Supporting Women's ICT-Based Enterprises

This handbook provides practical guidance on how to advocate, initiate and improve information and communication technology (ICT) sector micro-enterprises for women in developing countries. It includes case and story evidence, best practice advice sheets, and frameworks for analysis and evaluation.

It aims to help government and non-governmental organisation (NGO) officials to plan, initiate, evaluate and improve ICT-based enterprise projects for women. It is also intended for facilitated use by groups of economically poor women themselves who want to start up, manage and improve ICT-based enterprises.

The handbook contents are as follows:

1. Introduction: Audience, Purpose, Content
2. What are women's ICT-based enterprises? Overview, Case sketches, Individual women's stories
3. Why support women's ICT-based enterprises? Benefits to women, Agency benefits, Risks
4. Planning and managing ICT-based enterprises for women: the enterprise perspective - How to analyse, What to analyse, Business good practice advice sheets, Gender good practice advice sheets
5. Supporting and evaluating ICT-based enterprises for women: the agency perspective - Why? Whom? What? How? How well? Agency good practice advice sheets
6. Sources of further information

The "Women's ICT-Based Enterprise for Development" project is coordinated by the University of Manchester's Institute for Development Policy and Management. The project is funded by the United Kingdon Department for International Development (DFID)'s Knowledge and Research programme.

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