Publication:
Testing the Promise of Digital Scaling: In-Person versus App-Based Training for Women Entrepreneurs

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCassidy, Rachel
dc.contributor.authorEbrahim, Menaal
dc.contributor.authorUbfal, Diego
dc.date.accessioned2024-12-05T19:12:32Z
dc.date.available2024-12-05T19:12:32Z
dc.date.issued2024-12-05
dc.description.abstractBusiness training has long been a staple of development policy, with annual expenditures exceeding US$ 1 billion in low- and middle-income countries. The vast majority of training is delivered in person, but there is growing interest in alternative modalities to deliver at scale. Digital delivery offers the potential to enhance impact, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility—especially for women, who may face constraints on their time and mobility. Challenges may include gaps in digital skills and ensuring participants’ engagement. This study conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate a business training program targeted at women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia. The paper tests two modalities: a smartphone app or in-person sessions, versus a control group. The findings reveal high initial take-up rates for both modalities (over 75 percent), but a significant disparity in completion rates (22 percent for the digital training, versus 71 percent for the in-person training). These results suggest that the potential of digital platforms for scaling up business training must be carefully tested and treated with caution. Despite the high take-up of in-person training, negligible impacts are observed on business practices and performance from either modality. This finding underscores the stylized fact that business training alone may offer limited benefits for women entrepreneurs.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099806212042419307/IDU13dea9a9c13a9114b4d18b371fe46cdb63976
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10992
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/42501
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 10992
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectENTREPRENEURSHIP
dc.subjectTRAINING
dc.subjectDIGITAL
dc.subjectGENDER
dc.subjectFIELD EXPERIMENTS
dc.titleTesting the Promise of Digital Scalingen
dc.title.subtitleIn-Person versus App-Based Training for Women Entrepreneursen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.associatedcontenthttps://reproducibility.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/220 Link to reproducibility package
okr.date.disclosure2024-12-05
okr.date.lastmodified2024-12-04T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099806212042419307/IDU13dea9a9c13a9114b4d18b371fe46cdb63976
okr.guid099806212042419307
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-3dea9a9c-3a91-4b4d-8b37-fe46cdb63976
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10992
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34432241
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34432241
okr.identifier.reportWPS10992
okr.import.id5949
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099806212042419307/pdf/IDU13dea9a9c13a9114b4d18b371fe46cdb63976.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica Eastern and Southern (AFE)
okr.region.countryEthiopia
okr.sectorOther Public Administration
okr.themeFinancial Infrastructure and Access,Entrepreneurship,Gender,Human Development and Gender,MSME Finance,Finance,Enterprise Development,Private Sector Development,MSME Development
okr.topicGender::Gender and Economics
okr.topicPrivate Sector Development::Social Entrepreneurship and Business Clusters
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Economic Development
okr.unitGender Impact Evaluation (AFEGI)
okr.unitPeople - Gender Director (HGNDR)
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
IDU13dea9a9c13a9114b4d18b371fe46cdb63976.pdf
Size:
1.34 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
IDU13dea9a9c13a9114b4d18b371fe46cdb63976.txt
Size:
147.75 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Policy Research Working Papers