Impact Evaluation of a Multi-Country Entrepreneurship Grant Programme

Background

East Africa has seen a rise in initiatives that support small businesses and start-ups through grant funding, aiming to spur innovation, employment, and economic growth. This evaluation focused on a multi-country grant programme that provided seed funding and support to early-stage entrepreneurs across Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Somalia.

Evaluating impact across six countries

Evaluating the impact of grant programmes across multiple countries with diverse languages and contexts presents significant logistical and methodological challenges, particularly when trying to capture nuanced qualitative feedback from entrepreneurs.

Traditional evaluation methods require significant enumerator capacity and travel across dispersed geographies. The programme needed an approach that could reach entrepreneurs in six countries efficiently while capturing both quantitative outcomes and rich qualitative insights about their experiences.

AI-enabled multi-country evaluation

Audio responses were transcribed using speech-to-text processing, and a hierarchical codebook was developed to categorise and analyse qualitative data. The avatar-based format enabled entrepreneurs to share candid feedback about their business journey in a private, self-paced interaction — removing the social dynamics that can influence responses in face-to-face interviews.

Why avatars mattered

Collecting honest feedback on a grant programme from its own beneficiaries introduces inherent bias risks — participants may overstate satisfaction or underreport challenges when speaking to someone connected to the organisation. The avatar-based format removed this dynamic entirely. Entrepreneurs interacted with a digital avatar privately, at their own pace, without any human interviewer present. The survey was anonymous by design: neither Inkomoko nor Fortell could identify whether a particular individual had completed it. This combination of privacy, anonymity, and self-paced interaction enabled more candid responses — particularly on sensitive topics like challenges faced, unmet needs, and areas where the programme fell short.

Key findings

Outcome

The evaluation revealed that the grant programme had a meaningful impact on business growth and entrepreneurs' capabilities. The majority of respondents reported improved income and profit, with many seeing significant improvement. Entrepreneurs used grants primarily for equipment and tools, business premises, stock and inventory, new product launches, and staff hiring. However, a substantial proportion reported challenges including high production costs, sourcing equipment, regulatory compliance, and navigating competitive markets. Entrepreneurs consistently pointed to the need for mentorship, advanced training, marketing support, and additional financing for scaling.