Ecorys to conduct external evaluation of migrant entrepreneurship projects

In May 2018, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded Ecorys (in partnership with the Erasmus University) the contract to carry out the external evaluation of migrant entrepreneurship projects, implemented in the context of the Dutch policy regarding international migration and development.

The objective of the evaluation is to assess the performance of the six projects implemented, and to draw lessons for future decision-making on projects focusing on ‘diaspora entrepreneurs(hip)’ in fragile and development settings.

The six migrant entrepreneurship projects have been implemented by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Izere, Stiching the Network University (TNU), Spark, and Seva Network Foundation. The assignment will include field studies to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Burundi and Morocco complemented by desk country studies in a number of other countries. To support the review at policy level, the evaluation will also involve a review of review (academic) literature on the role of the diaspora in developing the private sector in fragile contexts and developing countries. Furthermore, the evaluation will include a review of similar interventions with corresponding objectives and contexts funded by other donors to compare strategies and results.