By Joyce Ojanji
When the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) funded- Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) East Africa initiative began, the challenge was clear. Across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, millions of women faced the same barriers: unpaid care work, gender-segregated labour markets, and locked-out procurement opportunities. The initiative promised something different, evidence that could break these cycles.
For five years, fifteen research teams across the region spent years generating evidence, crafting policies, and proving what works for women’s economic empowerment. The GrOW East Africa chapter has now closed, and the evidence is overwhelming. Now comes the part that determines whether the five years of work will transform lives or gather dust.
In Tanzania, women’s participation in public procurement jumped from 12% to 85% after targeted training. In Uganda, market-based childcare centres freed up women’s time for income-generating activities. In Kenya, the Kidogo childcare model not only empowered women entrepreneurs but also sparked the creation of Nakuru County’s first Child Care Facilities Act.
Each of the fifteen GrOW projects delivered policy wins. Some influenced national frameworks. Others shaped county-level regulations. A few triggered international conversations about unpaid care work and gender-based labour market segregation.
Patricia Wekulo from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) smiled as she recounted Kenya’s journey. ‘’Nakuru County had no clear policy framework for childcare facilities before our study. Now they have legislation.’’
In Tanzania, Vivian Mkaazi, a senior researcher at the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), watched government officials participate directly in training sessions with women entrepreneurs. ‘’The Ministry of Gender embraced the project. They wanted to own it.’’
As experts rightfully noted, evidence and policies are only the beginning. During the GrOW End-of-Project Workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, stakeholders came together not just to celebrate successes, but to interrogate what it will take to move from research to real change.
The answer, according to many, is clear: political will. Without it, all the evidence generated risks gathering dust on shelves. As Dr. Annet Mulema, senior program officer at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), rightfully put it, without strong implementation, policies remain promises.
Gilbert Sendugwa, Executive Director of Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)raised the question that hung over the entire workshop.
‘’What I would have loved to hear more about is how the political will was mobilized within these projects. Because that is needed everywhere. The how of mobilizing political will and maintaining it through the implementation phase—I would have loved to know more, knowing there are implementation gaps after policy creation,” he said.
According to Sendugwa, political will is not just about getting leaders to sign documents; it is about motivating them to take action, sustained commitment through budget cycles, administrative changes, and competing priorities. It is about enforcement when compliance lags. It is about fighting corruption when it undermines policy effectiveness.
The workshop revealed promising directions. In enforcement and compliance, regulators now have tools to ensure policy implementation. For scalability, innovative solutions like the Kidogo model prove that successful interventions can be replicated across contexts. Several projects identified cultural barriers as persistent challenges.
As Dr. Hellen Otieno from Strathmore University notes, changing norms requires multi-layered approaches involving communities, private sector partners, and sustained advocacy. The evidence base now exists to design more targeted norm-change interventions.
Women’s enterprises need formalization to access public procurement opportunities, requiring collaboration between government registration systems and private-sector mentorship programs. Several GrOW projects demonstrated successful models for such partnerships.
The workshop highlighted multiple collaboration opportunities. Research institutions can partner with implementing organizations to scale successful models. Government agencies can work with private sector players to formalize women’s enterprises. Regional bodies can facilitate knowledge sharing across borders.
But collaboration and research mean little without sustained political commitment. Political will grows when stakeholders see tangible benefits. The GrOW projects succeeded partly because they demonstrated clear value to multiple constituencies, not just women, but families, communities, and local economies.
Maintaining that political will requires continuous engagement, regular success stories, and visible champions at every level of government, Sendugwa noted. The evidence is there. The policies exist. The question now is whether countries will seize this moment to transform millions of women’s lives.