Decent work and economic growth (SDG8)

• The Covid-19 pandemic has “increased unemployment, underemployment and inactivity; losses in labour and business income, especially in the most impacted sectors; enterprise closures and bankruptcies, particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; supply chain disruptions; informality and insecurity of work and income; new challenges to health, safety and rights at work; and exacerbated poverty and economic and social inequality” (International Labour Organization – Global call to action for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient).
• Women and girls are hit harder as they are more likely to be in informal work, have no benefits, and hold positions as caregivers (United Nations).

People have lost their jobs precipitously, due to the insecure nature of their work, as with the millions of migrant day labourers we documented in India.

Others have been effectively cut off from their waged work by illness or by the necessity of caring for ill family members. And yet others have been cut off from their work by lockdowns and government restrictions on movement (as with fishers’ inability to set to sea in the Philippines or vendors’ inability to access markets in Indonesia and Bangladesh) or narrow categorisation of what constitutes ‘essential work’ and legally permitted to continue (as with waste-pickers in South Africa and Colombia).

The Voices from the Frontline stories showcase countless examples of local entrepreneurs turning adversity into opportunity by developing products to meet the demand for Covid-related products, such as hand gels, sanitisers and masks. As described in the chapter about sanitation (SDG6, above), this has often been facilitated by seed funds and supplies from intermediary organisations. It has spawned a new generation of micro and small businesses to produce the hygiene, sanitary products and services that are in increased demand during the pandemic.

Savings for start-ups. Community members have also made extensive use of savings groups, pooling their own funds to capitalise new business ventures during the pandemic. For instance, the Metro Focus Detergents Filming Group is under the Safe and Inclusive Cities project, a youth-led project funded by Plan International, and consists of 20 members. Saving is encouraged within the group, and the members have been practising saving 10 bond notes (approximately USD 0.10) per week. They also make and sell liquid soaps, detergents, liquid gas and different arts and crafts. “The Safe and Inclusive Cities project has been an eye opener, as I have been made aware of opportunities to generate income, and participate in my community. I have realised I can make detergents that will help my family and community,” shares group member Lonica Kenneth.

In Keta, Ghana, several friends came together to initiate a commercial farming business in the Volta region. Their goal is “to protect communities from starvation during Covid-19 and provide much-needed income,” according to Misper Apawu. Sedem Tetevi, a semi-pro basketball player and civil engineer, banded together with friends and family to pool funds and purchase land for an arable farm. They subsequently engaged young people and women in commercial farming, from production to processing and supply chain management.

Livelihood diversification. Others have diversified their existing small businesses into other products and services, either because they were forced by circumstance or they spotted new financial opportunities as a result of the pandemic. In the Philippines, fishers were cut off from their usual livelihood of catching and selling high-value fish because of the lockdown, so they diverted into seaweed farming and carrageenan production, instead – a nearby and steady job, albeit less lucrative. Meanwhile, in Uganda, Mirembe Esther and the members of the “Namungona Women Empowerment Initiative (NAWEI)” (named for the name of their informal settlement) have thrown themselves into briquette making as a means to grow their collective revenues “while waiting for government assistance” to arrive. In Nepal, an agency specialising in climate smart agriculture used the opportunity of the business to explore how to explore how it could expand its training, research and development activities after the pandemic, to reach new markets.

Keeping markets open. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, the rapid spread of Covid-19 and a related lockdown broke the supply chains from farms to urban markets. This decision not only stopped the farmers’ income, making them worse off, but also affected food supplies in the city. One organisation’s answer was to liaise with the authorities to create a temporary, make-shift vegetable market near the village mosque to serve the local community. The idea was initially opposed by the local administration for fear of breaching social distancing protocols. But the farmers persisted with their efforts, and it was agreed that community police would be appointed to enforce and monitor social distance measures so that the market could operate.

Digital innovation. Facing the close-down of traditional markets in some places, micro and small entrepreneurs have turned to different digital platforms to innovate their marketing and distribution practices. In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, businesswomen are using WhatsApp to identify customers for their produce. In Dhaka, Bangladesh and its surroundings, young entrepreneurs have instigated new forms of internet-based ordering to maintain their groceries sales during the pandemic and meet communities’ food needs. Several youth-led companies in Nepal, including those offering training and human resource solutions, moved the bulk of their business online in response to lockdowns.

The following noteworthy and sustainable financing approaches at community level are driving income generation and people’s ability to accumulate savings and assets, in the context of the pandemic: (Ebrahim for CDKN. Forthcoming, 2021).

• Village Savings and Loan Association Savings Groups
  • Participatory self-managed and self-funding approach, based on saving money, earning interest and accessing savings as loans for income generation.
• Profit-sharing microfinance model
  • Model based on the principles of a ‘revolving credit facility’, with a profit share mechanism.
• Kiva crowd-funding supported by local field partners
  • International crowd-funding platform that partners with local field partners to facilitate loans to the financially underserved.
• Abalimi subsidy model
  • Indirect funding mechanism whereby micro-farmers received essential training, resources and services at subsidised cost or below market prices.