Global Initiative towards post-Covid-19 resurgence of the MSME sector (United Nations Development Account project 2023W)

Independentevaluation of: Global Initiative towards post-Covid-19resurgence of the MSME sector (United NationsDevelopment Account project 2023W)* Independent Evaluation UnitJune2024 *This report was commissioned by UNCTAD. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the externalevaluator and do not represent the views of the UNCTAD secretariat or of the organizations orinstitutionswith which the evaluator may be connected, or organizations or institutions that commissioned this evaluation.This evaluation report has been reproduced without formal editing by the UNCTAD secretariat. This evaluation report wasprepared by Patrick Breard, Ariane Agnes CorradiandJude Kallick, hereafter theevaluator. IndependentProjectEvaluationsareusuallyconductedbyexternalevaluators.TheroleoftheIndependentEvaluationUnitoftheUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment(UNCTAD)inrelationtoindependentprojectevaluationsthatitmanagesisoneofqualityassuranceandsupportthroughouttheevaluationprocess,includingprovisionofnormativetools,guidelinesandtemplatestobeusedintheevaluationprocess,andclearanceofthefinalreport.ThisroleisbasedontheresponsibilityoftheEvaluationUnittorespondtothecommitmentoftheUnitedNationsEvaluationGroup(UNEG)inprofessionalizingtheevaluationfunctionandpromotingacultureofevaluationwithinUNCTADforthepurposesofaccountabilityandcontinuous learning and improvement.The principles underpinning the evaluation function areenshrinedintheUNEGNormsandStandardsforevaluation. Inordertosupportatransparentandlearningenvironment,UNCTAD'sevaluationframeworkiscurrentlydefinedbyitsEvaluationPolicyasapprovedinJune2023. TheEvaluationUnitcanbecontactedat:UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopmentPalaisdesNations,8-14,Av.delaPaix,1211Geneva10SwitzerlandTelephone:+41229171234Email:evaluation@unctad.org Website:https://unctad.org/about/accountability Table of Contents Lists of figures, tables, and boxes....................................................................................................................................4List of Acronyms and Abbreviations................................................................................................................................5Executive summary............................................................................................................................................................61. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................112. Description of the Project..............................................................................................................................................112.1 Background................................................................................................................................................................112.2 Project objectives and expected accomplishments.........................................................................................122.3 Project strategies and key activities.....................................................................................................................132.4 Beneficiaries and target countries........................................................................................................................142.5 Key partners and other key stakeholders...........................................................................................................162.6 Resources.................................................................................................................................................................162.7 Link to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)..........................................................................................172.8 Innovative elements...............................................................................................................................................173. Evaluation objectives, scope, and questions............................................................................................................173.1 Purpose and objectives...........................................................................................................................................173.2 Evaluation scope, criteria, and questions............................................................................................................184. Methodology..................................................................................................................................................................195. Findings............................................................................................................................................................................215.1 Relevance..............................................................................................................................