Abstract
This report presents findings, conclusions, and lessons learned from an impact evaluation of the Kyrgyzstan Women's Leadership in Small and Medium Enterprises (WLSME) activity. The evaluation used a randomized controlled trial design to examine the overall activity's impact across four outcome measures: business growth, entrepreneurial leadership, networks, and business knowledge and practices. Female entrepreneurs with small or medium businesses in the tourism and garment sectors were eligible to participate in the activity. After a baseline survey was conducted on 843 eligible applicants, 568 women entrepreneurs were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 275 women entrepreneurs to the control group. The evaluation measured changes in outcomes at three follow-up points (at the end of the activity in 2015, at 12 months post-activity, and at 24 months post-activity) to examine the time trends of the effects. The evaluation found small positive impacts on business growth through short-term investments in capital inputs and longer-term investments in labor inputs, though these investments do not translate into higher sales or profits. Factors that may have affected the activity's impact include loss in sample size due to attrition, persistent cultural and gender-related intra-household dynamics, and lack of access to finance. Targeting this type of activity to the ?most promising entrepreneurs? may have differential effects; when the ?right? entrepreneurs are selected and provided with targeted technical assistance, the probability of significant positive outcomes may increase dramatically. (Author abstract)