ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº

What did some of the participating teams come up with?
 

AGRICULTURE
 

• Benin’s Land Tenure Management Project is a national initiative to strengthen land rights by collecting cadastral data and decentralizing land management. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to integrate evidence-backed approaches to improve inclusion of vulnerable groups, including intensive trainings for local officials to identify and mediate secondary rights, and mobilization of local leaders to expand participation in data collection. These approaches are informed by a previous randomized evaluation in Benin showing that widows gained significantly from land formalization, with stronger community recognition of their rights as the key driver.

• The Gambia’s Inclusive and Resilient Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (GIRAV) aims to boost agricultural investment and production through matching grants and complementary access to land titling and finance. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to integrate digital innovations, including flexible input programs that evidence shows can raise cost-effectiveness by over 20% and AI-powered tools to enhance extension and promote adoption of recommended practices. The project will also explore complementary interventions to improve irrigation use and sustainability.

• Ghana’s Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) is part of the regional effort to strengthen food systems across West Africa. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to compare centralized demonstrations by extension agents with decentralized demonstrations through farmer minikits, building on evidence from Bangladesh that decentralized self-experimentation more than doubled seed adoption. It will also layer in location-specific agrometeorological data, informed by evidence from India that timely climate information increased cultivated land by 15% and boosted upfront investments by one-third, and will test these approaches through a randomized evaluation.

• Niger’s Livestock and Agriculture Modernization Project (LAMP) is a $1 billion initiative to enhance food security for 5 million people by upgrading irrigation systems, improving input supply chains, expanding market access, and financing agricultural SMEs. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to integrate evidence-backed practices including marginal water pricing through smart meters, informed by evidence in  that shows that feedback on water use reduces water gaps by 70%, and digital extension tools, informed by a study on  that estimates a tenfold increase in cost-effectiveness. The project plans to test water fee systems through a randomized trial across 50 irrigation sites.

• Nigeria’s Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project aims to increase productivity, commercialization, and resilience across targeted livestock value chains. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to expand private veterinary services through digital marketplaces, subsidies, and AI chatbots, while promoting technology adoption via e-learning, digital content, and community livestock officers. The project will evaluate the impacts of index-based livestock insurance and complementary crop residue technologies on uptake, herd value, household welfare, conflict reduction, and women’s economic empowerment.

• The Republic of Congo’s Poultry and Aquaculture Development Project aims to boost sector growth by improving production quality, resilience to climate shocks, and market access. During the LEADS workshop, the project identified evidence-backed approaches including training-of-trainers, digital extension via videos and WhatsApp, and targeting intermediaries to strengthen market distribution. These interventions and their complementarities will be tested through a randomized evaluation to assess impacts on competitiveness, adoption of best practices, and resilience.

• Senegal’s Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) Phase 3 is part of multiphase regional initiative to strengthen preparedness against food insecurity and build resilience in food systems. During the LEADS workshop, the project identified opportunities to complement traditional extension with digital and AI-enabled tools, expand access to finance, and improve irrigation, drawing on evidence from Kenya and Rwanda where combining digital with traditional extension increased adoption by 22%. It will also apply evidence on anticipatory action to design contingency plans and will test drought response measures through a randomized trial.

• Senegal’s Integrated Water Security and Sanitation Project seeks to expand urban sanitation in eight new communes in Dakar and promote reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation. Following the LEADS workshop, the project will explore how different incentives and service delivery approaches can increase household connections, usage, and adoption, with a focus on vulnerable groups. The evaluation will generate evidence on behavior change, investment costs, and efficient scale-up to inform adaptive implementation and improved water governance.

• Sierra Leone’s PCS Onion Farming is an IFC investment that supports 500 hectares of commercial onion production in Port Loko District while strengthening local communities. Following the LEADS workshop, the project seeks to evaluate economic and productivity gains for local out-growers through training and provision of inputs, as well as spillover effects on household welfare and community development. Access to jobs will be randomized through phased hiring to measure impacts on income, food security, productivity, and women’s empowerment, with over 90% of positions targeted for women.~

• Togo’s Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Program is the first phase of a multiphase effort to strengthen the agribusiness environment, build resilient crop production, and expand access to modern inputs, irrigation, mechanization, and extension services. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to leverage an IDA-IFC partnership to connect farmers with AgTech firms that provide integrated services, from inputs to market access. Evidence from digital agriculture initiatives shows that bundling services can significantly increase farmer productivity and incomes. The project will test the impact of these AgTech partnerships through a randomized evaluation across farming communities.

ADOLESCENT GIRLS' EDUCATION & SKILLS
 

• Chad’s Improving Learning Outcomes Project aims to boost basic literacy and numeracy among CE1 pupils through the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to test TaRL’s effectiveness in Chad’s fragile context, using an embedded cohort randomized design across 2,000 schools and drawing on evidence from 15 African countries. The evaluation will generate operational insights to inform adaptive implementation amid high learning poverty, low completion rates, and socio-economic and conflict-related challenges.

• Côte d’Ivoire’s Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) System Operation aims to improve governance, training quality, and access, with a focus on girls. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to test how tailored messaging delivered through trusted networks—highlighting role models, job prospects, and income potential while addressing gender stereotypes—can boost girls’ enrollment. Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire and the Republic of Congo shows that targeted communication and supportive measures, such as safe spaces, can enhance retention and empowerment, laying the groundwork for a future evaluable design.

• Côte d’Ivoire’s Youth Employment and Skills Development Project (PEJEDEC) aims to strengthen youth entrepreneurship and employment opportunities. Following the LEADS workshop, the project plans to test the effects of providing financing alone versus financing bundled with coaching, mentoring, and AI-supported tools, with a focus on young female entrepreneurs, and will integrate targeted communication and role models to boost outreach. These interventions will be evaluated through a randomized impact evaluation, measuring outcomes such as business operations, sales, income, job creation, innovation, and financial behaviors.

• The Sub-Saharan Africa Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Plus (SWEDD+) regional project aims to expand access to education, economic opportunities, and health services for girls and women. In Togo, the project plans to offer vocational training to out-of-school young women aged 15–24. Following the LEADS workshop, the project is considering a comprehensive, evidence-based package including , , , , and â€”each shown to improve women’s socioeconomic outcomes across Africa. A randomized trial is proposed to assess the program’s effects on young women’s skills, income, and empowerment, as well as the added value of addressing harmful gender norms through community engagement.

DOMESTIC REVENUE MOBILIZATION

• Ghana’s Public Financial Management for Service Delivery (PFM4SD). This project aims to improve public resource mobilization, budget execution, and accountability. To do it, one central goal is to increasing adoption of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform through evidence-based strategies that address human factors like performance reporting and incentives. Following the LEADS workshop, the project team plans to implement evidence-based strategies to boost direct system utilization among more than 300 MDAS and MMDAs. Interventions targeting human factors, such as performance reports and incentives, draw on evidence from , where performance monitoring and reporting under specific conditions reduced overspending by up to 15% (equivalent to 0.1% of GDP). These interventions can then be refined through a trial-and-adopt impact evaluation to maximize effectiveness.

• Nigeria’s Accelerating Resources Mobilization Program for Results (ARMOR PforR) seeks to improve tax compliance through key digital reforms, including enhanced online filing for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) and nationwide e-invoicing. Following the LEADS workshop, the project will implement evidence-based strategies to increase timely online filing and adoption of e-invoicing, including targeted messaging informed by diagnostic surveys and enforcement measures such as disallowing CIT deductions for non-compliant invoices. These interventions draw on evidence showing that targeted digital and enforcement approaches can substantially increase compliance, and their effectiveness will be tested through a randomized controlled trial for messaging and a difference-in-differences approach for e-invoicing adoption.

• Senegal’s Enhancing Capacity for Achievement of Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) Goals aims to broaden the tax base and improve compliance through targeted digital and data-driven strategies. Building on insights from the LEADS workshop, the project will test whether equipping local tax and municipal agents with tablets can increase registered businesses and local revenues, and whether sending property owners tailored notifications—based on estimated taxes or simple reminders—can boost property tax compliance in Dakar. These interventions will be evaluated through randomized controlled trials to generate evidence on effective approaches for scaling revenue collection.
   

ENERGY

• Access to electricity in Nigeria through mini grids by Husk Power Systems (Husk). Husk seeks to build many solar mini grids in Nigeria over the next five years. It is the first client under the IFC-DARES platform, a complementary intervention to the World Bank DARES program supporting the M300 initiative. The company is now working with IFC and the World Bank to develop a rigorous impact evaluation that will generate evidence on the economic, social and environmental impacts of clean electrification for individuals and businesses. This will inform the design of future projects under the platform and will help stimulate further investments in mini-grids. 

• Cleaner logistics and quality jobs in Africa through EcoFleet. EcoFleet enables industrial firms across Sub-Saharan Africa to replace diesel forklifts with electric alternatives, reducing costs, improving efficiency, and enhancing environmental outcomes. The project also creates high-quality jobs through targeted training and recruitment of electric forklift operators. EcoFleet is now working with IFC to design a rigorous impact evaluation that will generate evidence on the operational, environmental, and social impacts of transitioning to electric forklifts, including effects on employee satisfaction and wellbeing, which will inform the design of future clean logistics initiatives.