Written by: Irene Danquah, Programme Manager and Marijke Greets, Technical Lead Knowledge Management
The Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility, a programme co-funded by the European Union, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the British Council, has supported over 70 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries in creating more inclusive and enabling conditions for doing business. Implemented jointly by the British Council, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Expertise France and SNV, the ICR Facility combines technical expertise with a commitment to build more equitable and sustainable economies. Since its launch in 2019, the programme has provided technical assistance to 91 partner organisations and 61 development finance institutions (DFIs), achieving significant impact across diverse contexts through the joint efforts of all four implementing agencies.
The ICR Facility is demand-driven by design. This means public and private sector actors – such as ministries, chambers of commerce, development finance institutions and business associations – request support based on their identified needs. This model has enabled tailored, locally relevant interventions. Across the ICR Facility, a particular emphasis has been placed on omen’s economic empowerment (WEE), recognising that structural inequalities in law, policy and institutional practice often continue to restrict women’s full participation in the economy. Legal frameworks may appear gender-neutral, but in practice, women are frequently excluded from certain jobs, property ownership and access to finance. Tackling these inequalities at policy and institutional levels has been a shared priority.
In Malawi, a Gender Audit carried out in partnership with the Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) brought about significant and meaningful improvement. Over 30 companies pledged zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace, and several adopted new internal policies to promote gender equality. In Tuvalu, research findings were incorporated into the country’s National Investment Policy, and local government removed business taxes for women-owned enterprises with fewer than five employees, creating new opportunities for female entrepreneurship in the handicraft sector. These are two of many impactful interventions supported by the ICR Facility consortium. Since the programme’s inception, 41 business reform programmes have been implemented, 25 of which are expected to influence gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. In total, 74 interventions have contributed to WEE, and more than 2,300 women have taken part in ICR seminars, workshops and training sessions.
Knowledge sharing has also been central to the Facility’s work. As the lead agency on knowledge management, the British Council has worked closely with its consortium partners to ensure that lessons learned are shared in accessible, meaningful ways. Whether through technical reports, policy briefs, webinars, blog posts or online courses, the consortium has emphasised co-creation with local stakeholders. This participatory approach has resulted in over 250 gender-focused knowledge products and technical tools, many co-authored or led by experts in the ACP regions.
A flagship initiative in this space has been the Business Environment Reform for Women’s Economic Empowerment (BER4WEE) training, which is offered in three formats - live delivery by local experts, tailored in-country workshops and a self-paced online course. Across the ACP regions, hundreds of policymakers and practitioners have now taken part. In Jamaica, attorney and gender advocate René Gayle Roper applied the training to strengthen her work on wage transparency and expand women’s roles in the tech sector. In Kenya, researcher Samuel Mulu Mutisya integrated the training’s concepts into a mentorship programme for girls, following insights gathered through gender-sensitive focus groups. These initiatives are reshaping local policy and programming in tangible ways.
Adapting to local realities has been critical throughout the ICR Facility’s implementation. In the Pacific, extra time was needed as we worked with translators and local intermediaries to conduct consultations with people from multiple islands speaking numerous languages. Communicating the demand-led nature of the ICR Facility also required significant effort. In the programme’s early phase, many prospective partners were unfamiliar with the model. Between 2019 and 2021, only six British Council-led interventions were delivered. However, with clearer communication and targeted outreach, demand increased significantly, and an additional 17 interventions were implemented over the following three years – many of which focused on entrepreneurship, youth employment, and inclusive investment policy.
Across the consortium, dissemination of lessons learned has reached more than 31,000 stakeholders through events, training, and publications. The Facility’s Knowledge Hub includes over 200 resources, such as peer-to-peer exchanges, thematic reports and training modules. One of the highlights of 2024 was the ICR4WEE Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where over 140 participants from 36 ACP countries came together to explore how investment climate reform can better serve women. Key topics included gender-sensitive industrial policies, access to finance, gender-based violence in the workplace, and the role of unpaid care work in shaping economic opportunities. The event showcased how collaborative reform can generate meaningful, cross-sector impact.
As Escipión Oliveira Gómez, former Assistant Secretary General of the OACPS, remarked, “The beauty of the ICR Facility is seeing the European Commission, four European countries and the OACPS Secretariat working together with public and private stakeholders in our countries and regions to promote a brighter future for our private sector. Everyone is very committed to move the project forward.”
As the ICR Facility enters its final phase, the British Council remains committed to applying the lessons learned and methodologies developed through the programme. Our experience has reinforced the value of culturally intelligent, inclusive approaches to economic development – especially those that centre on the needs of women and youth. Together with our European partners, we are actively exploring new opportunities to build on this work and deepen our support for gender-sensitive, locally led reforms.