Banyan Global implemented the global Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality Technical Assistance (WE3 TA) task order, awarded under the Advancing the Agenda of Gender Equality (ADVANTAGE) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. Under the direction of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (E3/GenDev), Banyan Global provided advisory services to stakeholders to better analyze, design, implement, and monitor interventions addressing women’s economic empowerment and equality constraints and opportunities in support of USAID’s Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy.

Under WE3 TA, Banyan Global provided technical assistance and co-facilitated, along with FHI 360, two Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) and Private Sector Engagement prioritized activities:

USAID Consultative Meeting on Partnering with the Private Sector to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment
The consultative meeting took place in July 2019 and its objectives were to identify ways in which USAID can best build WE3-related partnerships with private sector partners and capacity to integrate gender and WE3 strategies, analyses, and metrics into joint programming.  Participants engaged in a robust discussion about promising practices and recommendations regarding outreach and relationship development, due diligence, communications, and measurement.

USAID/Mastercard Co-Design Workshop
The USAID/Mastercard co-design workshop participants met in August 2019 to discuss how they could partner to promote women’s economic empowerment. This workshop brought together a diverse group of USAID and Mastercard stakeholders to identify existing or new initiatives they could pursue together in support of W-GDP. By the end of the workshop, a goal statement, short- and long-term partnership areas, market priorities, and next steps were solidified.