In 2019 the Government of Kenya (GoK) launched the Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Programme (KSEIP). A key pillar of this initiative is the Economic Inclusion programme (EIP) which is designed to enable poor households to participate in social and economic activities by increasing their access to skills, productive inputs, assets, finance, and economic opportunities. The program combines consumption support, asset transfers, savings, and mentoring to support the economic inclusion of poor households.

To measure the effectiveness of the EIP, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), conducted a rigorous impact evaluation of the EIP’s second cohort. The evaluation generated rigorous evidence on how the program impacted households’ economic well-being—including consumption patterns, income-generating activities, financial inclusion, and asset accumulation—as well as broader dynamics around women’s empowerment, trust and social cohesion.

This policy seminar aims to disseminate the key findings of the impact evaluation with the objective of sharing key lessons for informing scale-up of the EIP program. The seminar brings together government representatives, development partners, practitioners and researchers to share important lessons to strengthen the effectiveness of economic inclusion programmes.

Agenda

9:00 AM – 9:20 AM | Welcoming Remarks & Introduction

Khalid Siddig, Country Program Leader and Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Lynett Odida, Director, Directorate of Social Development (DSD), Kenya

9:20 AM – 9:30 AM | Introduction to Study

Melissa Hidrobo, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

9:30 - 9:45 AM | Poverty Graduation Programs and Livelihoods: Evidence from the Economic Inclusion Program in Kenya

Kibrom Abay, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

9:45 AM – 10:00 AM | Economic Inclusion and Gender Equitable Outcomes: Evidence from Kenya’s Economic Inclusion Program

Melissa Hidrobo, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI 

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Do Economic Inclusion Programs Strengthen Social Cohesion? Experimental Evidence from Kenya

Sarim Zafar, Research Analyst, IFPRI

10:15 AM – 10:35 AM | Q&A Session

Moderated by Naureen Karachiwalla, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

10:35 AM – 10:50 AM | Break

10:50 AM – 11:35 AM | Panel Discussion to Validate and Share Lessons

Moderator: Naureen Karachiwalla, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Panelists:

·       Lynett Odida, Director, Directorate of Social Development (DSD), Kenya

·       Amber Peterman, Multi-country Impact Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF

·       David Kamau, World Food Program

·       Kelvin M. Shikuku, Senior Scientist – Economist, ILRI

·       Stephen Musimba, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA)

11:35 AM – 11:55 PM | Q&A Session

Moderator: Naureen Karachiwalla, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

11:55 PM – 12:00 PM | Closing Remarks

Khalid Siddig, Country Program Leader and Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

12:00 PM - 13:00 PM | Lunch