Samruddhi evaluation - Report Final - Dec 4...Block Panchayat Block Panchayat forms the second tier...

Samruddhi Traidcraft Exchange, UK

Formaper, ItalyKudumbashree, India

EU Asia-Invest project: Improving the business development support and counsellingskills for pro-poor MSEs in Tsunami affected Districts of Kerala

State

Report of External Final Evaluation

Liby T Johnson

December 2008

Table of Contents

Glossary................................................................................................................................................1

Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................2

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................6

The Partners.....................................................................................................................................6

The Project.......................................................................................................................................8

Evaluation of Samruddhi.................................................................................................................9

Samruddhi – Input-Output Mapping..................................................................................................11

Samruddhi – Results...........................................................................................................................12

Relevance of the Project................................................................................................................12

Efficiency ......................................................................................................................................14

Effectiveness..................................................................................................................................17

Impact............................................................................................................................................24

Sustainability.................................................................................................................................25

Samruddhi in the Traidcraft overall BDS Strategy........................................................................26

Key Factors.........................................................................................................................................27

Attribution..........................................................................................................................................27

Conclusions........................................................................................................................................27

Summary of benefits......................................................................................................................28

Pointers for future..........................................................................................................................29

Recommendations..............................................................................................................................29

Taking Samruddhi results forward.................................................................................................29

Strengthening BDS and Counselling inputs in enterprise support work.......................................30

Lessons from Samruddhi for future work......................................................................................30

Profiles................................................................................................................................................31

Annexes..............................................................................................................................................38

Evaluation of Samruddhi, Kerala, India 2006 - 2008

Glossary

ADS Area Development Society, federation of NHG at the Ward-level (agram panchayat is divided into wards)

Block Panchayat

Block Panchayat forms the second tier of the three-tier local selfgovernment system in the rural areas of India, commonly known as thePanchayati Raj system. Typically, six to seven Gram Panchayats formpart of a Block.

BDS Business Development Services

CDS Community Development Society, federation of ADS at the grampanchayat level

Gram Panchayat

Gram Panchayat forms the lowest level in the three-tier local selfgovernment system in the rural areas of India, commonly known as thePanchayati Raj system. In Kerala, a typical gram panchayat has apopulation of about 20-30 thousand people and will be spread over 30-40 sq. km. Many State-sponsored development schemes areimplemented through the gram panchayats.

MEC

Micro Enterprise Consultant (Volunteers trained by Kudumbashree toprovide enterprise support to micro enterprises at the gram panchayatlevel. Samruddhi project drew from this cadre, people to be trained asCounsellors

MSE Micro- and Small- Enterprise (this report uses the term microenterprises)

MT Master Trainer, 15 persons trained by the Samruddhi project to becounsellors and trainers

NHG Neighbourhood group, akin to self-help group

Rs. Indian Rupees (INR); Exchange rate used in this report is INR 50 perUSD

Samrudhi BUCONS Samrudhi BUCONS, is the network organisation set up by theSamruddhi Master Trainers

TEAPTsunami Emergency Assistance Project is the livelihoods rehabilitationproject of the Government of Kerala with support from the AsianDevelopment Bank

Evaluation of Samruddhi, Kerala, India 2006 - 2008 1

Report of the evaluation of the Samruddhi project implemented by Kudumbashree,Traidcraft Exchange and Formaper

EU Asia-Invest project: Improving the business development support and counselling skills forpro-poor MSEs in Tsunami affected Districts of Kerala

Executive Summary

This is the report of the external evaluation of the Samruddhi project implemented jointly byKudumbashree, Traidcraft Exchange and Formaper. The evaluation was commissioned with thepurpose of 'evaluating the effectiveness of Samruddhi project as a model to strengthen businesscounselling skills in India'.

The Project

The overall objective that the project aimed to contribute to was 'to improve the business performanceof pro-poor micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Kerala, with special focus on the Tsunami affectedareas'. The Specific objective that the project set out to achieve was 'to support KudumbashreeMicro Enterprise Consultants (MECs) to develop high quality, effective development support andcounselling skills for pro poor MSEs'. The project had set out to train 15 Master Trainers and 40Counsellor MEC, who were expected to provide BDS and Counselling services to at least 275 MSEacross Kerala state, particularly in the tsunami affected districts. The project was aimed to directlybenefit about 5500 producers who formed the MSE supported.

The total budget outlay for the project was € 267, 540. The amount requested from the EuropeanCommission was € 267, 540 (100%).

Evaluation Process

The exercise was carried out during October-November 2008. It was conducted using a mix ofliterature review, field visits, one-to-one interactions with respondents and discussions withdifferent groups. The exercise was based on the given evaluation framework which listed the set ofissues that the evaluation was to look at.

Findings

Achievements

The project has achieved most of the results that it originally planned to. Most significantachievements of the project have been:

• 15 Master Trainers developed with counselling and training skills• 40 MEC of Kudumbashree trained as Counsellors• 350 MSE units provided BDS and counselling support by the trained Counsellors

The project also achieved results that were not originally envisaged. These include:• Training of 176 MEC by the Master Trainers from the Tsunami Emergency Assistance

Project of the Kerala State Government, leading to support to over 1000 MSE units acrosstsunami affected districts

• Creation of Samrudhi BUCONS – a State-level platform of the Master Trainers to continueusing their skills in Counselling and Training


The findings of the evaluation have been grouped according to thematic areas under which theevaluation questions were grouped.

Relevance

The Samruddhi project was developed in response to the need identified by Kudumbashree to buildits institutional capabilities to facilitate stronger and sustainable micro-enterprises in the villages ofKerala. Traidcraft and Formaper brought on board many years of experience in diverse parts of theworld, supporting organisations to do exactly this. The context of Kerala's local economy,particularly in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami provided a challenging setting forthe three partners to pool their relative strengths.

Results achieved by the Project suggests that the analyses and assumptions made in designing theproject have been validated to a great extent. Assessing the capability of units that would besupported in accessing the international, particularly European, market for selling their productsturned out to be one area where the initial analysis failed. Despite this weakness, the Project hascontributed substantially to furthering the purpose of the EU Asia Invest Programme. It has alsocontributed to lessons and experiences that would help Kudumbashree, Traidcraft and Formaperimprove their work in the areas of facilitating BDS and Counselling services for pro-poor microenterprises.

Efficiency

The Project has made efficient use of the resources at its disposal, in certain ways better than whatwas originally envisaged. The three partners complemented each other very well and worked withina flexible and open collaboration framework. Difficulties cropped up during implementation, onaccount of factors completely out of the control of the project, delaying implementation by aboutnine months. Concerted action by the partners helped in shoring implementation up, and the finaldelay was tuned down to four months. Results achievement in the project was also affected, onaccount of inadequate understanding at the planning stage of the peculiarities of working with apartner from the government sector. The monitoring system worked well, particularly after a localconsultant was appointed to work full-time on supporting the project. Absence of a well craftedmonitoring strategy did affect the quality of information flows between partners.

Effectiveness

Samruddhi has contributed, substantially, to strengthening the enterprise support mechanisms withinKudumbashree. The project has achieved most of the results that it had planned to. The team ofMaster Trainers developed by the project were able to conduct training programmes, for creating apool of Counsellor MEC in all the districts of Kerala, as part of the project, with backup support ofexperts from Traidcraft and Formaper. After completion of the training, both the Master Trainersand Counsellor MEC took to identifying enterprises for providing counselling support The numberof units provided with counselling support has exceeded the target set for the project.

Samruddhi was also able to influence the way Kudumbashree works in two areas. It supported thealready initiated work of strengthening Kudumbashree's enterprise support work by bringing in newskills and knowledge as well as providing meaningful feedback from the village level. The TOTapproach of Samruddhi also contributed to the strengthening of Kudumbashree's internal trainingsystem. New principles and methods of training demonstrated in the Samruddhi activities wereinternalised by the Master Trainers and used in Kudumbashree's training programmes in differentareas.


Impact

Impact of the results that Samruddhi has achieved has to be seen in the performance of the microenterprises that the project trained counsellors supported. At the time of the evaluation, enterpriseshad been receiving counselling support for over a year. This, probably, is too short a time to measurethe impact of Samruddhi. However, there are strong indications as to how things are progressing.These suggest that the services provided are having a positive effect on how the enterprises areperforming.

Sustainability

Results achieved by Samruddhi are such that they can continue to be effective over a substantialperiod of time. Skills and knowledge built among the Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC willcontinue to be used and will provide positive results. Strengthened institutional processes andlessons learnt at the level of the partner organisations also can be sustained over a period of time.

Both Kudumbashree and Traidcraft need to commit themselves to ensure that the lessons learnt areworked upon, skill and knowledge created are refreshed and the motivation and willingness amongthe trained cadre remains high.

Conclusions

The Samruddhi project has achieved its specific objective of 'supporting Kudumbashree MicroEnterprise Consultants (MECs) to develop high quality, effective development support andcounselling skills for pro poor MSEs'. The project has resulted in substantial benefits to all thestakeholders.

• for the micro enterprises, easy availability of local resources to guide and supportdevelopment of the enterprise

• for the Counsellor MEC, increased confidence levels and new skills• for the Master Trainers, increased confidence, new skills and the platform provided by

Samrudhi BUCONS• for Kudumbashree, strengthening of its work with enterprise promotion and enhanced

training capabilities• for Traidcraft, the validation of the TOT methodology for spreading BDS and Counselling

skills, and• for Formaper, broader exposure to new partners and methodologies


Recommendations

The Samruddhi experience provides a number of lessons as well as pointers for possible action. Itwill be worthwhile for the partner organisations to consider these lessons and action points. Therecommendations emerging from the study and analysis done during the evaluation can beclassified into three broad groups:

Actions needed by Traidcraft and Kudumbashree to sustain the results from Samruddhi• Put in place mechanisms and follow up processes to sustain the momentum created• Clarify the role of Samrudhi BUCONS within the larger Kudumbashree system

Actions needed for strengthening the role of BDS and Counselling services in the wayKudumbashree supports the enterprises

• Integrate BDS and Counselling into the enterprise support work, right from the setting up ofan enterprise

• Build an enabling environment for the Business Counsellors to function effectively

Lessons that Traidcraft need to learn for its future work• Apply lessons from Samruddhi in selecting partners for BDS work in other interventions• Ensure more care and devote more time for planning, particularly to understand the

peculiarities of the context and partners' working methods


Report of the evaluation of the Samruddhi project implemented by Kudumbashree,Traidcraft Exchange and Formaper

EU Asia-Invest project: Improving the business development support and counselling skills forpro-poor MSEs in Tsunami affected Districts of Kerala

Introduction

The project titled “Improving the business development support and counselling skills for pro-poorMSEs in Tsunami affected Districts of Kerala” was supported by the European Commission underthe Asia Invest II Programme (budget line 19.1002, contract number Asia Invest (Decision4032)/2005/111867) with Traidcraft Exchange as the lead agency and Kudumbashree and Formaperas partner organisations. The project commenced on 15th February 2006 and was to be completed in30 months. The duration was extended by four months and is due to be completed by 15th December2008. The total budget outlay for the project was € 267, 540. The amount requested from theEuropean Commission was € 267, 540 (100%).

The Partners

The project was implemented through a partnership between three organisations - TraidcraftExchange UK, Formaper Italy and Kudumbashree India.

Traidcraft Exchange

Traidcraft Exchange is the United Kingdom based development charity specialising in making tradework for the poor. Established in 1986, it works to enable poor producers in Africa and Asia to growtheir businesses, find markets, and effectively engage in trade. It takes a three-pronged approach tomaking trade work for the poor:

• Trade – Identifying problems that prevent the poor benefiting from trade and working toovercome these. Linking of producers and buyers to work together, helping producersunderstand the demands of different markets and what they need to do to access them formpart of this

• Support – Identifying the services that small businesses need to enable them to tradeeffectively, and building the capacity of local service providers to provide these services onan affordable basis form the core of this element

• Influence - Lobbying, advocacy and campaign for trade policies that help rather than hurtthe poor, helping small producers understand the rules that restrict how they trade andencouraging them to speak up for their rights form part of the third element

Formaper

Formaper is a special agency created in 1987 by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan in Italy. Themission of Formaper is the promotion of entrepreneurship through information, training, assistanceand research. It is recognised as one of the major Italian providers of high quality training serviceson a local, national and international basis. Formaper activities are aimed at both would-beentrepreneurs and small and medium entrepreneurs who wish to widen their own basic training andshare their own values and experience.


Kudumbashree

Kudumbashree is the State Poverty Eradication Mission of the Government of Kerala. It wasestablished in 1998 with the mission to “eradicate absolute poverty in ten years through concertedcommunity action under the leadership of local governments, by facilitating organization of thepoor for combining self-help with demand-led convergence of available services and resources totackle the multiple dimensions and manifestations of poverty, holistically”. At the heart of itsorganisational structure is a three-tier network of women's organisations. At the base areNeighbourhood Groups (NHG), that work on the principles of affinity and mutual benefit. Thegroups are federated at the ward-level, in each Gram Panchayat into Area Development Societies(ADS). All ADS in a Gram Panchayat federate to as the Community Development Society (CDS).As of September 2008, 190,000 NHGs of women with members from about 3.7 million families arefunctional across the 14 districts of Kerala. There are 17003 ADS and 1058 CDS at the federatedlevels. 92% of these groups are in the rural areas of Kerala. The network has collected members'savings to the tune of Rs.11 billion (USD 225 million). The quantum of bank credit made availableto the members amount to Rs.28 billion (USD 560 million).

At the core of Kudumbashree's strategy for poverty eradication is the concept of micro enterprises.Kudumbashree defines micro enterprises in the following way.

• Investment ranging from Rs.5000 to Rs.250,000 (USD 100 to USD 5000)• Turnover ranging from over of Rs.100,000 to Rs.1 million (USD 2000 to USD 20,000)• Potential to generate a net income of at least Rs.1,500 (USD 30) per member per month • Fully owned, managed and operated by members themselves

The Micro Enterprise programme of Kudumbashree currently covers more about 60,000 enterprisesin the 14 districts of Kerala. In the rural areas of the State, there are more than 4,200 group and1,600 individual enterprises, benefiting about 28,600 families. The total investment made in theseenterprises amount to more than Rs. 712 million (USD 16 million). In the urban areas of the State,there are close to 1,800 group enterprises and more than 25,000 individual units. In addition to theseenterprises that have been directly promoted by the Kudumbashree, the network organisationssupport about 25,000 enterprises that have been supported by various other programmes of theNational, State and local governments.

New paradigm for supporting enterprises

Traidcraft had been working in India with its market access support services, focusing on capacitybuilding and trade facilitation inputs to strengthen the market access capabilities of local small andmicro businesses. The basic assumptions on which this approach was premised were that enterprisesare strong and in a position to take advantage of such inputs and that they are ready and willing –strategically and technically – to enter new markets or explore broadening of their market base.Experiences of the three partner organisations clearly suggested that this was often a falseassumption.

This is particularly true in the case of micro enterprises that Kudumbashree promoted. In manycases, the 'entrepreneurs' came forward to set up a unit without proper awareness of what wasinvolved. Business ideas were prioritised, not based on assessment of business factors like resourcesor market, but on what they thought would be a good business. This is quite likely to happen in adevelopment programme working across a large geographical area. There is the need on the part ofthe programme to standardise its approach to ensure proper implementation. It is not alwayspossible to plan and execute the necessary capacity building of communities or staff, before the startof the intervention. The end result of this will be creation of enterprises that are inherently weak and


soon start to flounder. Such floundering of the business has a cascading negative effect on theentrepreneurs themselves. They soon find that their business is not a successful one and lose anyinterest in running it effectively.

It is in such circumstances that business development and counselling services assume significance.The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines “Business Development Services as those thatare designed to help micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives overcome barriersto increased profitability, by improving their productivity and access to high value markets. In thisway, they can create and sustain productive, remunerative and good quality jobs, as well as reducepoverty, and contribute to the development of the local economies. These services include training,consultancy and advisory services, marketing assistance, information, technology development andtransfer, business linkage promotion, and linkages to finance and financial services”.

The Samruddhi project was designed in such a way as to pool together the relative strengths of thethree partner organisations to develop a model for providing business development and counsellingservices to the small and micro enterprises in the villages of Kerala. This approach was alsosignificant in the context of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, during which the surging waves affectedthe coastal regions of Kerala. While loss of life was not as severe as some other parts like Tamil Naduor the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, loss of property and livelihoods suffered by the coastalcommunities was substantial. With Kudumbashree playing a very active role in promoting livelihoodssecurity of these communities by supporting rehabilitation and revival of existing enterprises andcreation of new ones, the Samruddhi project would strengthen the work by creating a mechanism forcapacity building.

The Project

The overall objective that the project aimed to contribute to was 'to improve the businessperformance of pro-poor micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Kerala, with special focus onthe Tsunami affected areas'. The Specific objective that the project set out to achieve was 'tosupport Kudumbashree Micro Enterprise Consultants (MECs) to develop high quality,effective development support and counselling skills for pro poor MSEs'.

The key actors in the project were the Kudumbashree Micro Enterprise Consultants (MEC) whowere already engaged in providing enterprise related support to grassroots level micro enterprises.In order to reach out to the MEC, the project created a pool of Master Trainers (MT) who wouldprovide the training inputs to the MEC as well as guide and mentor them in their day-to-day work.The MT team consisted of more experienced MEC as well as Kudumbashree staff who wereresponsible for managing the enterprise support systems. The MT and MEC would in course oftheir regular work reach out to as many micro enterprises as possible, with business developmentand counselling services.

The strategies that the partners adopted for achieving the objectives were:• Training of Trainers – a pool of Master Trainers developed• Coursework for the trainers and Counsellor MEC – to build BDS and Counselling capacities• Training workshops – for the Master Trainers to train Counsellor MEC• One-to-one mentoring – of the Counsellor MEC by the Master Trainers• Exposure visit and networking with European counterparts – to understand the European

business context• Internet platform – for sharing of knowledge, information and experiences• Development of CD-ROM – as a resource guide for work on the ground


The logical framework of the Project is given in Annex 1.

Evaluation of Samruddhi

Traidcraft Exchange as the lead partner of the Samruddhi project commissioned an evaluation of theSamruddhi project in October 2008. The Terms of Reference for the Evaluation is given in Annex 2.

Purpose of the evaluation

• To evaluate the effectiveness of Samruddhi project as a model to strengthen businesscounselling skills in India.

Specific objectives

• To assess to what extent did the project meet the aims and objectives as set out in the proposallogframe

• To evaluate the methodology and design of the project according to EC Evaluation Criteriaand whether it helped to deliver against Traidcraft’s wider BDS strategy

• Developing the strategy of building a BDS market in India • To help Traidcraft Exchange, Kudumbashree and Formaper better understand which practices

and intervention strategies work best and bring about change, to help Traidcraft Exchange,Kudumbashree and Formaper understand its contribution and learn from this

• Assessing key lessons learned, gaps, constraints, challenges and threats that will inform futureprogramme directions

Evaluation framework

In line the EC evaluation criteria, the evaluation of the project was to be guided by the objectivesand indicators outlined in the project logframe. An evaluation framework was prepared with a set ofkey questions for the exercise to find answers to. The questions were grouped under the followingheads:• Relevance• Efficiency• Effectiveness• Impact• Sustainability

Additionally, the evaluation was asked to comment on the BDS strategies of Traidcraft Exchange andKudumbashree.

Methodology

The evaluation exercise was carried out in three phases.1. Desk Phase – during which available written information on the project was studied and

analysed and the exact methodology for the exercise was finalised. Questions in the evaluationframework were used to create the “Evaluation Enquiry Framework”(EEF) with the steps toaddress each of the questions listed in detail. Stakeholders who would respond to questions wereidentified in the EEF (given in Annex 3). The draft EEF was circulated among the evaluationgroup, comprising of representatives of the three partner organisations. Based on inputs from the


group, the framework was finalised. The data collection instruments to be used during the fieldphase were developed. These too, were circulated to the evaluation group for feedback andcomments (given in Annex 4).

2. Field Phase – during which the evaluator met with and talked to a select sample ofrespondents from among the Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC as well as representatives ofthe micro enterprises who received development and counselling services from the project-trainedpersonnel. Four districts – Kasargod in North Kerala, Ernakulam in Central Kerala and Kollam inSouth Kerala from among the nine tsunami affected districts and Wayanad from among the fivenon-affected districts were selected for field visits and detailed interactions with Counsellor MECand micro-enterprises. A half-day focus group discussion was carried out with the whole team ofMaster Trainers. Executive Director, Kudumbashree was interviewed in person. Key personnelfrom Traidcraft Exchange were interviewed over telephone. The Formaper representativeresponded to an e-mail questionnaire. The list of respondents is given in Annex 5. Brief profile ofthe micro enterprises visited during this phase is given in Annex 6.

3. Synthesis Phase – Information collected during the desk and field phases were synthesised toprepare the report of the evaluation. A presentation was made at the follow-up workshoporganised by the project in November 2008, explaining the key findings and recommendationsfrom the evaluation. Feedback from this were incorporated into the report, the draft of which wasshared among the key persons in the partner organisations. Incorporating their feedback, the reporthas been finalised.

The evaluation exercise began on 6th October 2008. The field phase was carried out between 18th and28th October.

Limitations of the exercise

The evaluation exercise faced a number of difficulties and worked within certain limitations. Thefindings and recommendations will need to be seen in this context.

Absence of reliable baseline data, particularly those related to the business performance of the microenterprises, made it difficult to make any meaningful analysis on how much the project contributed tomaking their businesses more successful.

The project has maintained detailed records of the proceedings of workshops and other events. Therewere differences in the quality of such documentation between events and this has had an effect on theinformation collected for the evaluation. For example, some of the workshop reports did not carry thedates of the event clearly. In some others, there was no mention of the venue or details of theparticipants. The reader had to refer to several sources to collect complete information on some of theevents.

As would be normal with an evaluation exercise carried out within a limited period of time, this onetoo suffers from the standard deficiencies of relying on a small sample to draw conclusions. Care hasbeen taken to avoid generalisations of any kind, but they may have crept in inadvertently.


Samruddhi – Input-Output Mapping

Table 1 below gives a bird's-eye view of the Samruddhi project. The chronological narrative gives apicture of the time-line of the project. Key inputs, activities undertaken and notable outputs achievedare summarized to provide a brief summary of the process and results of the project.

Table 1 – Samruddhi Process in briefTime Inputs Activities Outputs

Mar-06 • Traidcraft facilitation• Kudumbashree execution

Planning Workshop Plan for projectfinalised

Aug-06 • Traidcraft facilitation andknowledge inputs

• Formaper knowledge inputs• Kudumbashree execution

Master trainers trainingin Business Counselling

15 Master Trainerstrained

May-07 • Traidcraft facilitation, executionand inputs

• Kudumbashree participation• Master Trainers participation

Refresher workshop Project plan revised

Jul-07 • Traidcraft facilitation, executionand inputs

• Formaper inputs• Kudumbashree participation• Master Trainers participation

ToT for Master Trainers 15 Master trainedgiven training skills

Jul-07 • Traidcraft facilitation andexecution

• Master Trainers facilitation andexecution

• Formaper facilitation• Kudumbashree participation

Business counsellingtraining for MECprovided by the MasterTrainers

40 MEC trained asCounsellors

Nov-07 • Traidcraft facilitation andexecution


Interim review meeting Project progressreviewed, Plan forItaly visit finalised

Mar-08 • Formaper facilitation andexecution

• Traidcraft facilitation• Kudumbashree participation• Master Trainers participation

Visit to Italy Master trainers gainfirst-handunderstanding ofEuropean businesssituation and BDSmodels

Oct-08 • Traidcraft facilitation andexecution


Workshop on BusinessSkills for start-upbusinesses

Master Trainers'knowledge updated



Counselling and ToTrefresher workshop

Master Trainers'knowledge refreshed


Time Inputs Activities Outputs


• Kudumbashree participation• Master Trainers participation • Counsellor MEC participation

Follow-up anddissemination workshops

Future courses ofaction discussedExternal evaluationfindings discussed

Samruddhi – Results

This section deals with the findings with regard to the key questions in the evaluation framework.There were twenty-two key questions covering a whole gamut of issues. The findings are presentedin Q&A format under each of the five broad question groups – Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness,Impact and Sustainability.

Relevance of the Project

The Samruddhi project was developed in response to the need identified by Kudumbashree to buildits institutional capabilities to facilitate stronger and sustainable micro-enterprises in the villages ofKerala. Traidcraft and Formaper brought on board many years of experience in diverse parts of theworld, supporting organisations to do exactly this. The context of Kerala's local economy,particularly in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami provided a challenging setting forthe three partners to pool their relative strengths.

Results achieved by the Project suggests that the analyses and assumptions made in designing theproject have been validated to a great extent. Assessing the capability of units that would besupported in accessing the international, particularly European, market for selling their productsturned out to be one area where the initial analysis failed. Despite this weakness, the Project hascontributed substantially to furthering the purpose of the EU Asia Invest Programme. It has alsocontributed to lessons and experiences that would help Kudumbashree, Traidcraft and Formaperimprove their work in the areas of facilitating BDS and Counselling services for pro-poor microenterprises.

Effectiveness of project design and methodology

An important assumption that influenced the design of the project was that enterprises needbusiness counselling to help them become stronger and in a position to access markets and conducttrade in an effective manner. The results achieved vindicate this assumption.

The methodology adopted for the project was determined with a view to “equip MSEs with theskills to respond to changing market conditions to ensure their long-term success. This will includeaccess to market information and market outlets, as well as the ability to develop new products andprocesses. Training Kudumbashree and the MECs is a critical part of the project to ensure thattraining, information sharing, and consulting with the MSEs will continue beyond the project’slife”. The results achieved show that the Training of Trainers approach has provided positiveresults.

The project developed training skills of the 15 Master Trainers. In addition to training the 40 MECas envisaged in the project, the Master Trainers designed and delivered Business Counsellingtraining for 176 Micro Enterprise Consultants from nine districts of Kerala, as part of the Tsunami


Emergency Rehabilitation Programme (TEAP), implemented by the Government of Kerala withsupport from the Asian Development Bank. Following the Kudumbashree model, TEAP promoted alarge number of micro-enterprises in the tsunami affected parts of the State. The MEC trained bythe Samruddhi Master-trainers played a very important role in supporting these enterprises.

Imparting training skills to the Master Trainers also contributed to strengthening the trainingsystems within Kudumbashree as a whole. Training programmes of Kudumbashree achievedstronger results-focus and the inputs provided by the Master Trainers helped in designing moreeffective and efficient training processes. The effects of these improvements contributed to allaspects of Kudumbashree's work.

“Inputs from the Samruddhi project helped in strengthening the training capabilities ofKudumbashree. The Human Resource pool of the organisation has been developed. I consider this avery significant contribution of the project.” Sarada Muraleedhran, Executive Director,Kudumbashree.

An important element of the design of the project was it focus on increasing access of the microenterprises to the European markets. This aspect turned out to be a weak point, particularly in termsof results achieved. As the Executive Director, Kudumbashree said “I think it was a design elementthat we did not focus very clearly on. At that time (2005-2006 when the project was being designed)we were still struggling with our approach to micro-enterprises. We did not see them in totality; ourview was affected by the credit-subsidy regime that supported the enterprises. The question ofaptitude for enterprises or business acumen among the women were not addressed properly”.

Synergies or duplication with other interventions

The project complemented the ongoing micro-enterprise based poverty elimination programmes ofKudumbashree. The collaboration with TEAP helped the project to build on its own strengths andenlarge the scope of its work.

Relevance of the project to the needs of stakeholders

The activities taken up and the results achieved by Samruddhi have been very relevant to the needsof the stakeholders. This is clear from the way respondents articulated their views on what theproject has contributed to. Samruddhi has managed to address key requirements of each of thestakeholder groups:

• Micro enterprises – Need for better support mechanisms from Kudumbashree and localconsultants

• Local Consultants – Need for enhanced capabilities to help micro-enterprises address theirissues and requirements

• Kudumbashree – Need for developing a pool of trained human resources to strengthenenterprise related work

• Traidcraft – Need to enlarge the scope of work promoting BDS and Counselling services,with new methodologies and partnerships tested and validated

Quality of problem analysis and project logical framework

The problem analysis that contributed to the project design had captured many of the key issuesrelevant to the situation of the key stakeholders. However, while analysing the issues most relevantto the situation of the micro enterprises, the assessment seems to have been incomplete. Existenceof 'enterprises', in the true sense of the word seem have been assumed, while the actual situation, as


the experience in the project suggests was different. Many of the micro enterprises lackedentrepreneurial direction and the women involved did not have the acumen to run properenterprises. Kudumbashree's existing support system was not capable of analysing this situation andplanning accordingly. As a result, Samruddhi planned for unattainable results like increasing exportsto Europe by the enterprises.

Relevance to the EU Asia Invest programme objectives

The project was envisaged to contribute to Priority 3 of the Asia Invest Programme, 'institutionalreinforcement consisting of capacity building of Asian intermediary business development serviceproviders and enhanced networking with European counterparts including EU chambers ofcommerce in Asia'. By strengthening institutional capabilities of Kudumbashree, Samruddhi hasmade a lasting contribution to achieving this.

Changes in the external context and its implications for the project

Two events in the context external to Kudumbashree influenced the project. On the positive sidewas the finalisation of the TEAP intervention and Kudumbashree's role in it, allowing the project toenlarge the scope of results achieved. One progress-impeding development was the change in theruling coalition in the State led to change in the Government's policy about receipt of funds fromforeign sources. Uncertainty related to this led to about nine months delay in the implementation ofthe project.

Efficiency

The Project has made efficient use of the resources at its disposal, in certain ways better than whatwas originally envisaged. The three partners complemented each other very well and worked withina flexible and open collaboration framework. Difficulties cropped up during implementation, onaccount of factors completely out of the control of the project, delaying implementation by aboutnine months. Concerted action by the partners helped in shoring implementation up, and the finaldelay was tuned down to four months. Results achievement in the project was also affected, onaccount of inadequate understanding at the planning stage of the peculiarities of working with apartner from the government sector. The monitoring system worked well, particularly after a localconsultant was appointed to work full-time on supporting the project. Absence of a well craftedmonitoring strategy did affect the quality of information flows between partners.

Project Management and Implementation roles of the partners

The three project partners had shared their roles based on their core competencies and experience.From a design perspective, the role sharing has worked well. Kudumbashree, brought to the projectits wide reach, a pre-eminent role in the social and economic development process in the State ofKerala and the access to potential trainers, counsellors and a large number of grassroots levelenterprises. Traidcraft, with its 25 years of experience in facilitating capacity building andnetworking for pro-poor trade relations brought the technical and managerial capabilities requiredfor implementing Samruddhi. Formaper, specialists in actions to promote entrepreneurial cultureprovided the project with critical inputs in the training programmes that have helped in developing aglobal trade and enterprise perspective among the Master Trainers and Counsellors.

Originally, Kudumbashree was to manage the project on the ground, with support from Traidcraft.The policy changes of the Government led to uncertainties and slowing down of the project. Theproject then had to be revived with Traidcraft stepping in to manage the project directly. A


Consultant Project Manager was recruited by Traidcraft, attached to the Kudumbashree office inTrivandrum, to help with day-to-day management of the project. This position was not envisaged inthe original project design. However, the step ensured that both Kudumbashree and Traidcraft couldput in place a system to ensure continuous monitoring of activities.

Lessons learnt from working together

Samruddhi project was the first instance for Traidcraft to work with an agency of the government. Itwas a different experience from working largely with non-government and business organisations.The highly centralised nature of decision making meant that many decisions related to the projecttook time. However, once decisions were taken, the commitment to implementing them was verystrong. Traidcraft, thus was exposed to both the positive and weak sides of partnering with theGovernment. A key lesson from Samruddhi for Traidcraft would be from its experience of having tore-tune the project management arrangements, as a result of changes in the government policy. Itwould also be important to consider aspects of time allotment for various activities, given the slownature of decision making in such partnerships. That said, it has to stressed that working with agovernment agency provided Traidcraft with an unprecedented range for its work – both in terms ofphysical coverage of activities and results as well as for the long-term effects of results to bringabout substantial changes among the stakeholders.

“Traidcraft was working on two more similar projects in India, along with Samruddhi. All three hadsimilar objectives and we followed the similar methodologies. However, the nature of serviceproviders were different in each case. Our experience with Samruddhi has given us the maximumsatisfaction; the result of our work is spread wide, it is reaching out to a large number of people” -Jo Huband, Business Service Coordinator, Traidcraft

Efficiency in use of resources

Implementation of the project was severely affected by policy changes subsequent to change ingovernment in Kerala in May 2006. The project lost nine months due to the uncertainties at thattime. Additional activities had to be planned and executed to bring the project back to track. Apartfrom this, the project seems to have made the best use of the resources available to it. The fact thatit could take up additional activities towards the later part – contributing to refreshing of theknowledge of the Master Trainers is testimony to the efficiency in use of financial resources by theproject.

There are two areas where the intended processes did not work in the way envisaged. These per sehave not affected the results achievement of the project but in hindsight it is felt that better planningand execution in these two areas would have helped the project achieve its results in a much moreefficient manner.

MentoringThe project had put in place a system of mentoring for the trainees. For the Master Trainees, fivementors were identified from amongst experienced business professionals in the State. For theCounsellor MEC, the Master Trainers were to function as mentors. Mentoring worked to a certainextent in the case of the Counsellor MEC, essentially because their mentors were easilyapproachable. Many of them also had common work plans along with their mentors. It is not clearwhether the support from Master Trainers to the Counsellor MEC was in a mentoring mode alone,as there was also a monitoring angle due to the nature of the relationship between them.


As far as the Master Trainers are concerned, they were to approach their mentors on their own. Thementors were asked to respond in the event of the Master Trainers approaching them with issues orproblems. Two factors contributed to this not working well. First, the mentors identified for thepurpose were located in the cities, far from most of the Master Trainers. More importantly, theMaster Trainers were reluctant to approach the mentors who were busy business-people orprofessionals. There was no planned interaction of Master Trainers with the mentors to familiarisethe two groups with each other and make the Master Trainers feel comfortable and confident inapproaching their mentors.

Had these issues been considered while putting in place the mentoring system, the Master Trainersfeel, they could have done much better than what they have been able to do.

High drop-out among Counsellor MECForty MEC were trained by the Master Trainers, in business counselling skills, as per the originalplan. These MEC were selected from all the 14 districts, thus enabling Kudumbashree to covermicro enterprises all over the State. A year after the training only 25 of the 40 trained continue to beactive. Of these, 21 work directly at the village level, while 4 are active with the District Missionson Kudumbashree. A quick analysis of the reasons for the 15 Counsellor MEC leaving was done,results of which are summarized below.

• Seven persons found better paying Jobs• Four went for higher studies• Two could not work due to family issues• Two moved to full-time political activism

The following factors were attributed to this large attrition rate:• Faults in selection of trainees – In some cases, Kudumbashree district missions selected

trainees for the programme without full consideration of the implications. In the case of twowomen, their families were not willing to let them work outside, where as prior to thetraining they were supporting enterprises in their own locality as MEC.

• Financial reasons – The later-trained MEC did not receive any honorarium or financialassistance from the Samruddhi project or from Kudumbashree for working as BusinessCounsellors. In their regular functioning as MEC they were getting paid on the basis ofsupport provided to groups. There was no similar provision in their work as Counsellors andmany found it difficult to meet the expenses they had to incur in travelling to units locatedfar from their own places. Work as a Counsellor required more visits and more frequentinteractions with the enterprises than was required as a MEC.

• Absence of regular follow up and refresher training – After their training in July 2007, theCounsellor MEC worked in their respective districts. The system of mentors among themaster-trainers while proved useful, was found not sufficient. Master-trainers themselveshad their own responsibilities and could only devote a limited amount of time to the others.Moreover, there was no clear mechanism for monitoring and supporting the work of theCounsellor MEC. In districts where the mission leadership were aware of or involved in theSamruddhi process, the Counsellor MEC received support/encouragement. Where this wasnot available, very few motivating factors existed.

Lessons for future M&E

From the monitoring and evaluation point of view, a notable aspect of Samruddhi is the absence ofreliable baseline information. This is particularly true of quantitative information related to themicro enterprises. Prior to start of the training programme, baseline information about the trainers


were collected and this was useful, both at the time of designing the training programme itself, aswell as during the evaluation. Absence of relevant and reliable past information on the microenterprises has made evaluation on some of the indicators in the logical framework difficult.

Interactions with the personnel involved with regular monitoring of the project show that concertedefforts at putting together a M&E framework was missing, from both Traidcraft and Kudumbashree.Given the government-style of functioning of Kudumbashree, this is not very surprising. Traidcraft,on the other hand would have benefited substantially had more time been spent on putting in place amonitoring system. The delay in progress after the first workshop and the efforts needed to revivethe project seem to have taken its toll on the M&E system itself. The lacunae were partiallyovercome with the appointment of a full-time Consultant Project Manager based in Trivandrum.This helped Traidcraft get first-hand information from the ground, but the absence of a propermonitoring system meant that information collection and analysis were not focussed enough.

For future interventions, it would be useful to invest more quality time in the initial stages onunderstanding the issues that could affect project monitoring and designing formal (but not rigid)monitoring frameworks. It is also important for projects to have people who understand the micro-situation in the project location, as well the dynamics related to the functioning of the local partnersinvolved in ground-level monitoring on a regular basis.

Effectiveness

Samruddhi has contributed, substantially, to strengthening the enterprise support mechanisms withinKudumbashree. The project has achieved most of the results that it had planned to. The team ofMaster Trainers developed by the project were able to conduct training programmes, for creating apool of Counsellor MEC in all the districts of Kerala, as part of the project, with backup support ofexperts from Traidcraft and Formaper. After completion of the training, both the Master Trainersand Counsellor MEC took to identifying enterprises for providing counselling support The numberof units provided with counselling support has exceeded the target set for the project.

Samruddhi was also able to influence the way Kudumbashree works in two areas. It supported thealready initiated work of strengthening Kudumbashree's enterprise support work by bringing in newskills and knowledge as well as providing meaningful feedback from the village level. The TOTapproach of Samruddhi also contributed to the strengthening of Kudumbashree's internal trainingsystem. New principles and methods of training demonstrated in the Samruddhi activities wereinternalised by the Master Trainers and used in Kudumbashree's training programmes in differentareas.

What has been done?

Table 2 below is a summary of the activities carried out and outputs achieved during the course ofproject implementation. The activities as had been planned originally were completed; in course ofimplementation several new activities were added, in response to changes in the context.Information from the project logical framework has been used for this analysis.

What has been achieved?

Table 3 below provides a short summary of the results that the project had planned to achieve andthe actual status of achievements against the original indicators. Information from the projectlogical framework has been used for this analysis


Table 2 – Samruddhi Activities and Outputs

Activities – Planned and Actual What was done? Key Outputs

Project planning and refinement

One-day workshop in Trivandrum (March 4, 2006) –Kudumbashree Traidcraft and Formaper;

Confirmation of project targetsFinalisation of activity planProject management arrangements

Project readied for implementationPartners achieve clarity about roles

Confirmation/Identification of participants Kudumbashree identifies and selects Master Trainers andMEC to receive training from the project Participants selected for training programmes

Selection of Mentors 5 mentors for the Master Trainers were identified byKudumbashree in consultation with Traidcraft Mentors identified and selected

Pre-workshop Questionnaire Questionnaire developed by Traidcraft, administered byKudumbashree to the selected Master Trainers

Baseline information on the Master TrainersobtainedExpectations understood

Workshop on ‘Training of Trainers’

Five-day workshop at Trivandrum, August 2006, for MasterTrainers, conducted by trainers from Traidcraft andFormaper

Business PlanningBusiness CounsellingTools for Planning and Counselling

Master Trainers provided with inputs andorientation to function as CounsellorsFollow-up activities planned

Practical Exercises and Mentoring Guidelines for post-workshop coursework provided at theworkshop

Master Trainers equipped to practise lessonsfrom the workshop

Refresher Workshop(not in the original plan)

To revise and brush up lessons learnt from the Master-Trainers workshop before proceeding to the secondworkshop of ToTThree-day workshop in Kochi in May 2008, facilitated byTraidcraft, attended by Master-trainers

Helped overcome the lag caused by delays inproject implementationUpdated and revised knowledge on businessplanning and counsellingRevised activity plan agreed upon

ToT Workshop for the Master-trainers(not in the original plan)

Originally this part was to be taken up in the first workshop(August 2006) itself.Five-day workshop at Kochi, facilitated by Traidcraft andFormaper

Principles of Adult learningPlanning training programmesTraining skills

Master Trainers prepared to take up trainingprogrammes on their own


Activities – Planned and Actual What was done? Key Outputs

Training of MECs – Workshop 2 and 3

40 Kudumbashree MEC trained in two batches by theMaster TrainersTwo five-day workshops of 20 participants each, facilitatedby two groups of Master trainers, with Traidcraft andFormaper experts as observers

Business PlanningBusiness CounsellingTools for Counselling

40 MEC trained as Business Counsellors

Delivering Post-workshop Coursework andMentoring

Mentors assigned from among the Master Trainers to the 40trained MECGuidelines on coursework given

Plan to reach out with counselling services to200 MSE put in placeNecessary support systems to ensure effectivecounselling services to the MSE put in place

Production of CD ROM and Specific BusinessCounselling Tools CD-ROM with all inputs prepared and distributed

Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC haveaccess to a one-stop source for information onBusiness Development and Counselling

Interim Meeting with Master Trainers(not in the original plan)

One-day interaction at Trivandrum, facilitated by Traidcraft,attended by the Master Trainers

Project progress reviewedPreparations for Italy visit made

EU Visit 15 Master Trainers visit to Milan, Italy in March 2008facilitated by Formaper

Enabled understanding of the business situationin EuropeDeveloped understanding of what needs to bedone for Kudumbashree enterprises to dobusiness in EuropeExposure to various approaches to businesscounselling and innovative models of enterprisesupport

Set-up of Internet Platform http://www.samrudhi.org.in website set up Internet platform for sharing information andexperiences set up

Launch of Kudumbashree MEC networkSamrudhi BUCONS – Business Development andCounselling Service provider network established by theMaster Trainers

Common platform for carrying forward lessonsfrom the project created

Workshop on Business Skills for Start-upbusiness

(not in original plan)

Workshop at Kochi, in October 2008, facilitated byTraidcraft, attended by 15 Master Trainers

Knowledge of Master Trainers updated onsupporting start-up businesses


Activities – Planned and Actual What was done? Key OutputsWorkshop on strengthening counselling and

training skills(not in original plan)

Three-day workshop at Kochi, in November 2008,facilitated by Traidcraft, attended by 15 Master Trainers

Development of training programme for MEC inbusiness counselling for start-up businesses

Follow up and Dissemination Workshop

One-day follow-up workshop in Trivandrum in November2008, facilitated by Traidcraft, attended by Master Trainersand Counsellor MEC

One-day dissemination workshop in Trivandrum, facilitatedby Kudumbashree, attended by Traidcraft, Kudumbashreestaff, Master Trainers, Counsellor MEC, related Governmentdepartments, Financial Institutions and Media

Identification of successes, and sharing ofchallenges and issues faced by MECs andMaster trainers for their sustainabilityPromotion of new services offered by MECsand Master Trainers to Kerala key officialsNext steps identified by Kerala key officials andKudumbashree to support sustainability and thecontinuation of services offered by MECs andMaster Trainers

Monitoring and Evaluation

Project Monitoring conducted on a regular basis, byConsultant Project Manager based with Kudumbashree

Final Evaluation by External Consultant

Final Evaluation Report prepared


Table 3 – Samruddhi Expected Results and Achievements

Expected Results Indicator Achievement

15 trainers trained to train other MECs inKerala

~40 additional MECs receive business service trainingthrough Trainer MECs and Kudumbashree Team

15 Master Trainers trained; 13 continue to function

40 MEC trained by Master trainers; 25 active in thedistricts

Kudumbashree Micro enterprise Teams betterequipped to provide high quality, effectivebusiness services to pro-poor MSEs

~At least 200 MSEs receive business support during the lifeof the project through the 40 trained MECs.

More than 350 units received business support. Dataon MSE support were collected from the MasterTrainers both for units counselled by them and thoseby Counsellor MEC they mentor

Increased co-operation and collaborationbetween Kudumbashree/MECs at a nationaland European level

Kudumbashree/MECs meet their EU counterparts to shareinformation and skills.

Business service networks are established:- An internet platform for international networking, andsharing of information and best practice.- A physical network for national networking, sharinginformation, skills and resources, developing standards forgood practice, etc.

Kudumbashree Master Trainers visit Italy, meet withcounterparts there. Understand the context of doingbusiness in and with Europe

Internet platform established

Samrudhi BUCONS as the Kerala State-levelnetwork of Business Counsellors established

Kudumbashree/MECs better equipped tofacilitate trade between pro-poor MSEs andEuropean markets

Kudumbashree/MECs have a better understanding ofEuropean markets.

Kudumbashree/MECs have a better understanding of theproblems facing pro-poor MSEs trying to access Europeanmarkets.

Kudumbashree/MECs are able to develop more appropriatebusiness services for pro-poor MSEs

Master Trainers and Kudumbashree have gained firsthand understanding of the European markets

Better understanding on the demands of trade withEuropean markets understood. Participants able tomake realistic assessment of opportunities and planaccordingly.

Kudumbashree develops a fresh approach to Microenterprise promotion and development, with MasterTrainers playing a substantial role


Expected Results Indicator Achievement

Pro-poor MSEs better able to identify theirbusiness problems and demand appropriatebusiness services

Pro-poor MSEs recognise the value of business services

Pro-poor MSEs increase their demand for business services

Pro-poor MSEs increase their demand for appropriatebusiness services

MSE where Master Trainers and MEC establishedcontract and provided Counselling services haveresponded positively

Demonstration of success of counselled units havegenerated demand for similar services from otherunits

Pro-poor MSEs improve their businessperformance

200 targeted MSEs increase exports to the EU and othermarkets by 15%

200 targeted MSEs increase their income by 10%

Not achieved

Incomes of units counselled have increased.Quantification difficult in the absence of reliablebaseline data. Anecdotal and circumstantial evidencerelied on. Increase in incomes of the sample unitsrange between 10% and 100%.

Kudumbashree/MECs able to provide trainingin business service and counselling skills toother MECs

40 MECs trained to provide business services andcounselling skills

40 Kudumbashree MEC trained by the MasterTrainers as part of Samruddhi project

176 MEC were trained by the Samruddhi team,under the Tsunami Emergency AssistanceProgramme of the Government of Kerala (assistedby the Asian Development Bank)


Changes in performance and behaviour

Samruddhi has led to substantial changes in the way Kudumbashree and the MEC approach microenterprises.

Earlier, when a group of women would come forward to set up an enterprise, Kudumbashree staffand the concerned MEC would help in getting the necessary paper work done, prepare a projectreport, approach the bank for financing and get the unit rolling. Considerations like entrepreneurialorientation or skill building would come at a later stage.

Now, Kudumbashree staff and MEC at the district level plan and conduct General OrientationTraining (GOT) for prospective entrepreneurs, on a regular basis. Anywhere between 40 to 75women take part in each of the GOT. The design and content of the GOT were made by theSamruddhi Master Trainers team. Participants are told about the benefits and challenges of runninga micro enterprise and various types of business ideas are discussed. The steps involved in settingup and running a business unit are explained. After the GOT, the MEC contact the participants atthe village level to see if the interest is genuine and if the group wants to move forward. Theinterested groups are then undergo Entrepreneur Development Programme at one of the designatedtraining institutes. This is followed by skill training related to the specific business they havechosen. It is only at this stage that the project report is prepared and financing obtained for runningthe unit.

This new approach to enterprise promotion has been found to be extremely successful in setting upmore successful and sustainable businesses. People who come forward attracted by the subsidycomponent alone, are dissuaded at the beginning itself. Only those genuinely interested in making aliving running a business are encouraged and supported.

Counsellor MEC trained by the Project have played a very important role in bringing about changesin the way enterprises operate. As many of them testified, “earlier we would listen to the problemsthe women listed and believe that they were the real problems. We would then struggle to then findsolutions to those problems. After the business counselling training, we have learned to look ateach issue in a much deeper way. We do not accept statements made by the women on face valuealone. We ask them further about it and try to understand if that is the problem or only a symptom”.

Value addition to Kudumbashree's work

In addition to the substantial changes in its work on enterprise promotion and support explainedabove, Samruddhi also helped Kudumbashree strengthen its internal training system. Five of theMaster Trainers were also involved with providing training support for other activities ofKudumbashree. Inputs received from the project has helped them design and deliver more focussedtraining programmes. This was demonstrated at least in two cases, in relation to the Samruddhiproject itself.

When Kudumbashree was asked to support TEAP in training their MEC, the Samruddhi MasterTrainers came together to plan and design the training module. Similarly, the Master Trainershelped design the content for the General Orientation Training for prospective entrepreneurs, that isnow being used all over Kudumbashree.


What has not been achieved?

From reviewing the indicators developed for the measuring achievement of expected results, it isfound that the Project has lagged behind only on one count, that of intended increase in exports. Theproject had expected that it could lead to increased exports by all the 200 micro enterprises thatwere provided with business counselling. As has been explained earlier in the report, this turned outto be an unrealistic expectation.

Impact

Impact of the results that Samruddhi has achieved has to be seen in the performance of the microenterprises that the project trained counsellors supported. At the time of the evaluation, enterpriseshad been receiving counselling support for over a year. This, probably, is too short a time tomeasure the impact of Samruddhi. However, there are strong indications as to how things areprogressing. These suggest that the services provided are having a positive effect on how theenterprises are performing.

Impact on end-beneficiaries

The project has achieved most of the results it had planned for, but for these to impact the endbeneficiaries, the micro enterprises, it would still take more time. Narrated and anecdotal evidencesuggests that there are areas where the project has started making impacts, but they are not at a scaleworth reporting.

Between August 2006 and October 2008 (with a gap of about six months in between duringNovember 2006 to May 2007) the Samruddhi Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC (during August2007 to October 2008) provided counselling and BDS services to about 350 micro enterprises in 14districts of Kerala. Of these, 275 are from the tsunami affected nine districts and 75 from the non-affected five districts of the State.

Based on a rapid assessment made along with the Master Trainers (who counselled some of theunits directly and mentored the Counsellors who covered the other units) about 200 of the 350 unitscounselled are showing positive turns in their performance. Improved performance in this contextincludes:

1. Resumed functioning after being closed due to a variety of problems – business related andgroup-dynamics related

2. Regularised and increased volume of production and sales3. Broadened market access by moving beyond traditionally catered to markets4. Unit members started earning increased wages, in a few cases increased from Rs.30 per day

to Rs.150 per day; generally the increase has been in the range of Rs.30 per day

Of the remaining 150 units whose performance was considered not satisfactory as yet, at least 100units are expected to improve over the next year or so. Master Trainers estimate that 50 of the unitsthat were supported had little chances of succeeding and in almost all these cases the units werebeset not so much by business related issues (production or marketing) but more fundamental issueslike lack of interest, internal conflicts and financial irregularities.

Profiles of micro-enterprise units provided in the profiles section of this report will help inunderstanding the effect of Samruddhi project on the micro-enterprises.


Increase in income

In the absence of baseline information it is difficult to estimate the impact of the project on theincomes of the enterprise units that were supported with BDS and Counselling services. It ispossible to make an estimate of the units that were visited during the evaluation.

Of the 20 units that were visited, 16 reported increased incomes. Of these, at least five unitsmentioned increase ranging over 50% between the pre-counselling period and the present. Theminimum increase reported among the 16 was 10%. Of the four units that did not report increasedincomes, two suffered from wrong choice of business, while one was in an early stage ofdevelopment. The fourth unit had scaled down its business due to other interests of the membersinvolved.

Sustainability

Results achieved by Samruddhi are such that they can continue to be effective over a substantialperiod of time. Skills and knowledge built among the Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC willcontinue to be used and will provide positive results. Strengthened institutional processes andlessons learnt at the level of the partner organisations also can be sustained over a period of time.

Both Kudumbashree and Traidcraft need to commit themselves to ensure that the lessons learnt areworked upon, skill and knowledge created are refreshed and the motivation and willingness amongthe trained cadre remains high.

Sustainability of results achieved

The project has so far achieved positive results at two levels – knowledge and attitudes of theindividuals trained in the project and at the level of Kudumbashree's institutional processes relatedto training and enterprise development. At both these levels, the commitment to continue using thebenefits has been found to be high.

At the level of micro enterprises the relative success achieved by the units that opted to getcounselling services from the Samruddhi counsellors will act as a strong demonstration force forother enterprises to emulate. There is already strong indicators of this happening, as can beunderstood from the testimonies of the Master Trainers and Counsellors.

For the Master Trainers, there is substantial scope to expand their training-counselling work to alevel where it can become a professional activity on its own. The platform created throughSamrudhi BUCONS holds great potential in this regard. Samrudhi BUCONS is the name given tothe legal entity (An association under the Societies Registration Act) that the Master Trainers haveformed with the view to carrying forward the work they started during the tenure of the project. Theteam however, need to ensure that they are fully integrated into the overall Kudumbashree system,and not remain an exclusive club. Kudumbashree has clearly stated that it needs the Samruddhiteam to help Kudumbashree create more and more viable and effective micro enterprises all acrossthe State. This would provide the Master Trainers opportunities to train more MEC as Counsellorsand the trained personnel will have a larger number of units to work with.

For Kudumbashree, the commitment to continue the benefits from Samruddhi stems from the factthat it has been able to bring about positive changes in the enterprise culture within the organisation.It also has access to trained human resources, also capable to training more people as and whenrequired, to help the process continue. It however, has to take strong steps with regard to finding the


right place for Samruddhi within the Kudumbashree scheme of things. At the end of the project, theSamruddhi trained personnel in Kudumbashree are looked at like preciosities. As the saying goes,“preciosities only dazzle”. There is need to establish a strong base for the Samruddhi team tofunction effectively. Intra-organisational issues need to be clearly sorted out, to make this happen.

For Traidcraft and Formaper, Samruddhi has contributed a set of very important lessons in the waythey carry out BDS and Counselling related support services, that they would find extremely usefulin their continuing work in this area.

Traidcraft and Kudumbashree would need to make certain strong commitments and put in placenecessary mechanisms to back them up if the results achieved in Samruddhi are to be carriedforward. Institutional priority and commitment to invest further resources in the process is the mostimportant condition. This issue is dealt in detail, later in the recommendations section of the report.

Replicability

The Samruddhi model of setting up a grassroots level Business Counselling system that focuses onpro-poor micro enterprises hold great potential for replication in different contexts. The key factorsthat make replicability possible are the following:

1. Building local resources by linking their capacity building to international standards andpractices

2. Targeting existing business development service providers with continuing stakes/interestsin long-term enterprise promotion and development work

In order for replication to happen, certain basic conditions need to be fulfilled. The importance ofthese pre-requisites have been confirmed by the Samruddhi experience.

1. Presence of a local institutional partner with focussed interest in micro-enterprisepromotion, not just for trade-promotion but from a livelihoods sustaining perspective,mixing right amounts of business and development orientations

2. Ability of the project to understand the local context before finalising project design andincorporating targets and indicators that are realistic within the context

Samruddhi in the Traidcraft overall BDS Strategy

Samruddhi results are in line with Traidcraft's goal for its BDS work - “Small enterprises in poorcommunities are accessing the business development services they require to operate effectivelyfrom sustainable service providers. Our vision of success is that, through the use of such services,small enterprises sustainably increase their net incomes and are less vulnerable to economic andenvironmental stresses and shocks”. Samruddhi can be located within the overall BDS strategyalong the 'Support' element. The project was not designed to contribute to Traidcraft's goals alongthe other two elements – 'Trade' and 'Influence'.

Samruddhi has contributed substantially to achieving the the aim of the Support element - “toensure that the necessary infrastructure exists to ensure the sustainability and development ofservice markets established for small enterprises in poor communities”. The partnership withKudumbashree and the creation of trained human resources and their platform – 'SamruddhiBUCONS' – are two important achievements for Traidcraft in this regard. Traidcraft would,however, need to follow-up on the achievements of Samruddhi, if it is to ensure that the gains areavailable to a much wider population of enterprises across Kerala, for a reasonable period of time.


Key Factors

Following is a summary of the key factors that supported the project to achieve its results and alsohampered efficient functioning in certain cases.

Nature of factors Supporting factors Hindering factorsContextual •Kudumbashree's pre-eminent role in

poverty elimination in Kerala•Kudumbashree's commitment to pro-

poor enterprises and its talented humanresource pool •Traidcraft's expertise in and

commitment to pro-poor enterprisepromotion•Formaper's expertise in capacity

building to promote trade

•Socio-political context of Keralaand policy changesaccompanying change inGovernment•Weak enterprise-orientation

among members of theKudumbashree network

Project Design andImplementation

•Choice of ToT methodology•Capabilities and sensitivity of trainers

chosen by Traidcraft and Formaper•Well-grounded experience and

expectations of Master Trainersselected•Flexibility in re-allocating project

resources to meet contingent needs

•Inadequate attention to detailingthe mentoring strategy•Inadequate preparation to work

with the hierarchical decision-making and communicationprocesses within a governmentagency•Inadequate attention to

expectations and aspirations ofthe Counsellor MEC

Attribution

Close look at the achievements of the Samruddhi project reveals that credit for most of theachievements can be attributed to the project itself. It can be said that the project design andimplementation took advantage of the opportunities and also took steps to address the challenges.Similarly, the project has only itself to blame for some of the weaknesses in implementation,particularly from the efficiency point of view.

Conclusions

The Samruddhi project has achieved its specific objective of 'supporting Kudumbashree MicroEnterprise Consultants (MECs) to develop high quality, effective development support andcounselling skills for pro poor MSEs'. In doing so, it has come a long way in achieving its overallobjective - contribute 'to improve the business performance of pro-poor micro and small enterprises(MSEs) in Kerala, with special focus on the Tsunami affected areas'. Concrete benefits to theenterprises may not be clear enough at this stage, but the groundwork done during the project willlead to substantial benefits over the next few years.


Summary of benefits

The project has made lasting contributions to benefit all the stakeholders involved. The magnitudeof change brought about varies between the stakeholders, but in each case the results of the projecthas led to meaningful and relevant benefits.

Benefits to Micro Enterprises• The project has created processes, systems and capabilities for micro-enterprises linked to

the Kudumbashree system to obtain meaningful, easily accessible and affordable businessdevelopment services locally.

• More than 350 enterprise units have benefited during the course of the project. Benefits tothese units have been in the form of:

• Rejuvenation of the enterprise and its activities• Improved business performance, in terms of increased sales, reduced costs and

higher returns• Enhanced confidence among the women to function as successful entrepreneurs• New market channels developed and accessed

Benefits to the Counsellor MEC• Increased acceptance among the enterprises that they support, due to the positive results

achieved through use of Counselling skills• Greater confidence, improved communication capabilities and willingness to consider a

career as business counsellor more seriously

Benefits to the Master Trainers• Greater confidence and improved communication capabilities• Enhanced capability as trainers, new skills to design and deliver training programmes• Increased acceptance in the Kudumbashree system, from the positive results achieved

through application of new skills and knowledge• A platform for future growth created in the form of Samruddhi BUCONS

Benefits to Kudumbashree• Created a system for providing high quality support services to micro enterprises• Enhanced capabilities in the system to design and deliver more focussed and effective

training programmes• Supported a thorough review of the enterprise development approach by providing key

insights at different levels

Benefits to Traidcraft• Helped build a new form of partnership – with a government programme with very wide

area and large-scale coverage• Validated the Training of Trainers methodology for promoting BDS and Counselling

services

Benefits to Formaper• Helped trainers to obtain greater experience, with exposure to training methodology and

tools hitherto not used in Italy• Gained the experience of a new geographical area (India)


Pointers for future

The success of the project also invests with the partner organisations the responsibility to ensurethat the gains are not squandered away. In order for this to happen, Traidcraft and Kudumbashreeneed to make the necessary investments to continue the momentum created. New skills andknowledge that Samruddhi caused to create among the Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC needconstant refreshing and steps need to be in place to ensure continued motivation among them tosupport the pro-poor enterprises.

Kudumbashree's policies on enterprise promotion and development support could play a veryimportant role in taking the lessons from Samruddhi forward. Correct and well-thought out steps inthis regard can lead to stronger enterprises, on the one hand, and a viable and sustainable enterprisesupport system on the lines of Samruddhi BUCONS, on the other.

Recommendations

The Samruddhi experience provides a number of lessons as well as pointers for possible action. Itwill be worthwhile for the partner organisations to consider these lessons and action points. Therecommendations emerging from the study and analysis done during the evaluation can beclassified into three broad groups:

• actions needed to sustaining the results from Samruddhi• points on the role of BDS and Counselling services in enterprise support • lessons that Traidcraft need to learn for its future work

Taking Samruddhi results forward

Sustaining the momentum

Traidcraft and Kudumbashree need to consider joint action at the earliest possible to continue themomentum created by Samruddhi. This would require planning for more refresher training for theMaster Trainers and Counsellor MEC, strengthening networking platforms and working closelywith Samruddhi BUCONS to help it define its role and place.

Role of Samruddhi BUCONS

Kudumbashree needs to clarify the role of Samruddhi BUCONS in its overall scheme of things.This is particularly important in view of two issues:

The role that Samruddhi BUCONS can play in supporting Kudumbashree's increasing workwith micro enterprisesEnsuring clarify on relative roles of Samruddhi BUCONS and EKSAT1 as two serviceproviding units within Kudumbashree

1 EKSAT is the name given to the district level training service providing enterprises that undertake all types oftraining programme for the Kudumbashree network. Given the focus on training in the service portfolio thatSamrudhi BUCONS will offer, there is the need for clear delineation of roles, to avoid conflicts.


Strengthening BDS and Counselling inputs in enterprise support work

Integrating BDS orientation from the start

Following a BDS oriented strategy, right from the enterprise formation stage could helpKudumbashree address some of the weaknesses that it has experienced with the micro enterprises. Agood beginning has already been made in this regard, with the formal process of GeneralOrientation Training (GOT) for prospective entrepreneurs becoming an integral part of thepromotion work. This needs to be further worked on, with adequate support systems put in place atall levels. The model that Samruddhi has shown, in building local level resource teams using thetraining skills within Kudumbashree needs to be expanded. It would be an achievable target, ifKudumbashree were to set for itself one, to train at least two Business Counsellors for every grampanchayat in the State.

Building an enabling environment for Business Counsellors to function

Unlike plain business consultancy that the MEC are used to providing (project development andbank linkage), counselling is a more involved activity, requiring much longer time outlay. Thequantity and quality of time that Counsellors need to invest in each unit is much higher. Counsellingis also more complex activity and counsellor need to be backed up by a meaningful monitoring andsupport system. The mechanism to support effective counselling of the micro enterprises will needto have two elements.

1. An effective incentive system that would compensate the counsellors for their time and helpthem meet their operating expenses

2. A good monitoring system at the district level, with adequate provision for problem-solvingsupport that counsellors can access easily

Lessons from Samruddhi for future work

Samruddhi has clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the TOT methodology to create capabilities on alarge scale with wide reach. The peculiarities of the context as well as choices regarding partnersthat the project made have contributed to this. Traidcraft would benefit greatly from considering thefollowing points for its future work.

Choice of partners

The significance of partners like Kudumbashree, characterised by broad development focus,clustered geographical coverage, large-scale in terms of numbers and dedicated cadre of people,need to be stressed in all interventions. Such a partner would lead to much more efficient andeffective resource utilisation compared to bringing together of motley organisations, whereTraidcraft has to build and sustain a platform for the varied interests to find common grounds

Care in planning

The need for better attention at the design and planning stage to peculiarities of the contextoperating styles of the partners will help prepare for a number of issues that may crop up duringimplementation. Getting a better understanding of the decision making and communication methodsof the partner organisations is an important part of this. Difficulties experienced in Samruddhi likehigh drop-out rate of Counsellor MEC can be avoided by this.


Profiles

This section contains detailed profiles of a select sample of respondents who were interviewedduring the evaluation. They provide a clear picture of how the project has influenced thestakeholders.

Details of Photographs with the profiles (attached separately)

Bhavana Herbals1. Thankamma, Sunitha, Prashanthi and Mini2. The women in discussions with Sivapradeep and Asha Paul, Counsellor MEC from

Samruddhi3. Sign board of the Unit

Devi Flour Mills1. Janaki and Radha, operating the grinding machine2. Janaki and Radha, operating the grinding machine3. Price list for various grinding jobs at the Mill4. Sign board and a view of the shop5. Copy of Certificate that the Unit issues to those completing training6. Janaki and Radha with Beena and Ajesh, Master Trainer Counsellors and Rejimol

Counsellor MEC from Samruddhi

Mahima Bakery1. Radha, Fausia, Sandhya and Sakeena with Radha's grandson2. Making cutlets for the evening's supply to the College canteen

Swaruma Food Products1. Leelamma, Reeja, Mini Daniel and Mini Zacharia2. Preparing the dough for koyalappam3. Swaruma women, featured in a Malayalam periodical article about successful women's

enterprises

Ten Star Food Products1. Members of the unit take a break from the milling job

Dhanalakshmi Unit1. TEAP MEC Saritha (extreme left) with Menaka, Kanchana and Latha in the shop2. Sample of the incense sticks and cleaning lotion produced by the Unit


Thankamma and OthersBhavana Herbals, Noolpuzha, Wayanad district, India

Thankamma comes from a family of traditional healers. She learnt the art and science of healing ata very early age. She is quite adept at identifying plants with medicinal properties. When thewomen of the neighbourhood group in the village wanted to set up a micro enterprise, they did nothave look very far for 'the business idea'. Thankamma and four friends set up Bhavana Herbals in2006.

For a variety of reasons however, the business did not take off the way the women imagined. Theystruggled with finding the right kind of marketing channels. Production of good quality medicineswas also an issue, the knowledge Thankamma had was not sufficient to produce the right kind ofmedicines. They tried to overcome some of the problems by tying up with a medicine producer inthe neighbouring district, but results were not very positive.

Sivapradeep and Asha Paul worked at micro enterprise consultants (MEC) with the KudumbashreeMission in Wayanad district. They were selected for training in business counselling under theSamruddhi project. After their training in July 2007, one of the units they chose to work with wasBhavana Herbals, to help them revive the unit.

A year later, the results are there for everyone to see. Thankamma is very clear that the success theyhave enjoyed in the past several months is definitely a result of the support the two Counsellorsprovided. She credits the duo: “they never let us off the hook! Even when we had doubts aboutwhere all this was going, they were always confident. That increased our confidence and wedecided that we had to get our business going”.

Thankamma lists the improvements they put in place, through the counselling.• They tied up with an experienced traditional doctor from the neighbouring district, he

helped them with the formulations and helped them produce medicines for most commonailments

• The unit now organises health camps with the help of their 'Consultant' doctor. This hashelped them build credibility among the local population as well as sell their medicines

• The unit now has two 'star' products – a powder that helps in the treatment of diabetes andan oil suited to treat wounds.

• The month of karkitakam, in the Malayalam calendar (July-August as per the Gregoriancalender) when the monsoon is at it peak is, as per the traditional healing method, the bestmonth for the human body to undergo a restful, rejuvenation treatment. The medicalformulation that is used during this period is called the “karkitaka kanji”. Recognising thehuge demand for this, the women set up a special stall in the nearby town for serving freshlymade portions of the formulation. This was an instant hit and helped them both withincreased income and 'brand' recognition.

Presently the women do business of about Rs.50,000 (USD 1000) every month. At least 30% of thisis shared by the women as wages, ensuring at least Rs.3000 (USD 60) per month as income for eachmember, per month.


Janaki Krishnan and OthersDevi Flour Mill, Chottanikara gram panchayat, Ernakulam district, India

Janaki Krishnan is 66 years old. She has been an active member of the neighbourhood groupformed under the Kudumbashree Mission, in her village in Chottanikara gram panchayat. The groupwas formed in the year 2002. After overcoming a lot of apprehensions, she decided to take the leadin setting up an enterprise unit along with four other women of her group. She had a lot ofapprehensions; her family was not in favour – they argued that she was too old for such anendeavour. Overcoming her own apprehensions, she decided to take the plunge.

Janaki and the other 4 women in her group belong to the Scheduled Caste community and they weresupported under a special programme that the Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), a businesscorporation in the region had launched to help women from weaker sections of the society. KRLprovided the group with technical inputs and also paid for the machinery for the flour milling unitthat they decided to set up. The Kudumbashree network supported with enterprise developmenttraining as well as tying up with a local bank for working capital support.

The group rented a room near a busy road junction to set up their flour mill in April 2007. They hadto overcome opposition from a few local business people, who did not want the women to set up aflour mill there. Janaki and her friends overcame the opposition by taking a tough stance andchallenging the opponents to “do what you can”.

Beena Maheshan, Master Trainer from the Traidcraft supported Samruddhi project in Kerala, metJanaki and her friends in August 2007 as part of her course work following up on the training shereceived. The group requested Beena to support them, providing business counselling anddevelopment services and help them establish and grow their business. Beena used her newly-gained counselling skills and started interacting with the group on a regular basis. She realised thatthe women had, in a very short period of time, managed to set up a profitable venture, making andselling flour.

Talking to Beena, the group realised that they could expand their business by using some of thetraditional skills Janaki had. There existed a large market for ready-to-eat food of the traditionalvariety and Janaki was an expert in making them. It would also be a forward linkage for theirexisting activity – the flour they produce would be the key ingredient for the snacks.

In less than a year, the group has built its reputation as producers of tasty, good-quality flour, currypowders and traditional snacks like koyalappam, unniappam etc. They have built a loyal clientèlewho also spreads the word around. People returning to their work places abroad make it a point tocarry with them small quantities of the stuff and there is a huge preference for the unit's productsamong this group as well.

Janaki is very modest about the success of the group. She credits the group members for theirdedication and hard work. She is all praise for the support Beena has provided them. “She helped usa lot in making this unit successful. She stood with us, asked us the right questions, helped us findthe right answers, and above all, constantly pushed us to grow further.”

The unit has also been functioning as a training centre for other entrepreneurs interesting in doingsimilar business. Janaki proudly showed a copy of the 'certificate' that is issued to those whocomplete the training at her unit.


Radha and OthersMahima Bakery, Muliyar, Kasargod district, India

Radha's family migrated from Thalassery in Kannur district to Muliyar in Kasargod. Thalassery isfamous all over Kerala for its circus artists and bakeries. In many a place in Kerala it is people fromThalassery who run the best bake houses.

Radha and four of her friends from the neighbourhood group set up the bakery business in October2004. They had the students of the Engineering college nearby in mind when they set their productprofile – burgers, rolls, cutlets etc. that appeal most to a young consumer group. Radha's traditionalskills in baking helped in starting up the unit.

Rajesh, the master-trainer counsellor from the Samruddhi project came across Radha and her unit aspart of this post-training coursework. The women were very receptive to his offer to help them buildtheir business through his counselling. Once the process began, a number of issues hitherto notconsidered came up. Due to the captive nature of their market the unit was able to sell all itsproduce well. However, when competition started emerging, in the form of other bakeries close tothe college, they realised that they needed to strengthen their unit. Rajesh's intervention thus cameabout at an opportune time.

Rajesh arranged for the women to get skill development training at the district training centre. Thishelped them enlarge their product portfolio, allowing them access to a wider section of the studentmarket. The unit also realised the disadvantages of relying on one market alone and started takingsteps to diversify on that count as well. They started attending the monthly markets organised by theKudumbashree mission, and this provided them a great opportunity to sell their products to a widerclientèle, as well as interact with women's enterprises from different parts of the district.

Radha says, “Rajesh helped the unit a lot by making us think about issues that we had notconsidered earlier. We were happy with making the regular products for the students of the College,but when he started asking sensible questions, we realised that we cannot continue our unit, just bydepending on the students alone. What if a bigger bakery sets up shop here tomorrow? By takingpart in the skill training we learnt to make other food items like biriyani, which over the past year orso has helped us increase our turnover by more than 50%”.

From a monthly surplus of around Rs.8,000 in September 2008, the unit now generates aboutRs.12,000 per month as operating surplus. This is still not sufficient to provide the five women withadequate wages, as they have to re-pay the bank loan. They expect that over the next year or so,with continuing support from Rajesh, they will be able to increase the business to ensure each oneof them at least Rs.3000 per month as wages.


Reena and OthersSwaruma Food Products, Thevalakkara, Kollam district, India

Swaruma Food Products began functioning in 2002, when five women got together to start a smallbusiness, to earn enough cash to meet their personal needs. They sustained the business of makingand selling traditional fried snacks on a small scale. The quality of their products attracted repeatcustomers; promotion was entirely through word of mouth. They relied entirely on their traditionalknowledge and it proved sufficient.

Leeja, the Master Trainer-Counsellor of the Samruddhi project heard about the unit through therepresentatives of the Community Development Society (CDS) of which the women were a part of.She visited the unit, talked to the women and realised that they were prepared to look at scaling upthe unit. Over a period of time, Leeja interacted with them, helped them build self-confidence andgradually encouraged them to think big. The group decided to scale up; they approached the localbank for a loan and Kudumbashree for subsidy assistance. They used the contact of their well-wishers to find new market channels, food outlets in different parts of the district. The groupmembers ensured that the quality of their products did not suffer in any way, even after productionquantities were increased.

Sometime in 2004, a food export company had approached the group asking them if they wereinterested in setting up a supply relationship. The women were not confident and did not pursue theoffer. Recently they heard of a similar opportunity with another company and approached thecompany with an offer themselves. The company has completed its diligence process and the unit iswaiting to see if they have clinched the deal. Says Reena, “we wish we had the same level ofconfidence in 2004, when the Nirapara company came to us, requesting us to become suppliers. Wejust were not sure then, if we would be able to take up such a responsibility. Today, we areconfident. There obviously is a limit to what the five of us can do, but I think we will be able tobetter ourselves. Now we really hope that the tie-up with Melam company happens”.

Growth in the business has also led to increased earning for the members. Each of the five womennow take home not less than Rs.2000 (USD 45) per month. “We started this business so that we canearn enough to buy soap and cosmetics that we need, without having to ask the men for money.Now we are in a position to give them money”, says Mini, another bubbly women in the group.


Sindhu and OthersTen Star Food Products, Thazhava, Kollam district, India

The Ten Star Food Products unit in Thazhava village produces the 'Amrutham' brand of foodsupplement that is provided to children and expectant mothers in the villages of Kerala under thenutrition supplement programme of the Government. Kudumbashree units enjoy monopoly in thesupply of the food supplement. Production units in various parts of the State have been allottedspecific geographic areas where they supply the product. Ten Star unit supplies their produce to twoBlock Panchayats in the neighbouring Pathanamthitta district. The production cycle depends on theactual quantities demanded by the Block Panchayat administration. During 2008, averageproduction has been about 13000 kg per month.

During 2007-08 the total turnover of the unit was in the range of Rs.1.5 million (USD 30,000). Thisenabled the 10 women in the unit to take home on average Rs.150 (USD 3) per day as wages. Thisis among the highest wages earned by women running micro-enterprises in the Kudumbashreenetwork.

The unit was set up in 2005, but did not start full-fledged functioning till mid-2006. They facedmany problems during the initial days. There were problems with some individual women and thiswas affecting the functioning of the group. Zaheeramol, the Counsellor MEC trained by theSamruddhi was already involved in the establishment of the group as the Kudumbashree MEC forthe panchayat. Says Zaheeramol, “as the MEC I was involved with the group right from thebeginning. I was aware of the problems they were facing, particularly the intra-group issues amongthe members. I was not able to help them much, since I did not know how to handle the matter. Aftergoing through the Counselling training programme in the Samruddhi project I realised that I couldhelp the group overcome the problems by making use of the new skills I learned”.

Says Sindhu, “Zaheera has been with us from the start. After her training she came to us andstarted working with us much more closely. She helped us identify the issues that were affecting thefunctioning of the group and that helped us solve some of the problems. We realised that twomembers were not interested in the work and we got them replaced with two others who actuallywanted to be in the unit. Zaheera's advice has also helped us look beyond the current good phase inthe business. We are dependent entirely on the order from the government scheme and if there arechanges there we would be left with nothing to do. We have now decided to diversify our productbase”.

The Ten Star Unit is preparing to diversify into grinding and sale of cereal flour. The machinery thatis used for production of the food supplement can be used for this. The Unit already has strong linkswith raw material suppliers and this will help them gain cost and logistical advantages as theydiversify.


Menaka and OthersDhanalakshmi Unit, Kuzhupally, Ernakulam district, India

Menaka, Kanchana, Latha and Sheela live in the village of Cheruvypu on the Vypeen Island nearthe city of Kochi. Located between the Arabian Sea and the Vembanad Lake, the Vypeen Island hadsuffered directly during the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.

The women are members of Kudumbashree neighbourhood groups in the village. They receivedsupport under the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project (TEAP) that the Government of Keralaimplemented with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The four women formedan activity group and received financial and technical assistance to set up a unit to produce incensesticks.

TEAP had asked Kudumbashree to provide support in training their enterprise consultants (similarto the Kudumbashree MEC) in business and counselling skills. The Master Trainers of theSamruddhi project had designed and delivered BDS and Counselling training to 176 MEC fromTEAP. Master Trainers and Counsellor MEC of Kudumbashree in the respective districts wereasked to provide the TEAP MEC with mentoring support.

Saritha is the TEAP MEC for Kuzhupally Gram Panchayat. She was supported by Remya,Counsellor MEC from the Samruddhi project attached to the Ernakulam district mission office ofKudumbashree.

Saritha and Remya worked closely with the Dhanalakshmi unit in setting up their business. Over ashort period of time, they realised that not much is gained by producing incense sticks alone. Thereis limited market for the product, and competition from established branded players was severe. Thegroup decided to diversify. They realised that production of disinfectant and cleaning lotions did notneed much expertise, and there existed a good market for local products. With support from theCounsellors they established links with suppliers of raw materials and started production. In themeanwhile they also sensed an opportunity for running a general goods store in their village. Therewas no shop selling daily requirements like soaps or cosmetics and the women wanted to grab thisopportunity.

The unit started functioning in March 2008. By October 2008, they had established a regularclientèle and business for their diversified product base. Says Menaka, “soon after we started, werealised that not much gains could be made from the incense business. We were a little upset bythis, but Saritha was there to encourage us. She and Remya talked to us a lot, and helped us lookaround to find better opportunities. We are happy today, we are able to take home not less thanRs.50 per day on a regular basis”.


Annexes

1. Logical Framework of the Samruddhi Project

2. Terms of Reference for the evaluation

3. Evaluation Enquiry Framework

4. Check-lists & Questionnaires used

5. List of respondents

6. Brief profile of micro enterprises visited


Annex 1 – Project Log-frame

Intervention logic Objectively verifiable indicators ofachievement

Sources and means ofverification

Assumptions

OverallObjectives

to improve the businessperformance of pro-poor micro andsmall enterprises (MSEs) inKerala, with special focus on theTsunami affected Districts.

~Affected communities revive lostbusinesses~Business counselling services areavailable for the long term growth ofthese businesses~Increase in producer incomes~Stability in producer employment~Increase in provision of MSE-targetedservices

Project ReportsMSE records

~Local communities get back fromthe initial shock of losing all due tothe Asian Tsunami.~European demand for Indianproducts does not decline~Other entities like government,financial institutions provide therequired support to deal with otherissues like credit, infrastructure,regulation of trade.

ProjectPurpose

To support KudumbashreeMicroenterprise Consultants(MECs) to develop high quality,effective business developmentsupport and counselling skills forpro poor MSEs

~ 15 Kudumbashree staff and MECsempowered to revive and initiatemarket-led trade reactive to the needs ofdisadvantaged producers, ~ Kudumbashree's market accessprogramme is strengthened throughavailability of 15 Trainers to train otherMECs in Kerala.~Producers groups, particularly womenin Tsunami- affected districts will haveaccess to business counselling servicesto revive their enterprises~Pro-poor MSEs value and use thebusiness services available to them~Kudumbashree develop networks at anational and European level

MEC/KudumbashreeReportsTraining RecordsActivity ReportsProgress ReportsFeedback from MSEs -evaluations and interviews

~There is a market for the productsbeing produced in the affecteddistricts~Local communities are willing torevive their lost or flaggingenterprises~MECs develop the capacity andresources to support the long termneeds of these producers.~MECs will perform as expected

ExpectedResults

15 trainers trained to train otherMECs in Kerala

~40 additional MECs receive businessservice training through Trainer MECsand Kudumbashree Team



Assumptions

Kudumbashree MicroenterpriseTeams better equipped to providehigh quality, effective businessservices to pro-poor MSEs

~At least 200 MSEs receive businesssupport during the life of the projectthrough the 40 trained MECs.

Training records

Project progress reports

Kudumbashree/MECs and businesscounsellors implement the skills,tools and knowledge provided bythe project

Increased co-operation andcollaboration betweenKudumbashree/MECs at a nationaland European level

Kudumbashree/MECs meet their EUcounterparts to share information andskills.

Business service networks areestablished:- An internet platform for internationalnetworking, and sharing of informationand best practice.- A physical network for nationalnetworking, sharing information, skillsand resources, developing standards forgood practice, etc.

Visit report

Feedback fromKudumbashree/MECs (inIndia and EU) - evaluationsand interviews


Final report

Kudumbashree/MECs and businesscounsellors maintain themomentum of the training process

Kudumbashree/MECs betterequipped to facilitate tradebetween pro-poor MSEs andEuropean markets

Kudumbashree/MECs have a betterunderstanding of European markets.

Kudumbashree/MECs have a betterunderstanding of the problems facingpro-poor MSEs trying to accessEuropean markets.

Kudumbashree/MECs are able todevelop more appropriate businessservices for pro-poor MSEs

Visit report

Kudumbashree/MECrecords

Feedback fromKudumbashree/MECs andMSEs - evaluations andinterviews


Final report



Assumptions

Pro-poor MSEs better able toidentify their business problemsand demand appropriate businessservices

Pro-poor MSEs recognise the value ofbusiness services

Pro-poor MSEs increase their demandfor business services

Pro-poor MSEs increase their demandfor approporiate busienss services.

Feedback fromKudumbashree/MECs andMSEs - evaluations andinterviews


MSE records

The project is successful in raisingawareness of the value of businesscounselling amongst MSEs

Pro-poor MSEs improve theirbusiness performance

200 targeted MSEs increase exports tothe EU and other markets by 15%

200 targeted MSEs increase theirincome by 10%

MSE records

Baseline study

Final report

MSEs are able to afford theservices developed for them

Kudumbashree/MECs able toprovide training in business serviceand counselling skills to otherMECs

40 MECs trained to provide businessservices and counselling skills


Final report

Kudumbashree/MECs and businesscounsellors implement the skills,tools and knowledge provided bythe project

ActivitiesPhase 1 - Project planning and refinement

Activity 1 - Preparation – ProjectPlanning and Refinement

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysPer diemsInternational flightsDomestic flightsCommunication costs

Total Phase 1: €17,880 There is a good pool of existingMECs with potential to function astrainers.Mentors indicate willingness toparticipate in this project.

Activity 2 - Execution -Confirmation/Identification ofParticipantsActivity 3 - Execution – Selectionof Mentors



Assumptions

Activity 4 - Execution - Pre-workshop Questionnaire

Phase 2 – Training of TrainersActivity 5 - Preparation -Refinement of Workshop 1 Content

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysMentors daysPer diemsInternational flightsDomestic flightsTraining materialsVenue and equipment hireCommunication costs

Total Phase 2: €78,283 All selected participants come tothe training, and complete allrequirements

MECs perform as expected.

Activity 6 - Execution – Workshopon ‘Training of Trainers’Activity 7 - Execution - PracticalExercises and MentoringActivity 8 - Preparation -Refinement of Workshop 2 ContentActivity 9 - Execution - Training ofMECs – Workshop 2 and 3

Phase 3 – Post-Workshop Mentoring and CourseworkActivity 10 - Preparation –Developing Coursework andMentoring Project

Traidcraft staff daysFormaper staff daysKudumbashree staff daysMentors daysPer diemsCommunication costs

Total Phase 3: €14,151 Mentors are able to devote the timerequired to support the needs of theMECsMECs are open to learning andable to make best use of thementors and the learning process

Activity 11 - Execution –Delivering Post-workshopCoursework and Mentoring

Phase 4 - Development of tools to support effective business services



Assumptions

Activity 12 - Preparation -Development of CD ROM andSpecific Business CounsellingTools

Traidcraft staff daysFormaper staff daysKudumbashree staff daysTraining materialsCommunication costs

Total Phase 4: €8,030 MECs have access to technology touse the CD Rom as and whenrequired.

Activity 13 - Execution –Production of CD ROM andSpecific Business CounsellingTools

Phase 5 - Networking Visit to ItalyActivity 14 - Preparation –Develop Programme and Logisticsfor EU Visit

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysPer diemsInternational flightsDomestic flightsCommunication costs

Total Phase 5: €48,133 Businesses and intermediaryorganisations are willing to interactwith the Indian intermediaries, andshare experiences

Activity 15 - Execution - EU VisitPhase 6 - Formation of Networks

Activity 16 - Preparation -Development of Internet Platform

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysInternet space hireVenue and equipment hirePer diemsMentors daysCommunication costs

Total Phase 6: €27,900 MECs and the extended network ofintermediaries use the platform toshare and exchange experiences

Activity 17 - Execution – Set-up ofInternet Platform



Assumptions

Activity 18 - Preparation –Develop Programme and Logisticsfor launch of Kudumbashree MECNetworkActivity 19 - Execution - Feedbackworkshop and launch of IndianNetwork

Phase 7 - Follow up WorkshopActivity 20 - Preparation – Followup Workshop

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysInternational flightsdomestic flightsPer diemsVenue and equipment hireMentors daysCommunication costs

Total Phase 7: €30,644 MECs have been able to apply thelearnings through the project totheir work on enterprisedevelopment

Activity 21 - Execution – Followup Workshop

Phase 8 - Monitoring and EvaluationActivity 22 - Preparation -Monitoring and Evaluation

Traidcraft staff daysKudumbashree staff daysFormaper staff daysCommunication costsPublication costs (final report)

Total Phase 8: €25,017 There is a spirit of learning andsharing between partnerorganisations and participatingMECs.

Activity 23 - Execution -Monitoring and EvaluationActivity 24 - Execution -Compilation of final report

Annex 2

SAMRUDDHI EvaluationTerms of Reference

Background to the project Name: Asia-Invest project: Improving the business development support andcounselling skills for pro-poor MSEs in Tsunami affected Districts of Kerala

Duration: 30 Months. February 2005 to August 2008 (extended to November 2008)

ObjectivesOverall Objective: To improve the business performance of pro-poor MSEs in Kerala,with special focus on the Tsunami affected areas.This project aims to support MSEs to access effective business development andcounselling services as the first step towards achieving business viability and improvingaccess to European markets. It forms a part of the larger, broader goal of the programmethat is to improve the Business Development Services (BDS) market in India to supportpro-poor enterprise development. By focusing on tsunami-affected areas, the project willcontribute to the long-term rehabilitation of those areas.

Specific Objective: To support Kudumbashree MECs to develop high quality, effectivedevelopment support and counselling skills for pro poor MSEs.This project will start by training 15 trainers (5 from Kudumbashree core staff and 10MECs) to equip them with high quality, effective business development support andcounselling skills. These trainers will train other MECs thereby ensuring thesustainability and replicability of the project initiative.

Results Expected: • 15 Trainers trained to train other MEs in Kerala• Kudumbashree Microenterprise Teams better equipped to provide high quality,

effective business services to pro-poor MSEs• Increased cooperation and collaboration between Kudumbashree / MSEs at a national

and European level• Kudumbashree / MECs better equipped to facilitated trade between pro-poor MSEs

and European markets• Pro-poor MSEs better able to identify their business problems and demand

appropriate business services• Pro-poor MSEs improve their business performance• Kudumbashree / MECs able to provide training in business service and counselling

skills to other MECs

The project has been implemented by Traidcraft Exchange in partnership withKudumbashree (India) and Formaper (Italy).

The project focused on 15 master trainers (5 from Kudumbashree core staff and 10 MicroEnterprise Consultants (MECs) belonging to the Kudumbashree network). These 15master trainers then trained 40 other MECs. Each of the 40 MECs was expected to workwith at least 5 MSEs. Hence it was expected that during the life of the project, 200microenterprises will receive business services from the MECs.

Evaluation

Purpose• To evaluate the effectiveness of Samruddhi project as a model to strengthen business

counselling skills in India.

Specific objectives• To assess to what extent did the project meet the aims and objectives as set out in

the proposal logframe• To evaluate the methodology and design of the project according to EC Evaluation

Criteria and whether it helped to deliver against Traidcraft’s wider BDS strategy• Developing the strategy of building a BDS market in India • To help Traidcraft Exchange, Kudumbashree and Formaper better understand which

practices and intervention strategies work best and bring about change, to helpTraidcraft Exchange, Kudumbashree and Formaper understand its contribution andlearn from this

• Assessing key lessons learned, gaps, constraints, challenges and threats that willinform future programme directions

Scope and focusThe work to be evaluated comprises the Project: SAMRUDDHI: Improving the businessdevelopment support and counselling skills for pro-poor MSEs in Tsunami affectedDistricts of Kerala. Lead partner Traidcraft Exchange, based in the UK andKudumbashree, India; and project partner Formaper, Italy, should also be included in theevaluation.

The evaluation focus will be guided by the specific objectives and indicators outlined inthe project logframe and evaluation framework.

The broad key questions to be answered against the logframe include:

Relevance• How effective was the design and methodology of the project?

• How did the design of the project take other interventions into account? Were theresynergies or duplications?

• How relevant was this project? How relevant was the project to the differentstakeholders’ requirements and objectives; and country needs? What was the qualityof the problem analysis and the project’s logical framework? Have the problemsoriginally identified changed? How flexible was the project to changes incircumstances? How relevant was the project to EU Asia Invest objectives and whatdid it deliver against this?

• What else has changed (external context)? – eg What has been happening in India /state / sector? What impact has this had on our work / future work in this area? Whatelse has supported / hindered our work in this area?

Efficiency• How successful were the roles that Traidcraft, Kudumbashree and Formaper played

as project management and implementing partners? How could it be improved?

• How well did the three partners work together? Did their working relationshipsremain the same or change, and if so how and why? What did they learn fromworking together?

• Have we worked with the right partners / target groups? Are there other partners /target groups that Traidcraft, Kudumbashree and Formaper should be increasing /decreasing contact with? Are there new partners / target groups that Traidcraft,Kudumbashree and Formaper should work with?

• How efficient was this project in terms of expertise, time, costs, etc? How well havethe resources been used? Have the resources been allocated in the most strategicway? Were the activities of the expected quality?

• What are the learnings for undertaking monitoring and evaluation of a similarproject in the future?

Effectiveness• What has been done by Traidcraft Exchange and Kudumbashree and Formaper?

• What have been achieved (expected, unexpected, successes)? How effective was theproject? Which objectives have been most useful and successful?

• What changes have been brought about in performance / behaviour of participatingorganisations and end beneficiaries?

• What value did this project add to Kudumbashree’s work?

• What is the scope or magnitude of the change achieved?

• What has not been achieved (failures, disappointments, missed opportunities,challenges) and why?

Impact• What, if any, impact has the project had so far on the end beneficiaries?

• On the basis of results to date, what impact can realistically be expected? Please refer to Section 2 of the evaluation framework for details of specificexpected impacts.

Sustainability• How committed are participating organisations to continue utilising new skills,

knowledge, techniques acquired during the project?

• How sustainable is this project? How sustainable is the change? What will continueafter the project has finished? How could it have been made more sustainable? (egwere whole groups or individuals affected, did the project affect power structures /attitudes / behaviours and practices) Can this be replicated? Why / why not?

• What are the implications for ongoing work in this area?

Overall• What has been learnt about how to work effectively and efficiently to achieve lasting

change in this area of work?• How should this learning affect ongoing work / future work in this area?

Further questions in the framework refer to:• More detailed data analysis against the logframe• Evaluation of Traidcraft Exchange’s and Kudumbashree’s strategy in Business

Development Services

Evaluation Process and Methodology

The evaluation will be conducted in a participatory manner to bring multiple perspectivesfrom key stakeholders in assessing the achievement of the project aim and specificobjectives.

It is envisaged the Methodology will include:

Desk Phase• Planning meeting to develop guiding questions, elaborate and focus methodology and

propose a workplan• A desk review of existing documents1 and limitations• An analysis of existing quantitative data and questionnaires which can part answer

some of the indicators of the logical framework• Identification of issues and questions still to be answered and review of methodology

Field Phase• Interviews, focus group discussions where possible with a small selection of Master

Trainers, MECs and small enterprises, Traidcraft Exchange staff, Kudumbashree andFormaper.

• Interacting with individuals/ organisations who are not part of this project but relevantto BDS market.

Synthesis Phase• Presentation of Preliminary findings to project partners.• The findings of the evaluation will be elaborated into a draft evaluation report, which

is structured as per the Contents Page for Evaluation Report document.• The draft report will be assessed by an evaluation group according to quality

standards, and feedback will be provided to the consultant• On the basis of comments received the consultant will revise and deliver the final

evaluation report• Main findings presented at a dissemination workshop with participating

organizations, partners and key Traidcraft Exchange and Kudumbashree staff

1 Some basic baseline data has been collected on Master trainers, although not all data was able to be collectedfrom all Master trainers. Evaluations for each activity have been undertaken and recorded. Two field visitreports have been conducted to monitor the uptake of Business Counselling by the MECs (with a sample ofMECs from different districts).

Key deliverablesDesk Phase: Methodology design/key questions and timeline for approval

Feedback to the evaluation group on initial analysis from literature review and dataanalysis to identify initial findings, key gaps, review sampling criteria etc

Field Phase: Written feedback on preliminary findings and conclusions to the evaluation group

Synthesis PhaseThe consultant will provide a written Evaluation report using the format provided (seeseparate attachment: Contents Page for report) which will be initially submitted toTraidcraft for comment and review. Any changes necessary will be made by theconsultant. Traidcraft, Kudumbashree and Formaper are interested to preserve theobjectivity of the consultant but reserves the right to ensure the Evaluation report is of thequality expected.

Preliminary findings will be discussed and reviewed. The consultant will present finalfindings in October in a dissemination workshop, where project partners and participatingorganisations will be present.

Evaluation GroupThe evaluation group comprises Jo Huband, Neeti Malhotra, Maveen Pereira, ManishaJani, Vinod Nair, and Carlos Talamas. This group’s main functions are:• To ensure that the consultant has access to and has consulted all relevant information

sources and documents• To validate the Evaluation Framework, Questions and Methodology• To discuss and comment on reports delivered by the consultant• To assist in feedback of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations

Reporting StructureFor day to day queries and logistical support the consultant will contact Vinod Nair atKudumbashree who will coordinate any support necessary. He will be responsible forinforming stakeholders of any interviews or focus groups, and for providing the contactsof people to be interviewed, dates of visit and itinerary.

Support on the content and methodology of the evaluation, as well as delivery of thereport should be with Jo Huband, at Traidcraft Exchange [email protected]. Jo Huband, supported by Maveen Pereira, will also be responsible for assessing thequality of the report against • Meeting the requirements of the Terms of Reference, Evaluation Framework and

Contents page for Evaluation Report• Reliability of data and referencing• Coherent analysis of the data and credible findings as per the data provided• Useful recommendations• Valid conclusions• Clear reporting, including concise executive summary

Manisha Jani and Anishkumar M.S have been involved in the collection of data to date.Anishkumar and Manisha will support the consultant in providing a literature review of

existing data, reporting against the Evaluation Framework. Manisha and Anishkumarwill not be used in collection of further data to ensure objectivity of the evaluation.

Manisha Jani and Anishkumar M.S should also be contacted to provide their opinions onthe work of the project, successes and limitations.

Key contacts to use in the evaluation

Traidcraft Staff• Project Manager: Maveen Pereira• Business Services Coordinator: Jo Huband• Traidcraft Consultant: Manisha Jani• Traidcraft Consultant: Ram Bajekal

Kudumbashree Staff• Project coordinator: Vinod Nair• Consultant: Anishkumar M.S

Formaper Staff• Project Coordinator: Carlos Talamas• Project Coordinator: Francesca Bellacci• Formaper Consultant Trainer: Rita Bonucchi

Master Trainers and MECsA sample of Master Trainers and the MECs that were part of the project should beinterviewed, and a sample of five Master Trainers and five MECs should be selected ascase studies. They should be selected after a review of existing documentation, anddiscussions with Traidcraft Exchange and Kudumbashree, based on objective criteria. Aselection of two participants who dropped out of the project should also be interviewed aspart of the evaluation.

(Contact details are given in annexures)

Beneficiaries A minimum of 2 MSEs who received business counselling support from each of the fivesample MECs should be selected as case studies in the evaluation.

Information provided to the evaluator• Desk report consisting of literature review and consolidation of existing data:

o Pre course questionnaireso Progress of activities and outputs

Quarterly updates and mid term reportField Visit reportsActivity evaluationsResults of courseworkReports from workshopsReport from European feedback workshop

o Translations of Master Trainers and MECs videoed during and after the 3rd

workshopo Resources planned, committed, disbursed

• Original project proposal and logframe

• Names and addresses of potential informants

TimescalesThe evaluation will commence:

Field Phase completed by: 27th October 2008Draft preliminary findings presented: 31st October 2008 Presentation in Dissemination workshop : either 3 / 4th or 10 / 11th November 2008First Draft Evaluation report completed by: 20th November 2008

The final Evaluation report completed by : 28th November 2008 We are looking for a consultant with the following skills:

• Understanding and experience with Business Development Services sector• Experience in monitoring and evaluation• Experience in project management• Interpersonal skills and ability to talk to people in different backgrounds and roles• Ability and experience of using interactive, participatory techniques in monitoring

and evaluation• Analytical skills and ability to synthesise and summarise• Evidence of good report writing• Good written English

Copy of a previous evaluation report should be submitted to assess ability to analyse andpresent findings, and to demonstrate methodologies used.

Budget

Total Fees and expenses: up to €2650 The consultant should develop a budget for completing the evaluation exercise, by clearlyallocating expenses and daily rate

Annexure I – Contact details of project partners

Name Organisation Contact details Email

MaveenPereira Traidcraft

Kingsway, Gateshead,Tyne & Wear,NE 11 ONE, UnitedKingdom.Tel no.:- (+ 44)191 4976527Website :www.traidcraft.org

[email protected]

Jo Huband Traidcraft

Kingsway, Gateshead,Tyne & Wear,NE 11 ONE, UnitedKingdom.Tel no.:- (+ 44)191 4976516Website :www.traidcraft.org

[email protected]

ManishaJani Traidcraft

Website :www.traidcraft.org

Tel no: +91 9971889777

[email protected]

RamBajekal Traidcraft

Website: www.traidcraft.org

Tel no: +91 9884362845

[email protected]

Vinod Nair Kudumbashree

AnishkumarM.S

Traidcraftconsultant [email protected]

CarlosTalamas Formaper [email protected]

FrancescaBellacci

Formaper [email protected]

RitaBonucchi

Formaperconsultant [email protected]

Consultant:

Liby T Johnson'Marigold' Mercy Bungalow,No. 86, Christ NagarVazhayila, Karakulam PO, ThiruvananthapuramKerala 695564

Annex 3 – Evaluation Enquiry Framework

Key Question to be answered How to find Answer? Stakeholder to respond Instrument to useRelevance

Effectiveness of design andmethodology

Check with results achievement, askquestions on what people felt about theway the project was carried out

Kudumbashree, MEC andTraidcraft and Formaper

Interview withKudumbashree

Interview with sample MECSynergies and duplication withother interventions Ask staff of Kudumbashree Kudumbashree Interview

Relevance of the project

To stakeholders' requirements Interactions with MEC and MSE; alsowith Kudumbashree MEC, MSE, Kudumbashree Interview

Country needs Check the overall situation of MSE doingbusiness in Europe Kudumbashree Interview

Quality of problem analysisand log-frame

Interactions with MEC and MSE; alsowith Kudumbashree MEC, MSE, Kudumbashree Interview

EfficiencySuccess of projectmanagement roles of the 3organisations

Feedback on the way project wasmanaged TX, Formaper, Kudumbashree

Questionnaire for TX and FP,Interview withKudumbashree

Lessons from workingtogether of the 3 organisations

Feedback on what each organisation haslearnt TX, Formaper, Kudumbashree


Was the partner/target-groupbase the right one?

Check if there are groups that could havebenefited more from such a project

Kudumbashree, MEC andTraidcraft Interview

Efficiency in the use ofresources Cost-Benefit ratio (how will you do this?) MEC, MSE, Kudumbashree

Part of the questionnairesurvey for MSE, Interviewwith Kudumbashree andMEC

Key Question to be answered How to find Answer? Stakeholder to respond Instrument to use

Lessons for M&E

Did the Master Trainers get relevant andtimely support/feedback from the projectmanagement? Did the projectmanagement get relevant/timely feedbackfrom the ground? Additionally, how welldid we monitor and evaluate during theproject? How could we have improvedthis?

Kudumbashree, MEC, TX,Formaper

Questionnaire for TX and FP,Interview withKudumbashree and MEC

EffectivenessWhat was done? List of activities Project Documents

What has been achieved?

Results of the project; Are thereachievements not documents elsewhereAlso, as a general question to eveyone:What was the most importantachievement to each of them, and why

Project Documents; MEC,Kudumbashree; mastertrainers

Interview

What changes in theperformance of stakeholders?

Are MEC doing their work differently?Are MSE doing their work differently? IsKudumbashree doing anything new?

Kudumbashree, MEC, mastertrainers Interview

Value-add of the project toKudumbashree's work

Is Kudumbashree doing anything new ordifferently? Would it have made adifference to Kudumbashree had thisproject not been there

Kudumbashree, MECs,master trainers Interview

Magnitude of changeachieved?

What does the cost-benefit analysisindicate? How does the coverage chartagainst the total MSE work ofKudumbashree

Kudumbashree, MEC Interview

What has not been achieved? What else could have been done? Kudumbashree, MEC InterviewImpact

Impact on end-beneficiaries,so far

What does the numbers say? What doesthe confidence levels say? Any higherstandard of living? Any stories (egchange to how the business is run etc)

MSE Samples, MEC Interview

Key Question to be answered How to find Answer? Stakeholder to respond Instrument to use

What impact is likely, basedon results so far?

What do MSE and MEC feel about thesuccess so far and why was it useful?What are the challenges in making thesuccess last longer?

MSE Samples, MEC Interview

Increase in overseas sales ofparticipating MSE's as a resultof the project

Data from MSE MSE – Universe throughMEC

Questionnaire to get datafrom all MSEs throughproject covered MEC

Changes in composition oforders compared to earlier Data from MSE MSE – Universe through

MECChange in sales of the MSEsover the 2 years Data from MSE MSE – Universe through

MECHave MSE's increasedemployee strength? Data from MSE MSE – Universe through

MECWere MSE's able to avoidlosing jobs? Data from MSE MSE – Universe through

MECSustainability

Commitment to utilising newskills, knowledge andtechniques gained

What do the MSE and MEC feel aboutthe skills they have gained? What factorsare further needed to help them use thesein a better way?

MSE Samples, MEC, mastertrainers Interview

How sustainable is thechange?

Gauge from MEC/MSE response; Whatdoes Kudumbashree think?

MSE Samples, MEC,Kudumbashree Interview

Is the change replicable? What is the experience elsewhere? Whatdoes Kudumbashree think?

Literature survey,Kudumbashree Interview

Could the changes have beenmade more sustainable?

Gauge from MEC/MSE response; Whatdoes Kudumbashree think?

MSE Samples, MEC,Kudumbashree Interview

Implications for ongoing workin the area Design of future projects and work TX, Formaper, Kudumbashree

OverallLessons learnt on workingtogether to bring changes inthis area of work

Would the agencies do things differentlyif they were to do the project again? TX, Formaper, Kudumbashree


Key Question to be answered How to find Answer? Stakeholder to respond Instrument to useHow will these lessons affectongoing/future work in thisarea

What follow-up plan do the agencies havefor this project? Similar projects in otherplaces?

TX, Formaper, KudumbashreeQuestionnaire for TX and FP,Interview withKudumbashree

Project vs. TX strategies andaimsProject support to TX aim forTrade for service provision TX

Project support to TX aim forSupport provided to serviceproviders

TX

Project support to TX aim forInfluence TX

Annex 4 – Checklists and Questionnaires used

Schedule-cum-Check-list for enterprises supported by BDS service providers

Schedule for Facts

Name of the Unit: _________________________

Location: ______________________________________

Date of starting: __________________

Ownership of the Unit: Group / Individual

Name of supporting MEC: ____________________________

Details of the Group running the unit

Number of members in the group

Number of members active in running the unit

Date of formation of the Group

Does the group belong to any special group

Details of the Units

Main products: _____________________________________

Sub products, if any: _____________________________________

In August 2006 / 2007 In September 2008

Total production (specify period)

Turnover in the preceding year

Date of formation of the Group

Number of Employees

Employees from outside group

Main markets for the unitsproducts

Check-list of questions to ask

The business and its benefits

1. What was the motivation behind starting the Unit?

2. What were their expectations from the Unit?

3. To what extent have these expectations been met?

4. If expectations have been met substantially, what factors have contributed to it?

5. If not, what have been the impeding factors?

6. What steps have the group taken to address these issues?

Benefits from Samruddhi

1. When and how did they come across the MEC?

2. What were their expectations from her/him?

3. What services have they received from him/her?

4. How would they rate the interactions with him/her?

5. What difference did her/his inputs make to the Unit? (list 2-3 key issues)

6. What further inputs do they expect from her/him?

7. Will they be able to continue implementing the inputs given by the MEC, without his/her support?• If no, why?

8. If Kudumbashree is to help the MEC develop his/her skills, which areas are the most important forthis unit?

Schedule-cum-Check-list for MEC trained by the Master Trainers

Schedule for Facts

Name of the MEC: _________________________

Areas covered: ______________________________________

Date of starting work as MEC: __________________

Number of MSE supported before training: ______________

Number of MSE supported after training: ______________

Number of defunct MSE that were revived: _______________

Number of MSE that have stopped functioning: _______________

List of MSE that have gained most substantially from your work:Name of MSE Location Type of Business

Check-list of questions to ask

Feedback on the training and inputs from Samruddhi

1. What were the key benefits for you from attending the training?

2. Did the training programme meet your expectations?

3. How differently are you able to provide services to MSE? (list 2-3 key points)

4. What did you like the most about the inputs Samruddhi provided/

5. What areas do you think needs improvement (training, inputs related)?

6. Did you get adequate support to follow up the training? • If No, which are the areas in which such support was not sufficient?

Impact on work

1. How different was your impact on the work of MSE after the training?

2. What are the key BDS lessons you learnt that have been most beneficial in your work/

3. What are the areas where you feel you need better/stronger inputs?

4. Will you be able to work independently as a MEC with the skills gained from the Samruddhitraining/inputs?

5. If Kudumbashree were to design further training to help build your skills, which are the mostimportant areas for them to focus?

6. In your opinion, what has been the biggest achievement from the Samrudhi project?

7. Has anything changed in the way Kudumbashree does it’s work because of Samrudhi? If so what?

Agenda for Focus-group discussion with the Master Trainers

Introductions and discussion of experiences in working as master-trainers and mentors to later-trained MEC

1 hour

Small-group discussions and presentation on 3 key questions for theevaluation

1.5 hours

Discussion on some general questions and achievements againstindicators in the project log-frame

1.5 hours

Questions for small-group discussion

• What has Samruddhi contributed to:• Kudumbashree as an institution• Enterprise units supported by the Trainers/MEC• To the Trainers as individuals

• What improvements are needed for making future projects like this more effective and useful?

• How will the lessons learnt from Samruddhi be carried forward?

Check-list for Kudumbashree

• How was the project idea finalised?

• What factors influenced selection of the MEC? Ex-post would there be another mechanism for

identifying/selecting the master trainers?

• What comments do you have on how the project was managed at different levels?

• What have you learnt from the project?

• Did you get relevant/timely information from the ground?

• Did you get relevant/timely feedback from the ground?

• What are the most important achievements of the project?

• What areas did the project not meet its potential?

• If you were to do this project again, what all would you do differently?

• What lessons from the project would you apply in similar projects elsewhere?

• Did the project supplement/clash with other interventions in the same geographical area – if so

how?

• Did the project relate to/cater to priorities that Kudumbashree had identified/set forth? If not, how

was the dissonance managed?

• Are the project trained MEC doing their work differently compared to those not-trained?

• Has the project led to Kudumbashree doing anything new/better?

• What difference would it have made to Kudumbashree if this project had not happened?

• What % of the MEC-led work of Kudumbashree did this project cover?

• Do you think there was a better way to use the project resources?

• How long can the benefits from the project go on without further external inputs?

• Will Kudumbashree be able to take up similar work in other geographic areas?

Questions for Traidcraft

Context• Where does Samruddhi fit in, in the overall Tx scheme?

• Specifically, within the BDS strategy elements – Trade, Support, Influence• Are there other projects with similar objectives being implemented simultaneously?• If yes, how has Samruddhi been different from them?

Planning and Design• In hindsight, what are the factors that you feel important, that did not find a place while

developing the project design and detailed plan?• Are there issues w.r.t the methodology adopted that you found may been better done in a different

manner?

Roles of partner organisations• Did the 3 partners play their roles as had been envisaged in the beginning?• What were the key challenges that Tx faced in maintaining relationships with Kudumbashree?• What were the key challenges that Tx faced in maintaining relationships with Formaper?• What lessons have been learnt from this project, that Tx finds useful for its future work?

Implementation• Did Tx have issues/problems with the way implementation of the project was carried out?• How were these addressed?• Were the steps taken sufficient to lead to meaningful solutions?• Did Tx have to intervene at any stage of implementation to point out/make corrections due to

deviation in plans by Kudumbashree?

M&E• How would you rate the monitoring done for Samruddhi?• Were there points in time when Tx struggled to obtain relevant information on the project

progress/context?• What lessons have been learnt from the M&E system that was in place for Samruddhi?

Effects• How would you rate the success/otherwise of Samruddhi vis-a-vis its objectives?• What are the benefits that Tx gained from the Project?• What has Samruddhi contributed to, in the overall Tx scheme of work towards improving its BDS

strategy?

Questions for Formaper

Context• How and why did Formaper come in as a partner in Samruddhi?

Planning and Design• What was your role during the planning and design stage?• In hindsight, could the project design have been better in any way?

Roles of partner organisations• Did the 3 partners play their roles as had been envisaged in the beginning?• What were the key challenges that Formaper faced in maintaining relationships with

Kudumbashree?• What were the key challenges that Formpaer faced in maintaining relationships with Traidcraft?• What lessons have been learnt from this project, that Formaper finds useful for its future work?

Implementation• Did Formaper have issues/problems with the way implementation of the project was carried out?• How were these addressed?• Were the steps taken sufficient to lead to meaningful solutions?

M&E• How would you rate the monitoring done for Samruddhi?• Were there points in time when Formaper struggled to obtain relevant information on the project

progress/context?• What lessons have been learnt from the M&E system that was in place for Samruddhi?

Effects• How would you rate the success/otherwise of Samruddhi vis-a-vis its objectives?• What are the benefits that Formaper gained from the Project?

Annex 5 - List of Respondents

Micro EnterprisesSl. No. Name of the Unit GP, District Business

1 Mahima Bakery Muliyar, Kasargod Ready to Eat Food2 Nakshatra Bakery Madikei, Kasargod Ready to Eat Food

3 Tejaswini Kinanur-Karinthalam, Kasargod Book-binding, soap, detergent,disinfectants

4 Sahrudaya Kinanur-Karinthalam, Kasargod Apiculture5 Dhanasri Valiaparamba, Kasargod Mussels6 Ganga Valiaparamba, Kasargod Nutrition supplement7 Udaya Neeleswaram, Kasargod Coconut8 Thykadapuram 2 Neeleswaram, Kasargod Tailoring, readymade garments9 Samruddhi Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad Soap, detergent10 Bhavana Noolpuzha, Wayanad Herbal medicines11 Navajyoti Nenmeni, Wayanad Mushroom12 Devi Chottanikara, Ernakulam Flour mill, Ready to Eat Food13 Kairali Handy Care Vengola, Ernakulam Bag14 Happy DM Sreemoolanagaram, Ernakulam Sales15 Sunshine Kochi Corporation, Ernakulam Tailoring

16 Dhanalakshmi Kuzhupally, Ernakulam Grocery shop, incense sticks,disinfectants

17 Snehadeepam Kuzhupally, Ernakulam Rosary beads, candles18 Swaruma Thevalakkara, Kollam Ready to Eat Food19 Pawanam Clappana, Kollam Flour Mill20 Ten Star Thazhava, Kollam Nutrition Supplement

Counsellor MEC1. Praseena, Kasargod2. Sivapradeep, Wayanad3. Asha Paul, Wayanad4. Rejimol Theresa, Ernakulam5. Remya Madhu, Ernakulam6. Kavitha, Ernakulam7. Zaheera, Kollam8. Raheena, Kollam

Master TrainersName Designation

1 S.Sreekantan Nair Programme Officer (IT) Trivandrum (Official) 2 L.P.Chither DMC Kollam (Official) 3 Tanie Thomas ADMC Ernakulam (Official) 4 P.Raju ADMC Wayanad (Official) 5 Leeja.P MEC Kollam6 Sreedevi EKSAT Alappuzha7 G.Manu EKSAT Alappuzha8 Beena Mahesan EKSAT Ernakulam9 Ajesh EKSAT Ernakulam10 Jayan EKSAT Kozhikode11 Dincy Joseph EKSAT Kozhikode12 Shyja.C MEC/CDS Chairperson Kannur13 Rajesh.A.V MEC Kasaragod

KudumbashreeMs. Sarada Muraleedharan, Executive Director

TraidcraftMs. Maveen Pereira, Programme ManagerMs. Jo Huband, Business Service CoordinatorMs. Manisha Jani, ConsultantMr. Ram Bajekal, ConsultantMs. Helen McCree, TrainerMr. Anishkumar, Consultant Project Manager

FormaperMs. Rita Bonucchi, TrainerMr. Carlos Talamas

Annexure 6Profile of Micro Enterprises visited during the evaluation

Part 1 - Data

Sl. No. Name of the Unit Location, District Business Years inexistence

No. ofMembers

Annualturnover

(Rs.)1 Mahima Bakery Muliyar, Kasargod RTE Food 4.00 5 150,0002 Nakshatra Bakery Madikei, Kasargod RTE Food 1.50 5 80,0003 Tejaswini Kinanur-Karinthalam, Kasargod Book-binding, soap, detergent, disinfectants 8.00 6 Negligible4 Sahrudaya Kinanur-Karinthalam, Kasargod Apiculture 5.00 2 72,0005 Dhanasri Valiaparamba, Kasargod Mussels 8.00 5 100,0006 Ganga Valiaparamba, Kasargod Nutrition supplement 2.50 5 100,0007 Udaya Neeleswaram, Kasargod Coconut 0.50 5 120,0008 Thykadapuram 2 Neeleswaram, Kasargod Tailoring, readymade garments 0.50 6 Negligible9 Samruddhi Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad Soap, detergent 3.00 9 90,00010 Bhavana Noolpuzha, Wayanad Herbal medicines 2.00 5 300,00011 Navajyoti Nenmeni, Wayanad Mushroom 1.00 5 250,00012 Devi Chottanikara, Ernakulam Flour mill, RTE Food 1.50 5 270,00013 Kairali Handy Care Vengola, Ernakulam Bag 3.00 4 120,00014 Happy DM Sreemoolanagaram, Ernakulam Sales 5.00 7 200,00015 Sunshine Kochi Corporation, Ernakulam Tailoring 1.00 6 60,00016 Dhanalakshmi Kuzhupally, Ernakulam Grocery shop, incense sticks, disinfectants 0.50 4 150,00017 Snehadeepam Kuzhupally, Ernakulam Rosary beads, candles 0.50 3 36,00018 Swaruma Thevalakkara, Kollam RTE Food 6.00 5 360,00019 Pawanam Clappana, Kollam Flour mill, pickles 4.00 20 300,00020 Ten Star Thazhava, Kollam Nutrition supplement 3.00 10 1,500,000

Part 2 – Observations and opinions

Sl. No. Name of the Unit Counsellor How enterprise cameabout

Stage ofDevelopment Effect of Counselling Remarks

1 Mahima Bakery Rajesh Leader's initiative +ready market Consolidation Product Diversification,

new marketsWant to establish a shop to sellproducts directly

2 Nakshatra Bakery Rajesh KudumbashreeEnterprise + skill existed Expansion Confidence built, new

marketsWant own premises forproduction, diversify products

3 Tejaswini PraseenaScheme from Women'sDevelopmentCorporation

StrugglingChange in business plan,new skills and newproducts

Book-binding original businessaffected by working capitalshortage and seasonal nature;new skills in soap makinggained, too early to make returns

4 Sahrudaya Praseena KudumbashreeEnterprise

Steady, not theprimary activity forthe members

Expanded market baseOriginally group of 6 now only2 members active,supplementary activity for them

5 Dhanasri RajeshKudumbashreeEnterprise + Groupinitiative

Expansion

New ideas for expansion toovercome seasaonality ofmussels, new markets, skillbuilding

To start cage-fishing soon

6 Ganga Rajesh KudumbashreeEnterprise Strengthening

Conflict within groupsolved, bank relateddocumentation done

Problem within parent NHG,now resolved

7 Udaya PraseenaKudumbashreeEnterprise + abundantlocal resource

Strengthening Record keeping &accounting improved

Only 3 members active; workingcapital is an issue

8 Thykadapuram 2 Praseena KudumbashreeEnterprise Struggling

Orientation for theenterprise, confidencebuilding

New skill and activity for allmembers

9 Samruddhi SivapradeepKudumbashreeEnterprise + leader'sfamily initiative

Consolidation Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity

Stuggled with poor qualityperception in market, re-branding done

Sl. No. Name of the Unit Counsellor How enterprise cameabout

Stage ofDevelopment Effect of Counselling Remarks

10 Bhavana AshaKudumbashreeEnterprise + leader'straditional skill

ConsolidationInnovation in marketing,improved accounting,confidence boosted

Started in 2006, defunct forsome time, revived in February2007

11 Navajyoti Asha KudumbashreeEnterprise Strengthening

Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity,technical tie-ups

Scope for expansion

12 Devi BeenaKudumbashreeEnterprise + leader'straditional skill

Consolidation Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity

Resource person for districtlevel training

13 Kairali Handy Care Beena KudumbashreeEnterprise Consolidation Confidence built, better

organisation of activity Space constraints severe

14 Happy DM Beena KudumbashreeEnterprise Consolidation Confidence built, better

organisation of activityDoor-to-door sales of essentialand other commodities

15 Sunshine Kavitha TEAP Enterprise Strengthening Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity Not common interest groups

16 Dhanalakshmi Remya TEAP Enterprise Strengthening Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity

Taken advantage ofopportunities

17 Snehadeepam Remya TEAP Enterprise Struggling Confidence built, betterorganisation of activity

Candle business made losses,women have limited mobility

18 Swaruma Leeja KudumbashreeEnterprise Consolidation

Increased confidence, widermarkets increasedproduction

Waiting for confirmation of tie-up with exporting company

19 Pawanam Raheena KudumbashreeEnterprise Consolidation Better production planning,

Expansion of activities

Risk of single large buyerrecognised; all members ofNHG active (13 BPL and 7APL)

20 Ten Star Zaheera Yuvasree Enterprise ConsolidationDiversifying product mix toreduce risk of singleproduct dependence

Flour mill to start soon

Samruddhi evaluation - Report Final - Dec 4...Block Panchayat Block Panchayat forms the second tier...

Documents

Transcript of Samruddhi evaluation - Report Final - Dec 4...Block Panchayat Block Panchayat forms the second tier...