The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component provides complementary support to households already enrolled in the national Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme. This "cash-plus" model was designed to enable improved well-being and human capital gains, particularly in response to rising vulnerabilities. The SCT serves as the foundational platform, recognizing that basic household consumption and food needs must first be met by the cash transfer so that additional components, such as the SWL's productive grant, can be invested in household livelihoods as intended.
The SWL is part of the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL) project, which has been pivotal in advancing a "cash-plus" strategy since 2016. When it was first launched, this component was designed to reach 51 districts across all 10 provinces. Its implementation was rolled out sequentially, beginning with 11 districts (2017-2018), expanding to 20 additional districts (2018-2019), and another 20 districts in the 2019-2020 period. The first phase of the GEWEL (2016-2024) successfully expanded welfare and resilience to nearly half the population and four-fifths of the extreme poor in Zambia, achieving significant outcomes in girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment.
Building on these proven results, the Government of Zambia launched the GEWEL 2 project in May 2025. This second phase scales the effort nationwide, creating a fully integrated delivery platform, while also introducing an explicit focus on both digital literacy and climate resilience. The project aims to create tangible, interlinked pathways out of poverty by continuing and scaling the four core components established in the original GEWEL project, while also integrating a new nutrition component (currently in a pilot phase). These four components are:
- Foundational Social Cash Transfer and Nutrition (SCT)
- Provision of nutrition-sensitive cash transfers and complementary counseling designed to boost maternal and child nutrition outcomes during the first 1,000 days.
- Keeping Girls in School (KGS)
- Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL)
- Institutional Strengthening and Systems Building (ISSB)
The SWL targets extremely poor, rural women who meet specific criteria: being a female head or partner of the household aged 19 to 64, having at least one minor in the household, and being a resident for at least six months (who are already recipients of the SCT). through opportunities to increase the productivity of their livelihood’s activities with the aim of enhancing economic independence and climate resilience. Beneficiary selection is a multi-step, community-based process. Following sensitisation, Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) conduct a prioritisation, which is followed by a technical screening against the eligibility criteria. Final validation is done by the community, often using public lotteries where the number of eligible women exceeds the available programme slots.
The SWL component finances a comprehensive livelihoods package for beneficiaries, including:
- Training: A 21-session training covering life skills, sexual and reproductive health and business skills through practical, relatable examples catering to low literacy learners. The training is delivered by Community- Based Volunteers (CBVs)
- In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the programme will provide additional training on climate-smart agriculture practices, which is designed to help vulnerable women diversify their livelihoods away from climate-harmful activities.
- Follow-up support: Mentoring, peer support, and linkages to other programs, through weekly group meetings over the period of 6 months.
- Productivity grant: Digital grant payments equivalent to USD 225, delivered through a government-to-person (G2P) payments model that allows beneficiaries to choose among different financial service providers.
- Savings groups: Support and strengthen beneficiary led saving initiatives.
The intervention begins with the Life and Business Skills (LBS) training, which consists of 21 sessions delivered daily over three weeks and is a prerequisite for receiving the productive grant. Upon training completion, beneficiaries are enrolled in the payment system and receive the productive grant in two instalments, approximately one month apart. The final components overlap with the post-training phase to support the investment of the grant: this includes the formation of savings groups and approximately six months of group mentoring, where short weekly meetings are used to reinforce the LBS lessons and foster a peer support network.
As of December 2024, the SWL component's implementation reached 144,297 direct beneficiaries (women from the poorest households) and 750,344 indirect beneficiaries across 81 districts. Component completion rates were high: 99% of beneficiaries completed the life and business skills training, and 99% received the productive grant via an innovative digital payment system. Furthermore, 92% of the women participated in the programme's formed savings groups.
Financing for the broader Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL 2) project is provided by the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF). From this total financing, USD 35 million is specifically allocated to Component 3: Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) for Climate-Smart Productive Inclusion.
Decentralized governance with involvement of local communities:
The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component is implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS). A national Project Implementation Unit (PIU), housed within the Department of Community Development (DCD), handles day-to-day management supported by provincial-level civil servants who oversee regional coordination.
As the project's financing partner, the World Bank provides critical support and oversight to this PIU. This includes Technical Assistance (TA) and capacity building for staff in M&E, financial management, and procurement; and funding the development of core digital systems, such as the ZISPIS and the innovative Payment Gateway. The Bank also ensures fiduciary oversight and monitors PIU compliance with all environmental and social safeguards, including the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) protocols.
At the local level, activities are led by the District Community Development Officer (DCDO), who coordinates with District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) to target beneficiaries from the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) registry. The multifaceted package delivery at the community-level is conducted by Community Development Assistants and volunteer Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs). A key new mandate for the DCDO is linking beneficiaries to external services, including the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development, and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
Implementation Completion and Results Report for the Girls' Education and Women's Empowerment and Livelihood Project (The World Bank, 2025).
The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component reached 144,297 women from the poorest households in 81 districts at the end of 2024, exceeding the revised target of 129,400 and impacting an estimated 750,344 indirect beneficiaries. An impact evaluation (IE) demonstrated significant and sustained economic benefits three years after participation, with the full SWL package reducing extreme poverty by 30 percent. These results were driven by a 62% increase in household income (fuelled by an 80% rise in business profits), a 234% increase in savings, and a 38% increase in overall consumption. The IE also confirmed a 23% reduction of food insecurity in months of insufficient food, highlighting a strong improvement in household food security.
Programme implementation data showed high fidelity and efficiency. 99% of beneficiaries completed the life and business skills training, and 92% participated in formed savings groups. The productivity grant was delivered 100% digitally with a 97.4% payment success rate. A cost-benefit analysis confirmed the programme's high cost-effectiveness, finding that every dollar spent on the full package generated between USD 1.33 and USD 10.01 in benefits. This represents a positive efficiency gain, with project investments recoverable through increased earnings alone within 4.17 to 4.42 years.Supporting Women’s Livelihoods at Scale: Evidence from a Nationwide Multi-Faceted Program (Botea et al., 2023).
Knowledge on the programme's long-term impacts was generated through a multi-arm Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of the government-led intervention, which found impacts that increased between the 12-month and 38-month follow-ups. At 12 months, household consumption increased by 19% and aggregate household income by 28%; by the 38-month follow-up, these impacts had grown to a 38% increase in consumption and a 62% increase in income. At the 38-month mark, household savings had increased by 234% and asset values by 25%. This income growth was driven by an 80% rise in business profits and a 126% increase in agricultural income.
The RCT also tested a "Financial Capital" bundle (grant and savings only) against the "Full Package" (which added training and mentorship). While impacts were statistically indistinguishable at 12 months, the "Full Package" yielded larger consumption impacts and more sustained effects on entrepreneurship by the 38-month mark. The study calculated the benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) for both interventions. The study’s most conservative estimate—assuming all benefits stop after 3 years—found a BCR of 133% for the full package and 123% for the financial capital arm, indicating that the programme returns $1.33 and $1.23, respectively, for every dollar invested. When projecting benefits forward with a 15% dissipation rate, the BCR for the full package rises to 354%, indicating a projected return of $3.54 for every dollar invested.
Based on studies and reports:
- A high percentage of beneficiaries (over 70%) invested their grants in agriculture, which left their new livelihoods highly vulnerable to climate-induced shocks. Failure to incorporate climate considerations risks the erosion of welfare gains achieved
- This lesson led to a key policy adaptation in GEWEL 2: the integration of climate-smart agriculture training and formal linkages to national resilience programs like the Food Security Pack (FSP).
- The multi-component "full package" (grant, training, savings, and mentoring) was found to be the most effective for achieving sustained long-term impacts on consumption, income, and household welfare. Consequently, “plus" components are not optional add-ons, they are critical for the productive success of the grant.
- Providing training without an accompanying cash grant was insufficient, as it restricted participants' ability to apply their new business knowledge and generate economic gains.
- While digitalization of delivery processes (like the Zambia Integrated Social Protection Information System, ZISPIS) significantly improved efficiency and accountability, further efforts are needed to refine digital systems to leverage emerging technologies, especially for developing a dynamic social registry capable of supporting emergency responses and linking beneficiaries to social services for graduation.
In Zambia:
- Gender Division (Office of the President)
- Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS)
- Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD)
- Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME)
- Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
- National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC)
- Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis & Research (ZIPAR)
Supporting Women’s Livelihoods overview available at: https://www.mcdss.gov.zm/?page_id=3465
Information on the “plus” components from GEWEL available at: https://www.gender.gov.zm/?page_id=1602
SDG 1 - No poverty
- Target 1.1 - By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
- Indicator 1.1.1 - Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
- Target 1.2 - By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
- Indicator 1.2.1 - Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age
- Indicator 1.2.2 - Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
- Target 1.3 - Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
- Indicator 1.3.1 - Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable
- Target 1.4 - By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
- Indicator 1.4.1 - Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services
SDG 2 - Zero hunger
- Target 2.3 - By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
- Indicator 2.3.1 - Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
- Indicator 2.3.2 - Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status
SDG 5 – Gender equality
- Target 5.a - Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
- Indicator 5.a.1 - (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities
- Target 10.1 - By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
- Indicator 10.1.1 - Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population
- Target 10.2 - By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
- Indicator 10.2.1 - Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
SDG 13 – Climate action
- Target 13.3 - Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
- Indicator 13.3. -: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
- Target 13.b - Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
- Indicator 13.b.1 - Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Integrated programmes for gender equality and empowerment;
Integrated programmes for human capital development, including health and education and early childhood development;
Pro-poor access to agricultural inputs, technology and knowledge;
Training (vocational, life skills, cash for training, entrepreneurship);
Support to livelihood diversification
SDG 1 – No poverty
- Target 1.1 – By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
- Indicator 1.1.1 – Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
- Target 1.2 – By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
- Indicator 1.2.1 – Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age
- Indicator 1.2.2 – Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
- Target 1.3 – Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
- Indicator 1.3.1 – Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable
- Target 1.4 – By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
- Indicator 1.4.1 – Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services
SDG 2 – Zero hunger
- Target 2.3 – By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
- Indicator 2.3.1 – Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
- Indicator 2.3.2 – Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status
SDG 5 – Gender equality
- Target 5.a – Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
- Indicator 5.a.1 – (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities
- Target 10.1 – By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
- Indicator 10.1.1 – Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population
- Target 10.2 – By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
- Indicator 10.2.1 – Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
SDG 13 – Climate action
- Target 13.3 – Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
- Indicator 13.3. -: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
- Target 13.b – Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
- Indicator 13.b.1 – Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component provides complementary support to households already enrolled in the national Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme. This “cash-plus” model was designed to enable improved well-being and human capital gains, particularly in response to rising vulnerabilities. The SCT serves as the foundational platform, recognizing that basic household consumption and food needs must first be met by the cash transfer so that additional components, such as the SWL’s productive grant, can be invested in household livelihoods as intended.
The SWL is part of the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL) project, which has been pivotal in advancing a “cash-plus” strategy since 2016. When it was first launched, this component was designed to reach 51 districts across all 10 provinces. Its implementation was rolled out sequentially, beginning with 11 districts (2017-2018), expanding to 20 additional districts (2018-2019), and another 20 districts in the 2019-2020 period. The first phase of the GEWEL (2016-2024) successfully expanded welfare and resilience to nearly half the population and four-fifths of the extreme poor in Zambia, achieving significant outcomes in girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment.
Building on these proven results, the Government of Zambia launched the GEWEL 2 project in May 2025. This second phase scales the effort nationwide, creating a fully integrated delivery platform, while also introducing an explicit focus on both digital literacy and climate resilience. The project aims to create tangible, interlinked pathways out of poverty by continuing and scaling the four core components established in the original GEWEL project, while also integrating a new nutrition component (currently in a pilot phase). These four components are:
- Foundational Social Cash Transfer and Nutrition (SCT)
- Provision of nutrition-sensitive cash transfers and complementary counseling designed to boost maternal and child nutrition outcomes during the first 1,000 days.
- Keeping Girls in School (KGS)
- Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL)
- Institutional Strengthening and Systems Building (ISSB)
The SWL targets extremely poor, rural women who meet specific criteria: being a female head or partner of the household aged 19 to 64, having at least one minor in the household, and being a resident for at least six months (who are already recipients of the SCT). through opportunities to increase the productivity of their livelihood’s activities with the aim of enhancing economic independence and climate resilience. Beneficiary selection is a multi-step, community-based process. Following sensitisation, Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) conduct a prioritisation, which is followed by a technical screening against the eligibility criteria. Final validation is done by the community, often using public lotteries where the number of eligible women exceeds the available programme slots.
The SWL component finances a comprehensive livelihoods package for beneficiaries, including:
- Training: A 21-session training covering life skills, sexual and reproductive health and business skills through practical, relatable examples catering to low literacy learners. The training is delivered by Community- Based Volunteers (CBVs)
- In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the programme will provide additional training on climate-smart agriculture practices, which is designed to help vulnerable women diversify their livelihoods away from climate-harmful activities.
- Follow-up support: Mentoring, peer support, and linkages to other programs, through weekly group meetings over the period of 6 months.
- Productivity grant: Digital grant payments equivalent to USD 225, delivered through a government-to-person (G2P) payments model that allows beneficiaries to choose among different financial service providers.
- Savings groups: Support and strengthen beneficiary led saving initiatives.
The intervention begins with the Life and Business Skills (LBS) training, which consists of 21 sessions delivered daily over three weeks and is a prerequisite for receiving the productive grant. Upon training completion, beneficiaries are enrolled in the payment system and receive the productive grant in two instalments, approximately one month apart. The final components overlap with the post-training phase to support the investment of the grant: this includes the formation of savings groups and approximately six months of group mentoring, where short weekly meetings are used to reinforce the LBS lessons and foster a peer support network.
Based on studies and reports:
- A high percentage of beneficiaries (over 70%) invested their grants in agriculture, which left their new livelihoods highly vulnerable to climate-induced shocks. Failure to incorporate climate considerations risks the erosion of welfare gains achieved
- This lesson led to a key policy adaptation in GEWEL 2: the integration of climate-smart agriculture training and formal linkages to national resilience programs like the Food Security Pack (FSP).
- The multi-component “full package” (grant, training, savings, and mentoring) was found to be the most effective for achieving sustained long-term impacts on consumption, income, and household welfare. Consequently, “plus” components are not optional add-ons, they are critical for the productive success of the grant.
- Providing training without an accompanying cash grant was insufficient, as it restricted participants’ ability to apply their new business knowledge and generate economic gains.
- While digitalization of delivery processes (like the Zambia Integrated Social Protection Information System, ZISPIS) significantly improved efficiency and accountability, further efforts are needed to refine digital systems to leverage emerging technologies, especially for developing a dynamic social registry capable of supporting emergency responses and linking beneficiaries to social services for graduation.
Unconditional cash transfer; Integrated programmes for gender equality and empowerment; Integrated programmes for human capital development, including health and education and early childhood development; Pro-poor access to agricultural inputs, technology and knowledge; Training (vocational, life skills, cash for training, entrepreneurship); Support to livelihood diversification
In Zambia:
- Gender Division (Office of the President)
- Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS)
- Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD)
- Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME)
- Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
- National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC)
- Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis & Research (ZIPAR)
Decentralized governance with involvement of local communities:
The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component is implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS). A national Project Implementation Unit (PIU), housed within the Department of Community Development (DCD), handles day-to-day management supported by provincial-level civil servants who oversee regional coordination.
As the project’s financing partner, the World Bank provides critical support and oversight to this PIU. This includes Technical Assistance (TA) and capacity building for staff in M&E, financial management, and procurement; and funding the development of core digital systems, such as the ZISPIS and the innovative Payment Gateway. The Bank also ensures fiduciary oversight and monitors PIU compliance with all environmental and social safeguards, including the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) protocols.
At the local level, activities are led by the District Community Development Officer (DCDO), who coordinates with District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) to target beneficiaries from the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) registry. The multifaceted package delivery at the community-level is conducted by Community Development Assistants and volunteer Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs). A key new mandate for the DCDO is linking beneficiaries to external services, including the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development, and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
As of December 2024, the SWL component’s implementation reached 144,297 direct beneficiaries (women from the poorest households) and 750,344 indirect beneficiaries across 81 districts. Component completion rates were high: 99% of beneficiaries completed the life and business skills training, and 99% received the productive grant via an innovative digital payment system. Furthermore, 92% of the women participated in the programme’s formed savings groups.
Financing for the broader Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL 2) project is provided by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF). From this total financing, USD 35 million is specifically allocated to Component 3: Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) for Climate-Smart Productive Inclusion.
Supporting Women’s Livelihoods overview available at: https://www.mcdss.gov.zm/?page_id=3465
Information on the “plus” components from GEWEL available at: https://www.gender.gov.zm/?page_id=1602