About the Women and Girls Fund

The Women and Girls Fund (WGF) is a key initiative under the Scottish Government’s International Development Equalities Programme. It is designed to advance gender equality and empower women and girls in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. The fund aligns with Scotland’s Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP), emphasising participatory, intersectional, and rights-based approaches to international development.

The fund is implemented through a partnership led by Ecorys, in collaboration with FAWE Malawi, FAWE Rwanda, and FAWE Zambia. This partnership ensures a Southern-led approach, recognizing the expertise and lived experiences of local women and girl-led organisations (WGLOs).

Objectives

The WGF aims to:

  1. To support women and Girls/WGLOs in Malawi, Zambia, and Rwanda to advance Gender Equality
  2. To establish a participatory funding mechanism to design and evaluate the fund.
  3. To capture learning of the participatory approach

Purpose an Intended Results

The WGF is designed to shift power to the Global South, ensuring that women and girl-led organisations can drive solutions that best respond to their needs. The fund will:

  • Provide direct funding to small and emerging WGLOs.
  • Enable advocacy and movement-building to challenge harmful gender norms and promote women’s rights.
  • Support initiatives that enhance the social, economic, and political participation of women and girls.
  • Ensure accountability and impact measurement through a participatory monitoring and evaluation framework.

By investing in grassroots and community-driven initiatives, the WGF aims to contribute to long-term gender transformation in the target countries.

Delivery Structure

The Women and Girls Fund will be implemented in three phases:

  1. Design Phase:
    • Stakeholder mapping and participatory needs assessment.
    • Co-designing the fund with input from WGLOs.
    • Developing application guidelines and funding priorities.
  2. Delivery Phase:
    • Grant disbursement to selected organisations.
    • Capacity-building support for grantees.
    • Establishing peer learning networks and mentorship programs.
  3. Management and Evaluation Phase:
    • Monitoring impact and learning from funded initiatives.
    • Strengthening institutional capacity among WGLOs.
    • Ensuring sustainability through ongoing technical support and partnerships.

Conclusion

The Women and Girls Fund represents a transformative approach to gender equality, empowerment, and social justice. By placing women and girl-led organisations at the centre, the fund ensures that interventions are locally driven, sustainable, and impactful. Through advocacy, funding, and capacity-building, the WGF is set to make significant strides toward achieving a more just and equitable world for all women and girls.