Productive Inclusion Programs in Urban Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's fastest urbanizing region. This presentseconomic opportunities for the poor and vulnerable but also poses significant barriers to their economic inclusion. Withan increasing focus on jobs and economic transformation in Africa, productive inclusion programs have emerged as apromising instrument to promote job creation in the urban informal sector, especially for poor youth and women. Thispaper examines the operational feasibility of delivering productive inclusion programs in urban African areas atscale. It aims to provide technical clarity and contribute to the knowledge around urban productive inclusion, thusproviding operational teams with a framework and reference for designing and implementing such programs. The papershows that there is a clear case for expanding productive inclusion programs in urban Africa and emphasizes four maindesign and operational considerations. First, the challenges of beneficiary selection have implications for how programsdefine eligible groups as well as for delivery systems in registering and enrolling beneficiaries. Second, programobjectives and features should be based on the binding constraints to income generation of the target group inurban and peri-urban contexts. Third, delivery systems need to adapt to deliver high-intensity and group interventions.Fourth, effective engagement with urban actors and policies can stimulate complementary investments in people and places.