May 21st, 2021

21-05-20 Marsabit graduation IHEA Endline Report – Final

Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) implemented a four-year pilot graduation project targeting a part of the beneficiary caseload in the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in Laisamis Sub-County in Marsabit County. The overall objective of the pilot project was to test adaptable, market-responsive approaches to building the livelihoods of very poor households built on the Building Resources Across Communities1 (BRAC) graduation model. Targeted HSNP beneficiaries were already receiving a consumption stipend; thereby, FSD Kenya intended to gain greater leverage for the cash and asset transfers provided by the pilot project. In addition to this, the pilot project support package also included the facilitation of savings through savings groups, which enabled access to own finance and improved the cost-effectiveness of delivering the business planning, financial skills training, coaching, and mentoring services. FSD Kenya partnered with Equity Bank, which provided the financing to beneficiaries for working capital to generate income-generating activities. The pilot project was implemented in six sub-locations of Laisamis Sub-county: Laisamis, Gudas, Logologo, Korr, Merille and Irrir, designed and implemented in partnership with CARE International in Kenya (CARE).

This report describes a three-phase impact study that assesses and quantifies effects on household income, assets and resilience outcomes for participant households as compared with non-beneficiaries. FSD Kenya contracted FEG to undertake this impact study. The comparison between two different categories of beneficiaries and comparison with a Non-Beneficiary Group was intended to determine the extent to which HSNP beneficiaries who participated in the FSD Kenya programme achieved positive gains in terms of improved incomes and resilience in contrast to those who only got the HSNP support. The findings of the study were to provide key lessons and recommendations for application in the design of similar projects through replication and/or scaling-up and to provide judgement on how the market-responsive activities have influenced local economies.

The three phases of the impact study were implemented over three years using the Individual Household Economic Analysis (IHEA) methodology to gather household livelihoods data on food sources, cash income, and expenditures among intervention beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Phase one involved the establishment of baselines to benchmark the livelihood situation of targeted communities. Two livelihood baselines were done in 2016, covering Greater Marsabit Pastoral and Laisamis Sedentary Pastoral livelihood zones. Phase two collected and analysed project and context monitoring data to track project outcomes in the context of external shocks and IGAs. The monitoring enabled appropriate adjustments to maximise project impact. A total of four monitoring rounds were completed after the 2016 baseline. The final phase of the study was an Endline assessment of individual households who participated in the interventions implemented in 2016. The specific objectives of the Endline were:

• Enable comparison between intervention and non-intervention areas and within intervention areas
• Quantify impacts on income and assets
• Assess short and long-term impacts and their sustainability on household resilience.

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