in both the total amount disbursed and the number of loans granted in municipalities covered by the guarantee compared to non-covered municipalities. The instrument facilitated the approval of loans that were less likely to be approved without Sida’s guarantee.

Potential shortcomings: The evaluation did not detect effects of the guarantee among Sida’s prioritized target groups (rural municipalities, targeted territories or women-owned businesses). Women’s share in the guaranteed portfolio did not exceed the bank’s overall portfolio, and no attributable effects were identified on the proportion of loans granted to women.

Main evaluation method: mixed-methods, synthesis analysis, literature review.

Positives:  Across Zambia and South Sudan, Sida-supported interventions generated tangible benefits for poor populations, including improved incomes, food security, and access to essential services. In Zambia, interventions performed better as the systems are relatively stable while in South Sudan contributions have helped sustain basic services under extreme and fragile conditions.

Shortcomings: The impact results from Sida’s work were uneven and remained limited in scale and transformative impact. Impact measures were often constrained by underuse of existing evidence in contribution designs and weak evaluability. Heavy reliance on partner-reported data, limited triangulation, and insufficient use of national data systems further created a verification gap and constrained deeper analysis.