Strengthening Women’s Ability for the Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO-II)

The report for the extended phase of the Strengthening Women's Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO II) project, covering the period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, was received on March 30, 2024. The report was of unacceptable quality and regrettably didn't provide enough details to evaluate the outcome attained throughout the reporting period. At the project annual review meeting on April 29, 2024, The Embassy provided the project team and UNDP management officials with some significant input and suggestions. The UNDP carefully considered the input we provided, amended the annual report, and delivered the revised version on July 8, 2024. Following are some results that have been achieved and reported during the reporting period: The SWAPNO II project has concentrated its efforts since the beginning of 2023 on getting the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) to approve the Development Project Proposal (DPP). SWAPNO II needed approval from the ECNEC for its extension phase due to its budget exceeding the minimum threshold of BDT 500 million. The project budget is BDT 1,484 million, including the Governments contribution of BDT 716 million. The project was approved by ECNEC in September 2023. However, there were lengthy delays in the approval procedure. Despite these obstacles, SWAPNO II worked hard to finish the preparatory work needed to start field implementation as soon as the DPP permission was obtained. The initiative gave follow-up with recipients in Jamalpur, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, and Kurigram top priority throughout this time. The project collected information from the graduated beneficiaries using a rapid data collection method on a sample basis. Results showed that beneficiaries graduated in 2022 had a significantly higher monthly income than baseline year in 2019, with a current income of BDT 11,327 in 2023, close to the end-line survey 2022 figure of BDT 11,970. Additionally, the monthly expenditure of beneficiaries was also higher in 2022 and 3.7 times higher in 2023 compared to 2019, with an average monthly expenditure of BDT 2,901 in 2019 and BDT 9,827 in 2022. However, the average monthly savings of graduated beneficiaries decreased from BDT 1,132 in 2022 to BDT 894 in 2023, indicating a decline in savings due to an increase in household expenditure. Moreover, Graduated beneficiaries are still engaged in an average of three income-generating activities (IGAs), up from 1.3 in 2019 and consistent with 2022 reports. Over 90% of households continue to apply lessons learned from SWAPNO in their IGAs. The project team also made a significant effort to get in touch with each enterprise that SWAPNO has promoted. All of the enterprisesthe ones that produce sanitary napkins, process milk, treat freshwater, etc.are reportedly doing well and making more money. In an attempt to upskill project beneficiaries, local government representatives, and other relevant stakeholders, the project team has created a thorough training program on plastic waste management and developed a comprehensive business model for effectively collecting, sorting, washing, and recycling the used PET bottles and polythene bags in the plastic recycling plant. This initiative will be implemented over the next few years. The project has developed a digital application (Android app) to streamline the beneficiary selection process for the new phase. The objective is to achieve 100% digital selection of the beneficiaries in the new phase. The project has also successfully developed account management software to track enterprises' business progress. The Enterprise Account Management System (EAMS) has been specifically designed to assist small enterprises in managing their business functions through a centralized and integrated system. To expedite the beneficiary selection procedure for the upcoming phase, the project developed an Android app. In the upcoming phase, the goal is to select beneficiaries entirely digitally. In order to monitor enterprises' growth and expansion, the project has also successfully built account management software. The purpose of the Enterprise Account Management System (EAMS) is to help small businesses manage their operations using a centralized, integrated system. SWAPNO II's total planned budget for 2023 was $1.39 million USD, however just 3% of that money was actually used, which is extremely low. The Local Project Appraisal Committee (LPAC) of UNDP decided to hold the fund until government approval arrives, which is the main reason for this low utilization rate. The Swedish fund was intended to be used in conjunction with the government allocation, but ECNEC's approval caused this delay which came officially in December 2023. The UNDP Track grant was utilized for project preparation in accordance with the LPAC committee's decision.

The extended phase of SWAPNO II proposes utilising different livelihood skill development training, life skill training, engagement with additional income-generating activities and access to different service providing agencies which will lead to the ultimate goal of the project: "Increased productivity as well as profitability, productive employment, and ensured social, economic, and environmental benefits". This will be delivered through three inter-linked outcomes of the project, Outcome (i): Increased income and assets engaging local economy and skill development, Outcome (ii): Strengthened human capabilities to build climate resilience capacity, and Outcome (iii) Strengthen institutional capacity for sustaining SWAPNO benefits. During the proposed extended phase, SWAPNO II will support another 10,044 underprivileged and climate vulnerable rural women from 10 poorest districts of Northern flood prone areas and Southern Coastal zone of Bangladesh. In addition, the project will provide need-based follow-up support to 3,564 women from the current phase who already graduated from extreme poverty.