Strengthening Self-Help Groups in Southwestern Ethiopia

WEEMA International, a non-profit organization focusing on community-led development in Ethiopia, has supported women’s self-help groups since 2014. In this project, a team of five graduate consultants from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs investigated WEEMA’s self-help group (SHG) program, focusing on the model’s history and recent evolution in Ethiopia; best practices for monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL); and sustainable options to scale the model. To achieve these objectives, the team conducted desk research, expert and key informant interviews, and communicated closely with WEEMA to develop key findings and recommendations. This report details the project’s findings and provides recommendations for three main areas: operations, scaling, and MEL. The team also provided a budget analysis, draft theory of change, and proposed MEL workstream embedding participatory methods.