Challenge Funds (CF) have been implemented in several countries by donors to elicit innovative responses to a variety of chronic challenges, including bottlenecks in financial access, reducing the number of out-of-school children, arresting waste and inefficiencies in agricultural value chains.

According to a growing body of evidence, increased female participation in the economy, particularly via women-owned small and medium enterprises has positive effects on economic growth and wider developmental goals and priorities. Despite such mounting evidence, we find that women-owned SMEs and female entrepreneurs face barriers and constraints that severely restrict their growth potential.