Focus Group Discussion
The Impact assessment exercise featured a focus group discussion that brought together 10 experts to share insights on the effectiveness and areas of the programme that require improvement as a result of their participation in the programme. Participants were drawn to include representatives from both the Francophone and anglophone communities. Also, gender disaggregation of at least 40% was considered during the sampling process. However, only 30% of female participation was recorded during the course of the activity (i.e. 3 female and 7 male participants). Participants are high-level community members with multiple years of experience working in the African Innovation Ecosystem who have participated in one way or the other in the ACBP activities. The discussion spurred conversations on the success of the programme, but more importantly, had contributions on noticeable aspects of the programme that required improvement.
Below, are questions and a summary of contributions from the FGD session
Question 1: What did we get right? Which of the components of the programme has delivered great benefit?
The different ACBP components include the Hub Learning Week (HLW), Physical Workshop, Hubs in Residence (HIR), AfriLabs Academy, Virtual Meetup Grant (VMG) and Capacity Building Awards (CBA) have delivered great contents and value to the ecosystem, and further built the capacity of African hubs on hub management, investment readiness, and sustainable networking. FGD participants highlighted that it has been highly impactful and helpful so far, in passing down knowledge to help improve the operations of the hubs and has further inspired the design of similar local programme across the ecosystem.
Question 2: What do we need to improve on the AfriLabs Capacity Building Pro- gramme?
Participants mentioned certain aspects of the programme that needs improvements based on their previous engagement. These include inclusivity, community interaction, resource availability, and content management. Inclusive participation should be encouraged during virtual meetings. Effective translation systems should be provided so that francophone and anglophone members can maximize each session. Training resources should be digitalized so that members of the network can utilize them for
ACBP Impact Assessment Report
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