Ethiopia: Cash Transfer & Youth Led Procurement Assessment...

Ethiopia: Cash Transfer & Youth Led Procurement

Assessment Report

YOUTH in ACTION PROGRAM-ETHIOPIA

OCTOBER 2015

Acknowledgment

This field assessment report is a result of a significant commitment by a number of individuals. In particular,

the study team would like to express heartfelt thanks to all our informants namely youth, parents,

procurement committee, partner staff and product suppliers who answered questions and offered valuable

support during field research in Gidan, Guba Lafto, Habru and Raya Kobo.

Among the many who have shared their insights and experience, we want to mention a few names of

people whom without their cooperation and active support the study would not have been possible.

Notable among them Mr Melkam Wudassie (PADet Woldiya Office MEAL Officer) and Mr- Kassahun

Hailemariam (Save The Children Woldiya YIA Acting Project Coordinator) for their part in the study,

especially in taking part in FGD (Focus Group Discussions), organizing field events, scheduling program

with partner staff, youth, parents, other stakeholders and providing relevant information for the study.

Invaluable gratitude should also go to Hana Haile, Woldiya Field Office Manager, and Mengiste Baye PADet

Woldiya Office Program Coordinator for providing oversight, and unwavering encouragement which gave

the much-needed context of the study.

We would also wish to thank Eneyew Asmamaw for his diligence and tireless support in driving team

members to desired destination. Last but not least, a word of thanks should also reach to Seble Seleshi

(Save Data Entry Officer) for taking lead in typing the Amharic version of the individual /focus group

questionnaire and photocopying the desired copy of the same.

Yosef Gebrehiwot Angaw Nurilegn

YIA-MEAL ADVISOR YIA-ETHIOPIA SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER

Content 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1

2. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS .................................................................................... 2

2.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................. 2

2.2. ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 2

2.3. DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................................................ 3

2.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................................................ 4

2.5. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................................... 4

3. CASH TRANSFER MODALITY & YOUTH PATHWAY CHOICES ....................... 5

3.1. INSTITUTIONAL SET UP AND PROCESSES IN CASH TRANSFER & YLP ........................ 5

3.2. STAKEHOLDERS’ INVOLVEMENT AND COMMUNITY/ PARENTAL

CONTRIBUTION IN THE YLP................................................................................................................ 9

3.3 AN OVERVIEW ON CASH TRANSFER TO DATE ................................................................. 10

3.4 YOUTH RESPONDENT PROFILE AND PATHWAY CHOICES .......................................... 11

4. VIEWS AND PERCEPTION OF RESPONDENTS ON CASH TRANSFER

MODALITY AND YLP ........................................................................................................................... 13

4.1 VIEWS AND OPINION OF YOUTH ........................................................................................... 13

4.2. VIEW AND OPINION FROM FGD/GROUP RESPONDENTS ............................................ 20

5. SUMMARY of MAIN ISSUES & FINDINGS ........................................................................... 24

6. RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTED ACTIONS .................................................... 27

1 Ethiopia Cash Transfer/YLP Study

1. Introduction

Youth in Action Ethiopia is a six-year project implemented by Save the Children in partnership with the

MasterCard Foundation. The program aims at improving the socioeconomic status of 9050 out of school youth

between the ages of 14 and 18. The project is implemented by Save the Children in collaboration with local

partner PADet (Professional Alliance for Development) in 78 kebeles in four woredas in the North Wollo Zone

namely Habru, Gubalafto, Raya kobo and Gidan.

The program started in October 2012 with anticipated end date in September 2018. The overarching aim of the program

is to support youth to build foundational skills in literacy and numeracy, financial literacy, and social assets that will help

them to succeed in livelihoods activities. Upon completion of the five-month learning cycle, youth will be supported to

map out and select viable pathways to return to school and or choose a career in the agricultural sector which may include

vocational training, apprenticeship, employment or start-up of a small enterprise project that would give them real work

experience. The enterprise pathway opportunity involves establishment of agri-focused individual enterprises that include:

input provision, production, processing, and retailing of agricultural products.

Since the inception of the program, 1821 boys and 1329 Girls (42%) have been enrolled in the learning and nearly 1569

(954 boys and 665 girls) of these youth from cohort 1, 2, 3 and 4 have selected individual/group project and have received

cash. Individual/Group enterprise project is highly preferred option by youth and is anticipated that this pathway take a

lead over the years encompassing over 80% (7240) of youth targeted for the program. Following the choice of

individual/group project, youth were provided cash worth 184 USD1 and focused training to enable them start their

preferred pathway option.

In line with the above, YLP (Youth Led Procurement) MEAL guideline was developed to capture important lessons and

insights with regards to process and outcomes of Youth Led Procurement and market behavior. The objective of the

assessment follows the same and aims to uncover three important aspects with regards to the process and outcomes of

YLP. These are:

To document the key process involved in cash transfer /YLP and hear the views and opinion of participating youth and

stakeholders on the appropriateness of the modality of transfer

1 Each youth were entitled for 4200 birr and equivalent of 205 USD. They were provided 184 USD to implement their pathway and USD 21 kept in their account as saving.


To identify challenges and best practices that were observed in cash transfer, youth led procurement and market

behaviour

To draw important conclusion and identify list of action that will be necessary to inform the modality of transfer, and

redesign existing practices for better program performance.

Based on the objectives outlined above, field assessment was conducted from September 21-26, 2015 in four districts of

Habru, Raya Kobo, Gubalafto and Gidan. All data was collected through one to one interview with youth and through

focus group discussions (FGDs) with parents, potential suppliers, procurement committee, master trainers/lead facilitators,

partner district coordinators and community mobilization officers.

This report summarizes the finding of the field assessment and documents the experiences and key lessons on cash transfer

and YLP from Ethiopia. The organization of this report is as follows: After this brief introduction section, Chapter 2

provides a description of the methodology of data collection outlining the steps taken and challenges encountered; Chapter

3 provides a brief description on the institutional set-up and the process involved in the cash transfer; Chapter 4 explores

the views of youth and other stakeholders on the overall performance of the cash transfer and YLP; Chapter 5 summarizes

the main issues and key findings from so far implemented activities. Finally, the report concludes in Chapter 6 by providing

a summary of key recommendations worth considering in improving performance of cash transfer and YLP implementation.

2. Methodology and Limitations

2.1. Research Questions The study seeks to address the following research questions:

What are the institutional setup and process steps involved in the cash transfer and YLP?

What roles did stakeholders play in the implementation and realization of cash transfer and YLP?

What are the performance and challenges of the various pathways? What actions and strategies help improve the overall program and in particular the cash transfer modality and

YLP?

2.2. Assessment Methodology The study adopted a qualitative and quantitative approach in order to provide acceptable answers to the stated research

quest ions . This approach is employed to arrive at a more holistic understanding of the processes and strategies

employed in the cash transfer and YLP. The study focuses on multi-pronged method to understand what youth and


stakeholders perceive (parents, procurement committee; suppliers and partner staff) and how youth view the so far

progress and describe what is happening by listening and interpreting their responses.

2.3. Data Collection The study used structured questionnaire and FGD guideline checklist to collect information from different primary

sources. Primary data was collected from 113 youth (47% girls) participants who received cash transfer to implement

their pathway options in the four study districts. Data from all respondents was collected in the form of face-to-face

interviews. All youth were drawn from Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 because C3 & C4 participants received cash recently

and were in the preparatory and/or early stage in implementing their preferred pathway. Attempts were made to

ensure equal number of youth from each districts (30 each and total 120 youth) representing both cohorts and

involving equal number of boys and girls. However, discrepancies in youth numbers and gender balance were observed

during the actual survey because some youth were unable to attend the survey as per schedule. Deliberat e attempts

were not made to get fair representation of youth from each pathway, rather selected kebele youth were all initially

notified and those willing and who avail themselves during the scheduled survey dates were included in the assessment

in each district and hence convenience sampling method was used.

In addition to individual interview relevant stakeholders who have background information on the cash transfer and

YLP were invited to attend focus group discussion in all districts. Accordingly, 90 participants (51 Male & 39 female)

drawn from parents, procurement committee; partner staff and suppliers were interviewed to gain their views and

perspectives on the performance of cash transfer/YLP implementation.

Secondary data relevant for the study were consulted from monthly update, quarterly reports, partner district office

records and PADeT Woldiya office monitoring reports.

Table 1. Respondents by category and district

District Youth Interview

FGD/Group Interview

Overall Parents Procurement Partner Staff Facilitators/MT

Boys Girls Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F Total

Gidan 15 16 31 6 6 12 4 1 5 0 3 3 5 0 5 56

Guba

Lafto 14 13 27 2 11 13 2 1 3 2 0 2 5 1 6 51

Habru 17 11 28 4 6 10 5 1 6 2 0 2 0 0 0 46

Raya

Kobo 14 13 27 7 5 12 2 0 2 2 0 2 3 4 7 50

Total 60 53 113 19 28 47 13 3 16 6 3 9 13 5 18 203


2.4 Ethical Considerations The respondents were notified that they have a choice to participate in the survey voluntarily or to decline as they will

not be forced to participate unwillingly. They were also informed of their right to withdraw from participating in the

study should they so desire. In line with this, enumerators who took part in the individual interview of youth survey

were instructed to get consent of youth and advised to be sensitive to ethical standards in conducting the assessment.

All study team have strictly adhered to ethical principles, which include; voluntary participation, anonymity,

confidentiality and objectivity.

2.5. Limitations of the Study The study was conducted according to plan and without much difficulty; however there were few challenges encountered

which would be worth sharing.

Lack of prior research studies on the topic. There was no prior research study on the subject which could

possibly form the basis of literature review and help lay the foundation for understanding the research problem

the study aimed to investigate. Consequently, the study team was forced to develop new research typology that

will help expand the information base and understand the multifaceted strategies employed in implementing the

cash transfer and YLP.

Time limitation and Sample size. The field survey was conducted for 5 days and was not enough for an in-depth

study on the various aspects of the cash transfer modality and YLP. Moreover, the sample size was drawn from

selected Kebeles and was too small involving 113 youth out of 1569 (nearly 7% of the entire population) and thus

it will be difficult to find significant relationships from the data, as statistical tests normally require a larger sample

size to ensure a representative distribution of the population and to be considered representative of groups of

people to whom results will be generalized or transferred.

Lack of access to government staffs. The intent of the field work was to contact key government staff and hear

their views particularly with regards to their role in providing complementary support to youth on legal matters

and in the allocation of working space for those who wish to start group enterprise. Despite the intent of the

team, it was difficult to reach out to government staffs due to overlaps with other earlier scheduled travel/work

commitments and district/Kebele level meetings.

Unit of Measure Selected to Explore the Study. The study could explore the cash transfer and YLP process

and outcomes from multiple angels-which include differences among districts; differences in cohorts; differences

in gender and differences in wealth ranks among participating youth. To be more focused in measuring

performance and challenges, pathway options selected by youth were considered as central unit of analysis with

complementary review on pathway implementation dichotomies observed between girls and boys.


Self-reported data. The survey responses whether from youth interviews or focus groups were taken at face

value. However, responses collected from the survey contain several potential sources of bias which among other

include: (a) selective memory [remembering or not remembering experiences or events that occurred at some

point in the past]; (b) attribution [the act of attributing positive events and outcomes to YIA but attributing

negative events and outcomes to external forces]; and, (c) exaggeration [the act of representing outcomes or

events as more significant than is actually suggested from the data].

3. Cash Transfer Modality & Youth Pathway Choices

3.1. Institutional Set-up and Processes in cash Transfer & YLP

3.1.1 Eth-YiA Cash transfer modality institutional setup and process

Based on the rapid feasibility and risk assessment conducted by YIA team early this year, various cash transfer options

were reported to be available in the target area: These include: MFI, banks, Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO). In

selecting the financial institution for partnership, various criteria were considered and included: accessibility, risk, efficiency,

cost of transfer, and past track records. Accordingly, use of MFI was found to be the most appropriate delivery option.

Moreover, as per the comparative analysis made among the MFIs operating in the project intervention woredas , the

Amahara Credit and Saving Institution (ACSI) was found to be the most effecient due to its geographical reach , safety,

speed, credibility , experience and requirements/ conditions for service. Hence, the cash delivery mechanism in the case

of Ethiopia is channeled from SC to the implementing partner NGO (PADet) to ACSI and finally distributed to the target

beneficiaries.

3.1.2 Brief overview about the selected MFI, ACSI

Established in October 1995, Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (ACSI) is one of the biggest micro finance institutions

in Africa operating primarily in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The institution was established with the aim of improving

the of economic situation of low-income families and, poor people in the region through increased access to lending,

saving, fund transfer and pension fund management.

ACSI has partnered with several NGOs including: CIDA, USAID, Packard foundation, UNDP, IFAD, DOT Ethiopia PACT,

SNV, to provide revolving loan and start –up grant /seed capital to –Donor/NGO project beneficiaries. Recently it has

also partnered with the UNCDF to implement the Youth Start program, which is financed by the Master Card Foundation.

ACSI closely works with the MSE (Micro and Small Enterprise) development offices and TVETs whose mandate includes

Business Development Service (BDS) for young people.


Most of ACSI’s clients are involved in income generating activities such as agriculture, handcrafts and micro and small

enterprises. It provides induction and technical support as well as saving mobilization and credit service, which promotes

youth saving and access to credit. It also allow children aged 14 to 18 to open and manage account on their own

ACSI provides saving, credit and money transfer in most YiA intervention kebeles , and has outreach in remote and

inaccessible Kebeles. There are two types of individual saving provided by ACSI:- Compulsory savings (which stay with the

MFI until the client leaves the program) and voluntary savings (which the client can withdraw any time). The interest rate

on saving varies with the type of saving ranging from 5-6.5 %, while the interest rate on loan depends on the loan period

and purpose, and usually ranges from 13-18%

3.1.3 Implementation of YLP

The following were the stages and key process involved in the YLP planning and implementation

Stage 1: Preparations and planning:

In the preparation and planning phase, the following preliminary activities were undertaken

Sign MOU with ACSI: - Following the selection of the most appropriate modality of cash transfer and selection

of the MFI (i.e. ACSI ), the implementing partner, PADet, signed MOU with ACSI North wollo and Waghemra

zone office . The six pages MOU comprises five sections that clarifies: the objective and rationale of the transfer;

duties and responsibilities of the two parties, the total amount of transfer per youth, number of youth groups

/youth/ that the transfer is applied, conditions /requirements/ for releasing the allocated cash after it is transferred

to the saving account of each youth ; and expected frequency of transfer

Disclosing the amount of transfer per youth per pathway and the modality of transfer: In order to guide

youth pathway options and help them plan the scope of their business the amount of cash allocated per youth per

pathway and the modality of transfer is often disclosed to the participants as soon as they start my pathway

module.

Setting minimum eligibility criteria to get the project cash grant:- PADet in consultation with SC and Kebele

advisory committee sets the minimum obligations that each youth need to meet so as to get the allocated cash.

Some of the requirements include: youth should complete business plan preparation and get approval from the

technical committee; youth should open account with the local ACSI branch; pathway option selected by youth

have to be approved by pathway panel; and at the minimum youth who attended 80% of pathway sessions and

enterprise training. Youth are clearly communicated about the minimum eligibility criteria that entitles them to

get the cash grants, as soon as they start pathway module


Mobilizing and supporting Youth to open saving account at the nearest ACSI branch: Regardless of whether

youth have dropped out in the course of the learning phase and/or unable to fulfill the requirements set to enable

them acquire cash grants, youth in each cohort are supported by master trainers, facilitators and ACSI staffs to

open saving account in the nearby ACSI branch. This usually starts early in the learning phase of the program

and completed by the time youth selected their pathway

Establishment of Business plan (BP) appraisal and approval technical committee: By the time a cohort or

YGs complete their pathway choice, a three member committee consisting of technical experts from agriculture

office , MSE (Micro & Small Enterprise) and PADet MTs/mentors will form the appraisal committee in each kebele

and endorse individual and group business plans (BP) of youth

BP development, appraisal and approval:- As soon as youth in each youth group selected their pathway , they

will be supported by the partner staff , MTs and other volunteers to prepare a realistic individual and group BP.

Then they submit their BP, which includes: financial requirement, list of goods and services to be procured,

tentative procurement plan, plan for covering the shortfall through matching fund (family/relatives incase the

financial requirement is above project cash grant allocated per youth per pathway). The technical committee

appraises BPs based on set of criteria such as: practicality, safety, profitability, cost, market situation of the selected

business, etc; and approves or recommend changes in business plan.

Selection of eligible youth/targeting: This is a process by which members of a particular youth groups in a

cohort are assessed for eligibility. When time for cash transfer approaches, eligible youth will be considered on

the distribution list. Those who failed to meet the criteria will either be instructed to adjust; their transfer delayed

and /or totally prohibited from getting their entitlement

Establishment of procurement committee: Based on the type of business youth selected, a procurement

committee is set up in each kebele. The committee consists: Keeble chairperson, an experienced business

men/women , a local agriculture expert and MTs/Action facilitators. The key responsibilities of the committee is

to support youth in local market assessment, development of procurement plan and in the actual procurement

of the planned goods and services

Development of data base of beneficiary youth: Each woreda and PADet project coordinating office at

woldia maintains a data base of beneficiaries when youth groups in a particular cohort finish their pathway choice.

The data base consists of: - name of youth, Cohort, Sex , Woreda, Keblele, business type /pathway / selected, ,

ACSI woreda/local branch he/she opened an account, account No. The data base is regularly updated when

changes are observed and when new cohort/ youth groups enroll in the program

Stage 2: Fund release and financial flow


The cash delivery process takes several stages before reaching in the hands of the beneficiary youth. The diagram below

depicts the financial flow/ cash movement from SC to the beneficiaries

As can be seen from the above steps the process takes an average of a week or two to reach its final destination namely

youth. Despite some delays in the transfer mechanism, the system proves to be efficient because the modality does not

allow youth or guardians to collect/deposit by themselves and ensure security of the transfer mechanism. Interesting to

note also, no transaction cost is incurred in the cash transfer because CBE doesn’t charge money transferred among its

different branches across the country. Likewise, ACSI provides transfer service to the accounts of beneficiary youth at

woreda/sub-woreda branches free of charge

Stage 3: Distribution

Procurement plan updating and approval: Based on their respective business plan and type of business, each

youth/ group /reviews and updates his/her procurement plan. This is usually done in consultation with and support

Step 6: The woreda (sub-woreda )ACSI branches distribute the cash to beneficiary youth, according to theprocurement plan of youth, when it receives autorization for release from the approval committee sittingat kebele level

Step 5:- Once ACSI N.W office confirm the transfer of the earmarked money from CBE woldia branch toits account, it then effects tarnsfer of the approved amount per youth to the respective woreda (sub-woreda ) ACSI branches as per the distribution list and for the ones who have opened saving accounts

Step 4: PADet Woldia Project Coordinating Office sends a letter to CBE woldia branch authorizing transferof the sum total of the livelihoods grants to ACSI account ; and PADet collects receipts upon thecompletion of transfer. Meanwhile, a copy of the receipt and distribution list of elligible youth for thatparticular period will be sent to ACSI , North Wello office based in Woldia

Step 3: PADet HQ transfers the sum total of livelihoods grants allocated for youth during that quarter(togther with other activities budget) to CBE PADet North Wollo woldia branch account [ProjectCoordinating Office]

Step 2: SC Ethiopia Addis office transfers the requested budget to PADet HQ central account atCommercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in Addis, considering the balance outstanding from the previousquarter budget released

Step 1: In line with the Cohort rollout plan , PADet HQ submits its budget request to SC on quarterly basis ,including the sum total of livelihoods grants to be transfered for youth starting their pathway during thatparticular period, along with other activities budget planned in the quarter


of the procurement committee. During this same stage the date for purchases of goods for a certain group of

youth in similar business will be fixed and agreed b/n youth and the committee

Development and approval of beneficiary distribution list: A distribution list of eligible youth in a particular

cohort is sent by each woreda office to the project coordinating office at Woldia . The distribution list sent from

each woreda will be reviewed and approved by the head of PADet N.W zone office. The distribution list is

extracted from the data base and include key information such as: name , sex, ACSI branch , account no. and

amount of cash to be transferred.

Send the distribution list to ACSI:- PADet Woldia office finance department sends the approved distribution

list, to ACSI North Wollo Zone branch office at Woldia, along with the receipt of the transferred amount to its

CBE Woldia branch account . Similarly the approved distribution list per woreda will be sent to the respective

woreda/sub-woreda branches of ACSI , by the Zonal ACSI office

Youth withdraw / collects their cash: - Youth withdraw and purchase the planned goods and services from

their accounts in accordance with their procurement plan. As per the conditions agreed with ACS, the woreda/

local branch offices release the transferred cash to each youth when they receive a letter of release from the

approval committee , deducting 10% to be left in their account as a contingency and help youth maintain saving

culture. Money is withdrawn by youth one day in advance and or the same day when purchases are planned to be

executed.

3.2. Stakeholders’ involvement and Community/ Parental Contribution in the YLP

3.2.1 Stakeholders Involvement

Various stake holders are involved at different levels in the planning and implementation of YLP. The following are the key

stakeholders and their role in the YLP planning and implementation

ACSI:. ACSI is the MFI which transfers cash to the beneficiary youth. It closely works with YiA woreda level

project staff to provide orientation and advice to the target youth about saving and other financial products the

institution is offering. ACSI supports opening of individual accounts and maintains the savings of youth

Gov’t sector offices: Women, Children & Youth Affairs, MSE Agency and Agriculture Development:

At woreda level MSE/ TVETs/ and Agriculture Development Offices provide training and technical advice on group

enterprise management and agricultural related business development/management techniques At kebele level the

kebele agriculture development office is a member of the procurement committee. The Kebele SME (Small &

Micro Enterprise) and Youth Affairs provide advice on youth choice of enterprise and provide information and


support on feasible business, as well as legal issues. Some Technical experts from these sector offices do also

provide the technical/business specific/training for youth

Gov’t administration offices: The Kebele council motivates youth involvement in self-employment

opportunities. The kebele land administration provides information available working spaces. The kebele

chairperson /manager/ approves the letter of fund release for youth to collect their cash from ACSI

Business persons/private sector: Experienced local men/women engage in agriculture related business have

significant contribution. Some supported youth to draw viable business plan. As key member of the recruitment

committee, they guide and support purchase of right items, right quality, at the right prices and to create healthy

atmosphere in the market. Most of the local business persons are also providing mentorship to youth during the

early stages of running their individual/group enterprises

Parent/family: Parent family play pivotal role at at all stages from consultation, to advice, participation in purchase

and, availing working space and in kind offers as well as paying for the matching fund of the planned business in

cash

3.3 An Overview On Cash Transfer to Date

3.3.1 Number of Youth Who Received Money in their Account

So far about nearly USD 297,928 has been disbursed for 1441 youth who fulfilled the pre-distribution /cash

release requirements from C1, C2, C3 and C4. Each youth received USD 184, leaving 10% of the transferred

amount in their saving account for use in the future for unforeseen expenses.

Table 2. Number of Youth by Cohort, Sex and Woreda who received money in their account

Cohort

s

Gidan Gubalafto Habru Raya kobo Total by cohort

Boys Girls

Total

Boys Girls

Total

Boys Girls

Total

Boys Girls

Total

Boys Girls

Total

Cohort

1 54 34 88 63 33 96 76 34 100 31 44 75 224 145 369

Cohort

2 54 46 100 59 26 85 54 50 104 50 44 94 217 166 383

Cohort

3 38 46 84 65 39 104 47 26 73 70 73 143 220 184 404

Cohort

4 59 34 93 63 31 94 52 12 64 15 19 34 189 96 285

Total

by

district

205 160 365 250 129 379 229 122 341 166 180 346 850 591 144

1

3.3.1 Family Cash Contribution by Woreda

Family members of youth have been very supportive in providing cash support besides the innumerable

material, moral and labor assistance. As indicated in the table below, family members from cohort 1 & 2 have


provided matching grant to enable their children kick-start their preferred pathway which would otherwise be

impossible with the project grant alone. As reported by PADet Coordinating Office, nearly, 34% of the families

did not provide matching cash and or contributed insignificant money. Highest percentage of family (24%)

contributed cash in the range of 101-500 birr while 14% contributed money in the range of 501-1000 birr.

Families from Guba Lafto contributed the highest (1610 birr) and Gidan the least (172) possibly explained by

difference in wealth rank among the target districts.

Table 3. Frequency/Weighted Average of Family Cash Contribution by Woreda

Amount

contributed

(in Birr)

Gubalafto Gidan Habru Raya kobo Total %

Less than or

equal to ten 10 20 158 6 65

249 34

11-100 1 0 81 1 83 11

101-500 12 11 150 4 177 24

501-1000 67 8 18 12 105 14

1001-2000 41 10 13 13 77 11

2001-3000 19 0 0 3 22 3

3001 and

above 20 1 0 2

23 3

Total 180 188 268 100 736

Weighted

Average Birr 1610 172 252 536

N.B: A total of 16 families not accounted in family contribution figures. N.B. 1 USD=20.5 Birr

3.4 Youth Respondent Profile and Pathway Choices

As highlighted above, 113 youth from cohort 1 and 2 participated in the survey. Regarding the distribution 53% of the

respondents were drawn from Cohort 1 (36 boys and 24 girls) and the balance which makes 47% of the respondents (24

boys and 29 girls) from Cohort 2. Nearly 40% and 55% of the respondents from cohort 1 & 2 were girls. Boys take the

lion’s share of the respondents accounting for 53% of the respondents from both cohorts. The age range is 17-24 with

highest frequency concentrated from 18-20 years (87.8%)2. Ages 17 or less and higher than 20 take an equal share of 6.1%.

Though both genders had the highest frequency for age 18, there appears slight difference on the average of girls and boys.

The weighted average age for girls and boys were 17.98 and 18.75 respectively indicating that respondent girls are nearly

0.77 year younger compared to boys.

2 The valid percentage of ages in order is as follows: 18 years 39.5%; 19 years 20.2%; 17 years 14.9% and 20 years 13.2%.


Regarding pathway choice, more than 64% of youth respondents have selected Livestock fattening and rearing and over

10 percent selected cereal trade. Unique features that go to terms with the local potentials have not been witnessed in

pathway choice among districts except one observation in Guba Lafto where higher number of girls selected fruit and

vegetable pathway due to consistent supply and marketable surplus in the area.

Table 4. Youth Pathway Distribution by District and Sex

Business

Type

Gidan Guba Lafto

Habru

Raya Kobo

Overall Total

%

Boy

s

Girl

s

Tota

l

Boy

s

Girl

s

Tota

l

Boy

s

Gir

ls

Tot

al

Boy

s

Gir

ls

Tot

al Boys Girls

Tot

al

Livestock

Fattening 13 7 20 9 1 10 13 3 16 6 4 10 41 15 56

49.

5

Livestock

Rearing 0 0 0 3 1 4 2 3 5 6 2 8 11 6 17 15

Cereal

Trade 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 6 6 2 11 13

11.

5

Fruit &

Vegetable

s

0 2 2 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 8 8 7

Tea

vending/H

ouse

0 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 4.5

Poultry 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 3.5

Spices

Trade 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 3

Timber

Sales 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 2

Onion

seed

Distributi

on

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Retail

Shop 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

Weaving 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Camel

Transport 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1

Total 15 16 31 14 13 27 17 11 28 14 13 27 60 53 113 10

0

Another observation from the above table is the difference in pathway choice between girls and boys. Boys are more

often inclined in livestock fattening, rearing and timber sales focused on few pathway options. Girls have tendency to

engage in poultry and fattening/rearing of small ruminants. They are also engaged in diverse set of activities which among

others include, cereal trade, fruit and vegetable sales, tea shop/vending, and spice trade. Reasons for particular pathway


choice among girls and boys indicate parental/guardian support for particular venture; previous experience in doing related

activity [on farm and/or as a wage laborer]; expectation that raw material/input are readily available; access to market is

wide; startup capital is relatively manageable; payback period is shorter and anticipated internal/external risks will be

minimal.

4. Views and Perception of Respondents on Cash Transfer Modality and

YLP

4.1 Views and Opinion OF Youth

4.1.1 Travel To Collection Points and Amount of Money Collected

Youth were asked to indicate the travel time and specify the mode of transport they used to travel to the collection

points. Almost all youth from Habru and 97 of youth from Gidan travelled to collection points by walking nearly 1-1.6

hours. Equal number of boys and girls reported walking and using transport in Guba Lafto and Raya Kobo. Where transport

was used youth paid birr 10 which is an equivalent of 0.5 USD.

Table 3. Travel time & Transport Cost

Woreda Walked Transport

Number % Time (Hour) Number % Cost in Birr

Gidan 30 97 1.6 1 3 10

Guba Lafto 13 48 1 14 52 8

Habru 28 100 45min-1 0 0 0

Raya Kobo 14 52 1 1 13 48

Time taken to collect cash was another important aspect explored in the assessment. Largest number of youth in Gidan,

Guba Lafto and Raya kobo indicated that they have spent less than 12 hours to collect their cash from the bank. In Habru

almost all youth indicated that they have spent 1-3 days to collect their cash. In few exceptions in Gidan and Gubalafto ,

youth were forced to wait 1-3 weeks before they collect their entitlements. Reported reasons include: a/ failure of power

making bank transactions impossible b/ frequent pathway changes c/ failure in complying with bank procedures and d/

challenges in getting timely approval from committee assigned to oversee and endorse cash transfer.

Youth were asked to indicate the amount of cash they have received after arriving to the collection point. All youth across

the various districts have indicated that they have collected 3,780 birr and that they have made no payment to anyone

during cash receipt. Challenges were reported by 5 youth from Raya Kobo (9%); 2 youth from Habru (7%) and 1 youth


from Guba Lafto (4%) indicating delays in cash transfer. Almost all youth in Gidan and Guba Lafto revealed that they have

been accompanied by friends and family members when they travelled to collection point. Conversely in Habru and Raya

Kobo, nearly 50% indicated that they have travelled alone to the collection point. All youth in Gidan and Haburu indicated

their preference for cash rather than receiving their entitlements in-kind and/or through vouchers. One female from Guba

Lafto (4%) and three youth from Raya Kobo (11%-two female and 1 boy) indicated that they wish to receive the transfer

in kind to minimize waste of time/money and to be safe from using money for unintended purpose.

4.1.2 Access to Market and Pathway Performance

As highlighted in the table above livestock trade and rearing take nearly 64.5% of the pathway choices. This section tries

to explore access to market and performance of major pathways.

Livestock fattening and rearing: The livestock fattening comprises small shots and ox bought from the local market

for fattening purposes with aim of selling animals 3-4 months after intensive feeding. The rearing on other hand aims at

keeping productive shots and dairy for a longer period for breeding purposes. Most youth in these categories (86%) went

directly to the market without spending time. Nearly 27% went using transport and the balance walked to the local

markets. Average transport spending per youth was in the following order Guba Lafto 31birr ; Gidan 35 birr ; Raya Kobo

39birr and Habru 58 birr. A total of 10 youth from Gidan (4); Habru (2) and Raya Kobo (4) have stayed longer before

they conduct purchases. Reasons cited for 2-4 delays in Gidan and Habru were due to schedule changes until the next

market day. In Raya Kobo, 3 youth reported delay for nearly a week due to changes in business plans and one youth 15

days due to failure in securing family support. Price increase where reported by 35% of boys and girls in all districts the

highest changes observed in Raya Kobo (56%) and Gidan (35%) and the lowest in Guba Lafto (29%) and Habru (19%).

Gidan Guba Lafto Habru Raya Kobo

<12 Hours 15 22 0 16

1-3 Days 13 3 28 11

4-6 Days 0 1 0 0

> 1 Week 3 1 0 0

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nu

mb

er

Of

Yo

uth

Fig. 1. Time Taken To Collect Cash


Likewise large numbers of youth (40%) reported changes in trader’s behaviour increasing price dramatically and offering

low quality animals that are not fit for fattening and/or rearing.

All youth in these categories indicated that they have been accompanied by purchase committee comprising Animal

fattening/rearing expert, experienced supplier, local mentor, facilitator/Master trainer and parents. The animal

fattening/rearing experts were in particular important to verify quality and check if animals are sick or unfit for the intended

purposes.

Both girls and boys engaged in these activities were asked to provide genuine response on the amount of money they have

incurred in the purchase of livestock. On the whole, livestock price for ox fattening ranges from 8000-12,000 birr per

head and shoats in the range of 600-1200 per head. Youth who have purchased ox and/or dairy cow have been supported

by family members and in few exceptions they have joined with their peers to form group. Likewise, some youth who

have bought 4-5 shots were supported by family members. In Gidan nearly half of youth engaged in the venture indicate

that they received family support and/or used their personal saving amounting to birr 440 to top up the deficit. Among

the four districts youth from Guba Lafto received higher support family members amounting to 1286 birr/head. Youth

from Habru stood second in the list by receiving an average of birr 620. Youth from Raya Kobo reported the least-money

in the tune of birr 340/head.

3610

4995

30662436

56 95 42 33170 434 239 28033 118 70 138

Gidan Guba Lafto Habru Raya kobo

Fig.2. Chart-Livestock Purchase & Other Expenses in Birr

Livestock Price Veterinary Feed Others


Picture 1. Mother from Gidan collecting Feed

Mother from Gidan performing daily

routine of feeding sheep bought for

fattening from the local market. She is

delighted to take care of the sheep and

wish to see her son build this same career

in a better and organized manner.

Once matching support was secured, all youth in Gidan and Guba Lafto conducted purchases from nearby

markets3 within a matter of two days. Youth in Habru and Raya Kobo have reported the same, except 2

youth in Habru and 1 youth in Raya kobo who conducted purchases after one-two weeks because of

family reasons and purchase committee advise to postpone the market day. Complaints and tensions in

all districts among family and community members were not reported except in Habru were 8 youth

(38%) reported complaints from family members who’s youth have been waitlisted or dropped from the

program. All youth have opened bank account with ACSI and have marginal savings close to the amount

(420) earmarked by the project except 4 youth spread in the four districts who surpassed birr 1000.

Cereal Trade

Cereal trade comprises a range of crops that are produced in the various districts, like teff, barley, wheat,

beans and oil seeds. Youth engaged in the business attempt to buy cereals during harvest and sell the same

when price levels are high. In this business large numbers of female are engaged in Habru and Raya Kobo

due to prior experience supporting farming families and possibilities for easy entry in the business. All

youth in Gidan and Guba Lafto have immediately went to the market walking to purchase their items and

have reported that they have not witnessed price inflation or change in trader’s behaviour. In Habru and

Raya Kobo 50% boys and girls have immediately walked to the market and have not witnessed price or

traders behavioural changes. The same percentage of boys (50%) in these districts revealed that they have

stayed 5 days (Habru) and nearly a week or two (Raya Kobo) before they went to the market mainly

waiting until the market gets stable. Those who performed delayed purchase spent 40 birr in Habru and

3 Local purchases were made at Beklomanekya and Muja for Gidan; in Saneka for Guba Lafto; Woldiya, Mersa and Sirinka

for Habru and Robit/Kobo for Raya Kobo


15 Birr in Raya Kobo for transport and reported that they have witnessed changes in cereal price and

traders behaviour. Except in Gidan and 1 youth in Raya Kobo, all youth were accompanied by family

members, volunteers and/or purchase committee. After receiving their entitlement youth went to nearby

market to purchase the cereals of their choice4. In all districts except Gidan (3days-1week) all youth were

able to perform their purchases in a day or two due to availability of the right item in the markets.

However, they could not start selling cereals right away because they don’t have legal licence to operate

in the local market.

Yeshiwork (18) from Raya Kobo testifies

the same, saying that she and her

colleagues were unable to engage in

cereal business because they don’t have

Business Licence. She further states that

the process of getting licence from the

regional government is time consuming

and costs nearly 75 USD which none of

them were able at present.

They are currently performing cereal

trade secretly and unnoticed which

becomes impossible when local police

patrol markets.

Picture 2. Youth from Raya Kobo Expressing Views

All youth engaged in cereal trade have not heard of any complaints from family and community members,

except one grievance heard from community member in Habru because his son was waitlisted in the initial

phase of the program. Youth have spent nearly 3000 birr in Guba Lafto and Raya Kobo, birr 2125 in Gidan

and 3195 in Habru. Expenses incurred for transport were nearly the same in all districts averaging birr 80

and additional costs related to communication birr 60. All youth have received advice, support, and storage

spaces from family members and one indicated financial support worth birr 1000 from family member. All

youth under this category have opened a saving account with ACSI and have deposited the amount

earmarked by the project amounting to birr 420 per/person.

Fruit and Vegetable

4 Youth in Gida perform purchase in Muja and Kulmeske; Guba Lafto purcases were conducted in Woldiya and Saneka; in Habru Purchases were conducted in Woldiya and Mersa; in Raya Kobo-purchases were conducted in Robit, Kobo and Aradome.


Fruit and vegetable has been a preferred pathway selected by girls only. Highest concentration of this

pathway is observed in Guba Lafto (71%) due to local potential and sustainable supply. Fruit & vegetables

commonly produced and widely available in the market include banana; avocado, mango, papaya; tomato;

potato, onion and cabbage. All youth from Gidan, Raya kobo with the exception of 2 from Guba Lafto

walked 1-2 hours to the collection point and have spent a maximum of 2 days to get their entitlement. In

Guba Lafto youth were accompanied with family and purchasing committee where as in Gidan and Raya

Kobo youth were accompanied by family members and volunteers. All youth liked the cash transfer

modality and they didn’t foresee any other alternative. Almost all youth went to the market5 immediately

after they receive their cash and have revealed that they got the right item in the market. Two youth from

Gidan and one youth from Guba Lafto reported price inflation. Behavioural changes among traders were

not observed except in Guba Lafto (2) manifested by the supply of inferior items and price hike. Expenses

other than product purchase were not reported under this category. The average expenditure per district

was nearly similar ranging from 2250-2500 birr. Additional expense in the range of birr 100-150 was spent

for transport. The balance in the tune of 1300-1500 birr was kept in the bank to help cover running cost

for subsequent purchases. Contribution from family and other stakeholders were mainly advice; allocation

of working space and in few exceptions cash in the range of 300-500 (Guba Lafto and Habru). In all cases

no tensions were reported with family and/or community members.

Other Pathways

Other pathways were selected by few boys and more girls and account to nearly 16.5% of the total.

Pathways include: tea vending/shop (Gidan); Backery (Gidan); Poultry (Guba Lafto); Retail Shop (Guba

Lafto); Weaving (Raya Kobo) and Camel Transport (Habru) and spice trade (Guba Lafto and Habru).

5 Market for Gidan Beklo Manekeya and Chafe Gote; Guba Lafto Saneka and Woldia; Habru Wodia and Mersa; Raya Kobo-Robit and Kobo.


Picture 3. Gidan-Muja Kebele-Yoth in group of 3 performing Backery

Nearly all who have selected tea vending, spice trade, retail shop and poultry are girls and hence constitute

the biggest share of the total youth (76%) under this category. Girls who have started selling Tea have

bought the necessary kits from nearby market and have not observed price changes and or behavioural

changes from suppliers. They have conducted purchases alone (except one youth) nearly one day after

collecting cash. On the average they have spent 2000-2500 birr to start their business and have spent

nearly 300 for transport. The balance is kept in their saving account at ACSI. None of them reported

tension with family members or community. The only problem reported by this group relates to

competition with peers and formerly established business. Poultry is another venture selected by four

youth in Guba Lafto. All have collected cash in time and 2 out of four have gone to collect pullet from

Kebele MOA. Two others have waited 2-3 months until improved breeds supplied by Ministry of

agriculture were available. The once who bought pullets bought 25 each to kick start their business. Prices

were indicated to be fixed for a given duration and hence inflation was not reported. Those who

conducted purchase spent nearly 3000 birr and incurred additional expense for feed worth birr 300. Youth

who reported purchases were accompanied by family members and have not heard tensions with family

and/or community members. Two youth under this category also indicated their preference to be

provided in kind as they were unable to start their business because pullets were not readily available.

Family members have been supportive by providing working space and materials to erect small house for

chickens. Youth engaged in pathway other than the above have gone to the local market immediately

(except for timber) after collecting cash accompanied by their parents and friends (Spice trade & Camel).

Youth who selected Timber & Weaving and spices went alone. None of them faced challenge getting the

right item except price hike reported by youth engaged in Timber. The average expenditure various from

4000-6000 and those who exceeded the cash provided by the project were supported by family members

(Timber, Camel Traction and Weaving). Additional expenses were not reported by these youth except

for Camel traction pathway who incurred expenses for veterinary and transport. No tensions with family


and or community members were reported. Complaints were not heard from youth in all aspect of the

cash transfer but almost all youth felt that the amount earmarked for start-up is small and consideration

be given to increase the money from 4200 to nearly 6000-8000 birr (an equivalent of 300-400 USD).

4.2. View and Opinion from FGD/Group Respondents

4.2.1 Parental View

Program Approach and Performance

Parents in all districts were happy on the cash transfer modality and YLP and expressed appreciation of

being involved from the outset. They have testified that all youth have received the amount earmarked by

the project (4200 birr less saving Birr 420) and wish the same transfer modality to continue. Delays in

cash transfer were reported by parents from Gidan and Raya Kobo nearly two months in some instances

because of excessive paper work and lack of clarity on the obligation of parents and youth before

withdrawing cash from the bank.

Market Performance and Behaviour

In all districts parents revealed that desired items (except poultry) were available in local markets but at

times inflated and or limited in supply due to recent drought and traders prior information that youth

have enough money to spend. Most parents also revealed that they have matched money when desired

items were available and that the project money becomes insufficient. In circumstances when parents

could not afford matching cash, purchase dates were rescheduled and locations switched.

Role of Stakeholders

The role of purchasing committee and their commitment in helping youth was greatly appreciated by

parents in all districts. Their presence was felt instrumental in supervision, advice and guiding youth in

purchasing the right item at a reasonable price. Worth mentioned was presence of livestock experts

whose presence felt significant in safeguarding youth from buying unfit animals for fattening and rearing.

Family support to youth in all districts was also reported to be remarkably high. Except for Gidan,

respondent parents indicated that they have contributed money in the range of 700-2000 birr. In all cases

parents were supportive by providing working space, labour support, materials and advice as is needed.

Tensions with family members were not observed except in Habru where young and/or elder siblings not

included in the program were excerting high pressure on family members. Grievances from other

community members were not heard but in few exceptions (Gidan and Raya Kobo) rumours where heard


on complaints from other family members whose children were excluded or rejected in the former

cohorts.

Outstanding Issues and Remarks

All parents expressed their appreciation of the program citing positive gains in increasing youth motivation,

self-confidence, and readiness to work hard and creating healthy atmosphere in the various operational

districts. They have also alluded the way cash was transferred diligently by ACSI through minimal

transaction costs. Suggestion from parents include: increase the start-up capital from current level (184

USD) to 300-400 USD; reduce the program duration particularly the learning; enhance parental

commitment through awareness/sensitization and engage Kebele administration to help youth in group

enterprise secure working place.

4.2.3 Purchase Committee


The performance of the program so far was rated to be good by purchase committee. They stated that

all youth have got their entitlement with the exception of some delays in release of cash due to ACSI

formalities and problems in the fluctuation of price for some selected items. On the whole they are

satisfied on the mode of money transfer and wish to continue the same in the future.


In almost all districts the responses were the same-The fact that not all youth have got the items that they

wish to buy (Poultry, Livestock, and cereal in some case) in the local market because the price for some

items was significantly higher than what has been offered by the project. Parents in most cases were forced

to contribute financially to offset shortfall but was not always enough. Inflation was a common

phenomenon particularly for cereals, spices and livestock and adjustments were made as needed by

switching market places and keeping information on purchase dates confidential.


The role of stakeholders particularly parents was considered to be significant transcending from advice;

participation in purchases, to provision of material/labor support through to financial assistance. Tensions

with family and community members were not rampant as per the respondents but in few exceptions

sporadic incidents were observed within household where other siblings complain not getting family

support and community level complaints that their children were excluded unfairly (Gidan, Raya Kobo).



Purchase committee feel that boys and girls were fairly and equally treated in the program and have not

witnessed peculiar challenges in each, except difference in pathway choice. They strongly assert that the

program has increased youth motivation; increased self-confidence and promoted mutual respect. They

recommended that the duration of the program be shortened; the start-up capital increased and sector

of engagement be expanded to avoid market saturation and frustration among youth.

4.2.4 Partner staffs


They rate the overall performance as good and have indicated that youth have received their entitlement

though not equivalent to what has been promised originally. The time the money was disbursed was also

considered late in Gidan, Habru and Raya Kobo. Delays were particularly marked for C1 & C2 as the

transfer modality was new and that there were uncertainties on youth and parent obligations. Partly delays

were also caused due to the fact that signatory committee members were not available at all times due

to other obligations and that youth frequently change pathways after receiving their entitlement. Mode of

cash transfers though ACSI was considered transparent and devoid of risks. All district staffs do not see

other transfer modalities and wish to continue the same in the future.


In all districts items desired by youth were relatively available except for some seasonal fluctuations.

During drought and when price variations oscillate beyond acceptable range, market locations were

changed and at times purchase postponed. Challenges were also reported for those who have selected

ox fattening in May/June as this time overlaps with land preparation (Ox in high demand) and when pasture

gets scarce. Behavioural changes among traders were also reported in Gidan, Rayo Kobo due to prior

knowledge that purchases will be conducted. To address this concern maximum efforts were made to

keep information confidential and spread purchases in more than one markets.


In all districts staff members feel the role of purchase committee as very important not only in ensuring

that the money is spent for the intended purposes, but also in verifying quality and safeguarding youth

from purchasing unfit and unhealthy animals. Families were also considered central to the success of youth

business initiatives. In almost all districts staff members testify that the contribution was not limited to


labor, finance and provision of working capital but goes beyond in providing emotional and physiological

support. Other allies who played critical role mentioned by respondents were: MOA-animal health at

Kebele level; woreda/kebele administration; micro and small enterprise; women affairs and ACSI.


Important gains of the program as revealed by respondents include: a/ Increased confidence and motivation

of youth to work b/ Attitude and behaviour of youth have changed -they have gained respect and

popularity among community and parents c/ Saving habits have increased significantly and some youth have

even started saving 8-12 months ago d/ Numeracy and literacy has improved e/ Youth now take part in

local community development ( e.g. environmental protection and rehabilitation) and f/ The program had

strong spin over effect increasing saving habits of parents and youth. Areas for improvement suggested

were: reduce the duration to a period not longer than 6-8 months; transition from learning to action

should not have long gap; develop guidelines like gender, community mobilization that are missing at

present; increase the start-up capital d; expand business options to include projects other than agriculture

value chain (metal works, mobile repair; wood work etc.); consider increasing support provided for youth

who wish to pursue education pathway as the amount earmarked is low; and strengthen follow up and

monitoring to mitigate use of money for unintended purpose.

4.2.4 Suppliers

Sectors of engagement and criteria for selection

Interviewed suppliers were engaged in Bakery, cereal trade, fruit and vegetable; coffee and livestock trade.

They were selected as suppliers because they had pervious skill trainings from various institutions; have

capacity and well established capital; have served as mentors providing training for youth in the area of

their specialization; have established business and are locally based; and have good track record and are

well known in the target districts.

Capacity in providing desired items in time and required quantity

During the assessment all suppliers revealed that there are 3-5 suppliers engaged in the area of their

specialization but noted that more than 75% do not have capacity to provide items in big quantities and

desired quality. Interviewed suppliers indicated that they have not played significant role in providing items

for youth except providing training and advice on business principles. They feel that they are confident in

providing desired items as per the quality standards and that this should not because of concern because


rigorous quality checks are made by purchase committee. Concerns however were flagged regarding

seasonal factors and drought that might affect their ability to deliver products in time. Contractual

agreement was not signed and was not a practice but often times suppliers sign upon provision of items

to youth. Almost all suppliers are confident in their ability to supply quality/quantity products provided

that there is no drought and climatic factors affect local production.

Outstanding Issues and Recommendations

In all districts, suppliers felt that the start-up capital is very small limiting pathway choice particularly

livestock fattening and rearing. They also felt that limited pathway choice creates crowding effect leading

to unnecessary competition. Against this backdrop, they suggest implementing pathways in group; spread

purchase schedule to mitigate inflation; diversify pathways beyond agriculture value chain (e.g. truck

driving/mechanics); reinforce follow-up/ monitoring and expand pathway options that build on local

potential.

5. Summary of Main Issues & Findings

The study questioned 113 Youth (47% Girls) from cohort 1 & 2 who currently purse 12 pathways after

completing the life skills training offered by the program for over a year. Youth were individually interviewed

using structured questionnaire and their responses transcribed and analyzed to understand the overall cash

transfer processes and youth led procurement and isolate enabling and challenging factors. Complementary

information was sought from 90 focus groups discussants drawn from parents, purchase committee;

suppliers and partner staff members.

The overall findings reveal that the YIA has pursued a positive approach to youth development that applies

holistic strategies to the complex set of youth needs in the target districts. The approach was also

considered to be instrumental in enabling youth develop the skills, values, and attitudes they need to

succeed in their life career and help them gain recognition by changing perception that young people

are not problems to be solved, but problem solvers themselves. The program has instilled paradigm shift,

promoting wide behavioral changes among stakeholders and greater understanding that youth are assets

to the community, and active agents of change who can contribute their energy, idealism, and insights to

a community’s growth and progress.

The approach which considered young people through a more holistic lens was also cited as a positive

achievement, praised for its effectiveness in addressing the broad range of social, moral, emotional, physical, and


cognitive competencies that young boys and girls need. .Widely shared view among all youth and focus group

discussants in all districts were that youth have developed literacy/numeracy skills; saving skills, designing

business plans; and core life skills which include self-confidence; respecting self and others; team work;

communication skills; positive attitude/self-motivation and working in groups and as a team.

Another success factor is stakeholder’s role in the development of youth life skills program, starting from the very

beginning of the design of the action phase which has been fundamental to the program success and sustainability. A

wide range of strategies were employed to identify the various people and organizations – at the local,

regional, and national levels – who can be effective partners to support youth life skills programming. These include:

those who will be directly and indirectly impacted by the program, those who can support the implementation, and

those who may offer youth opportunity for hire or support. In line with the project strategy of achieving a concerted

action, a number of stakeholders have been networked to play part in the program and include parents; private

sector operators; public sector representatives (MOA, MOE, Youth & Women Affairs, Micro & Small Enterprise;

Financial Service Providers) l i f e skills experts (Mentors; Teachers; Master Trainers; Facilitators & Partner

Staffs) and community members who have wider acceptance in the various target areas and aware of the

local needs and concerns.

From the programming and service side, the institutional framework and cash transfer modality and YLP were

properly designed to mitigate fraud and unintended use of cash. Youth have to identify pathway options, develop

business plans and present the same to panel who review applications case by case and endorse applications. All

youth were instructed to open a bank account at ACSI and the cash transferred to their respective accounts. In

exceptional cases when youth business plan requires more money than earmarked, youth guardians/parents have

to match the shortfall and or else have to come up with alternative pathway that goes to terms with their

entitlement.

All youth have received birr 4,200 (184 USD) and have to sign along with their collateral (mostly guardians and

parents) before they receive their cash. No case of fraud; bribe and or rent seeking were reported and both family

members and youth were happy of the cash transfer modality. Travel time to collection point range from 0.45

minutes to 1.6 hours and no complaints were heard on distance because of ACSI presence at kebele level. Some

complaints were heard on delays in cash transfer in all districts (1-2 months delay) due to paper works and lack

of clarity on mode of transfer at the earlier stage of the program. However, the vast majority (81%) collected

their entitlement in less than 3 days.


Regarding pathway choice, livestock fattening (49.5%); livestock rearing (15%) and cereal trade (11.5%) take leading

share signifying the importance of livestock related venture among girls and boys. Girls have selected more

diversified pathway options than boys demonstrated by skill set and preference to purse activities such as

fruit/vegetable sales; cereal trade; poultry; tea vending and retail shop. Correlation between local resource

potential and pathway choice were not witnessed in all districts except fruit and vegetable pathway choice among

girls in Guba Lafto due to surplus production and ease in penetrating the local market.

Apart from the difference in pathway choice no challenges peculiar for girls or boys were reported. In nearly

almost all cases items were available in the local markets in desired quality and quantity except for livestock and

cereal predominantly due to high price and failure in meeting quality standards. In few cases changes in trader’s

behaviors were also observed offering low quality products and demanding unreasonable price in these same

products. Verification of quality standards by purchase committee who often partake in livestock purchases have

safeguarded youth from misguided choice and risky decisions. To mitigate the aforementioned problems, in some

instances markets were switched; purchase dates kept confidential; and number of youth conducting purchase of

same item spread over weeks to minimize demands in these small/fragmented markets.

Challenges of high significance were not reported by most pathways except concerns in price fluctuations

corresponding seasonal changes and drought triggered factors. Noteworthy challenges reported across all

pathways were that the start-up fund was small to enable youth implement meaningful business of their choice.

Against this backdrop, parents/guardians except Gidan were forced to contribute cash in the tune of 700-3000

birr as a matching grant to enable their children kick start their preferred pathway. Contribution by family

members were reported mostly by youth who have pursued cattle fattening and or rearing as the amount

earmarked by the project was less by 4000-8000 Birr. Similar complaints were heard from girls pursuing cereal

trade and bakery (groups) that were unable to freely operate in the market because of license requirement which

none of them were able to acquire6. Delay in project implementation was also heard from youth engaged in

poultry pathway due to lack of improved breeds in local markets as often the supply comes from commercial farm

located in Komboca nearly 120 km from Woldiya town. Besides these, other problems were cited from

stakeholders highlighting scarcity of feed for livestock; deficiencies in business plans (overlooking complementary

6 Business license is processed and issued by the regional government and worth nearly 70 USD


expenses such as working place/material; veterinary expense; transport); lack of working principles/guidelines and

allocation of working space for those who pursue group projects; overcrowding in few pathway options; and lack

of proper guidance when to start a particular business noting market behavior, holiday calendar and supply-demand

situations.

6. Recommendations and Suggested Actions

The Monitoring of Cash Transfer and YLP should be conducted at regular intervals –Monitoring

is relevant to take stock of progress and results, assessing the effectiveness of different approaches and changing

course when needed.

Consider increasing start up Capita –While the start-up capital should be the same for all pathways

it should be reviewed considering the complementary resource requirements of pathways and market

trends to enable youth start viable business

Expand the pathway options relevant to each location based on local potential. Most youth

surveyed have chosen livestock fattening and rearing which at times create overcrowding/stress on

available resources and create unhealthy competition. Efforts have to be made to expand the agricultural

value chain in line with the local potential.

Ensure presence of project staff /purchase committee during purchase for all pathways to meet

quality standards and minimize unintended use of resource. This is relevant for proper recording,

to mitigate unwise purchases/rushed decisions and ensure that the money is spent for intended purpose

Consider appropriate season when and how to start a business. The time for cash transfer and

purchase should not only be driven by factors related to compliance and youth obligatory requirements-

but should as well consider price trends in the market; availability of complementary resources and time

when the product will be available in the market.

Get the buying and support of parents and relevant government stakeholders. The practice of

engaging parents and stakeholders at all levels in the program execution should be reinforced to create

shift in adults’ thinking/positive attitude into true commitments and activities to promote young people’s

involvement and self confidence in what they do.

Enforce measures to repay/save money in the banks when cash is used for unintended purpose

(use parents as Collateral). Affirmative actions should be taken in all youth who deviate from the

intended project without prior approval to redeposit the amount earmarked for their project to

safeguard widespread misuse of resources.

Develop guideline on group business principles and ethics. This is gray area and there are some

confusion on the principles and how group enterprise operates. Guidelines should be developed by PTT


to help guide youth on group business ethics, principles and team work to address concerns that emerge

from divergent objectives and conflicts.

Identify exemplary parents, model farmers, private sector operators and youth to enhance

awareness and develop constructive learning environment. Exemplary Models drawn from the

target districts and beyond should be invited on regular basis to share their success stories, experiences,

practices and challenges. They are powerful tool to shape youth opinion; increase youth motivation and

participation; and raise the public’s awareness about young people strength and resourcefulness.

Date post:	11-Jun-2018
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Ethiopia: Cash Transfer & Youth Led Procurement Assessment...

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