Evaluation of a Savings & Microcredit Program for Vulnerable Young Women in Nairobi

This report describes the efforts of the Population Council and K-Rep Development Agency (KDA) to offer savings, microcredit, social support and information to young women in low income and slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya.The report presents the following details of the four-year intervention program, 'Tap and Reposition Youth' (TRY):

• Aim: to reduce adolescents' vulnerabilities to adverse social and reproductive health outcomes by improving their livelihoods options;
• Target: out-of-school adolescent girls and young women aged 16 to 22 residing in low income and slum areas of Nairobi;
• Methodology: a modified group-based microfinance model, including a monitoring and research component for managers to track performance and measure changes;
• Impact assessment: a longitudinal study that compared TRY participants to a control group that had no exposure to the project.

The study compared the control group participants to TRY participants at the end of the project and found that the TRY group had:

• Significantly higher levels of income and assets;
• More savings, and were more likely to keep them in a safer place;
• More liberal gender attitudes;
• Greater ability to refuse sex and insist on condom use.

The report concludes that the high rate of drop out from TRY, especially by younger adolescents, suggests that the model requires further examination and adaptation, in particular, to respond to the realities of vulnerable girls living in high HIV settings.