Regional : Unleashing Asian Female Entrepreneurship with Digital Technology

The knowledge and support small-scale technical assistance (TA) will carry out new research and produce knowledge products on female entrepreneurship in the context of digital technology in developing Asia. The TA will be carried out by the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) in collaboration with leading global and regional experts, and outputs will be shared and disseminated to policymakers and various stakeholders of female entrepreneurial ecosystems in Asian economies. The proposed TA aligns with Operational Priority 2 of ADB's Strategy 2030 Accelerating Progress in Gender Equality, and Operational Priority 1 Addressing Remaining Poverty and Reducing Inequalities. The knowledge and support TA will generate knowledge which will contribute to female entrepreneurship in developing Asia.

Project Name

Unleashing Asian Female Entrepreneurship with Digital Technology

Project Number

57071-001

Country / Economy

• Regional
• Azerbaijan
• Bangladesh
• Fiji
• Georgia
• Indonesia
• Kazakhstan
• Korea, Republic of
• Malaysia
• Mongolia
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Papua New Guinea
• China, People's Republic of
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand
• Viet Nam

Project Status

Active

Project Type / Modality of Assistance

• Technical Assistance

Source of Funding / Amount

TA 10254-REG: Unleashing Asian Female Entrepreneurship with Digital Technology

Source	Amount
Technical Assistance Special Fund	US$ 225,000.00

Operational Priorities

• OP1: Addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities
• OP2: Accelerating progress in gender equality

Sector / Subsector

• Industry and trade / Small and medium enterprise development

• Information and communication technology / ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development

Gender

Gender equity theme

Description

The knowledge and support small-scale technical assistance (TA) will carry out new research and produce knowledge products on female entrepreneurship in the context of digital technology in developing Asia. The TA will be carried out by the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) in collaboration with leading global and regional experts, and outputs will be shared and disseminated to policymakers and various stakeholders of female entrepreneurial ecosystems in Asian economies. The proposed TA aligns with Operational Priority 2 of ADB's Strategy 2030 Accelerating Progress in Gender Equality, and Operational Priority 1 Addressing Remaining Poverty and Reducing Inequalities. The knowledge and support TA will generate knowledge which will contribute to female entrepreneurship in developing Asia. The TA is also aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, as well as with SDG 8 on the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all. The TA aims to address the following root problems: (i) lack of empirical analysis and indicator on the constraints to female entrepreneurship in DMCs; (ii) lack of research on the link between digitalization and female entrepreneurship, as well as the factors that limit access to digital technologies by women; and (iii) lack of knowledge on digital gender divide among entrepreneurs. These three problems jointly contribute to the core problem, which is lack of knowledge capacity in DMCs to fully leverage digital technology to promote female entrepreneurship. The proposed solutions provide knowledge and indicators for DMCs to inform better targeted policy measures for female entrepreneurship in the region

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Female entrepreneurship is a potentially powerful driving force for economic growth, poverty alleviation, social impact, employment, and economic resilience in Asia. Yet female entrepreneurs face numerous difficult challenges. From a policy perspective, the potential of Asian female entrepreneurship in Asia is held back by the dearth of empirical research of female entrepreneurship in the context of Asian economies. Furthermore, now is an opportune time to analyze female entrepreneurship due to the advent of digital or information and communication technologies (ICT)-enabled entrepreneurship. ICT sharply reduces the cost of starting a business and thus opens a world of opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Quality empirical research, including constructing key indicators, on the drivers of and constraints to female entrepreneurship can help inform well targeted policy measures for developing member countries (DMCs). The TA will utilize data from DMCs that have relatively rich entrepreneurship-related data and that can provide valuable lessons for other developing Asian economies. A compelling reason for the TA is the need to support recovery of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which were hit hard during the pandemic. MSMEs are a huge source of employment and income especially for women across DMCs.

Impact

Impact the TA is Aligned with Operational Priority 2 of ADB's Strategy 2030 Accelerating Progress in Gender Equality, and Operational Priority 1 Addressing Remaining Poverty and Reducing Inequalities.

Project Outcome

Description of Outcome

Identification of the hindering factors for female entrepreneurship and supportive environments improved.

Progress Toward Outcome

Implementation Progress

Description of Project Outputs

Country comparable metrics and public data on female entrepreneurship provided.

Innovative research and assessment on digital entrepreneurial ecosystems promoted.

Knowledge sharing on female entrepreneurship strengthened.

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues)

Geographical Location

Azerbaijan - Nation-wide; Bangladesh - Nation-wide; China - Nation-wide; Fiji - Nation-wide; Georgia - Nation-wide; Indonesia - Nation-wide; Kazakhstan - Nation-wide; Korea, Republic of - Nation-wide; Malaysia - Nation-wide; Mongolia - Nation-wide; Pakistan - Nation-wide; Papua New Guinea - Nation-wide; Philippines - Nation-wide; Singapore - Nation-wide; Sri Lanka - Nation-wide; Thailand - Nation-wide; Viet Nam - Nation-wide

Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects

Environmental Aspects

Involuntary Resettlement

Indigenous Peoples

Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation

During Project Design

During Project Implementation

Contact

Responsible ADB Officer

Park, Donghyun

Responsible ADB Department

Economic Research and Development Impact Department

Responsible ADB Division

Office of the Chief Economist and Director General, ERDI (EROD)

Executing Agencies

Asian Development Bank

Timetable

Concept Clearance

11 Jul 2023

Fact Finding

-

MRM

-

Approval

15 Dec 2023

Last Review Mission

-

Last PDS Update

20 Dec 2023

Funding

TA 10254-REG