Pathways to Scale | Expanding Economic Inclusion for Jobs and Resilience in the Sahel
2025
Vinez, Margaux
In the Sahel, economic inclusion programs can achieve multiple objectives and are increasingly relevant in a context of overlapping crises. By addressing the multiple constraints faced by poor and vulnerable households, these programs can enable them to sustainably increase their income and assets and diversifying their livelihoods through a sequenced package of support. The packages typically include the formation of savings groups, entrepreneurship training, coaching, community sensitization, life skills training, and a productive grant. There is a strong body of evidence demonstrating that economic inclusion programs can play a critical role in creating self employment opportunities and increasing resilience to shocks. As a result, these programs are particularly relevant in countries highly exposed and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and those affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), both of which disproportionately affect poor households and women. The Sahel is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions globally, with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and land degradation threatening livelihoods and economic stability. A large share of the population depends on agriculture and livestock (around 70 percent of the population in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania, and around 60 percent of the rural population in Senegal), and the region is also experiencing multiple conflicts and instability.
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