Category: Projects

The vitality of civil society organizations (CSOs) is crucial for sustainable development. From 2012 to 2013, the Africa Label Group (ALG), supported by USAID, implemented a targeted program to bolster the capacity of key Senegalese CSOs. This initiative was designed to enhance the institutional strength and operational effectiveness of organizations receiving USAID grants, specifically Enda Graf Sahel, ONG 3D, and ANAFA.

ALG’s Core Insights and Methodology

ALG’s approach was founded on a critical insight: true capacity building must be organization-led and rooted in rigorous self-assessment. External interventions, however well-intentioned, can only succeed if they align with the CSOs’ internal understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses.

The Methodology was structured in three phases:

1. Expert-Led Self-Diagnosis (The Foundation)

ALG’s first step was to provide expert facilitation for a comprehensive self-diagnosis. This was not an external audit but a facilitated internal review. The expertise offered by ALG helped the CSOs to:

• Systematically analyze their governance, financial management, programmatic impact, human resources, and internal processes.
• Identify critical gaps and bottlenecks in their structure and operations that hindered their effectiveness and sustainability.
• Establish a baseline for their current capacity level, moving beyond anecdotal evidence to data-driven assessment.

Insight in Action: By empowering the CSOs to lead their own diagnosis, ALG ensured ownership of the findings, which is paramount for successful implementation of reforms.

2. Strategic Planning for Impact (The Blueprint)

Based on the self-diagnosis, the CSOs moved into a strategic planning phase, again facilitated by ALG’s experts. This phase transformed identified needs into actionable, long-term plans. Key activities included:

• Vision and Mission Review: Re-aligning organizational goals with current operational realities and donor expectations (specifically USAID’s objectives).
• Prioritization of Reforms: Identifying 3-5 critical areas (e.g., diversifying funding, improving monitoring and evaluation, enhancing communication) for immediate and medium-term action.
• Developing a Strategic Roadmap: Crafting a clear document outlining objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs), resource allocation, and timelines for capacity development.

Insight in Action: ALG’s role was to provide the framework and tools, ensuring the strategic plans were realistic, measurable, and directly addressed the weaknesses uncovered during the self-diagnosis.

3. Targeted Capacity Building Workshops (The Implementation)

The final phase involved a series of hands-on workshops designed to fill the specific competency gaps identified in the strategic plans. Unlike generic training, these sessions were customized for the needs of Enda Graf Sahel, ONG 3D, and ANAFA. Workshop themes likely included:

• Proposal Writing and Resource Mobilization: Training on developing compelling and compliant proposals to secure future funding beyond the current USAID grant.
• Financial Management and Accountability: Enhancing internal controls, budgeting, and financial reporting standards to meet stringent donor requirements.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L): Equipping staff with tools to measure program impact effectively, ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.

The Result:

The ALG-USAID partnership successfully transitioned these CSOs from a reactive operational model to a proactive, strategically-led one. By combining expert-led self-assessment with tailored strategic planning and training, the initiative built a lasting foundation for institutional resilience and sustainable development impact within Senegal’s civil society landscape.

Project Title: Study on the socio-economic impact of culture on development – GIZ

Executing Body: Africa Label Group (ALG)

Project Summary and Findings:

ALG successfully executed a comprehensive study for GIZ focused on exploring the intricate linkages between culture and development, specifically within the context of Mali. The core objective of the assignment was to produce empirical findings that could assess and quantify the contribution of the creative industries sector to Mali’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This involved a detailed analysis of various cultural sub-sectors, including music, crafts, visual arts, fashion, and digital content creation, to understand their economic footprint, job creation capacity, and value chain dynamics. The study moved beyond mere anecdotal evidence to provide robust, data-driven insights into how cultural production and consumption drive socio-economic growth and foster community resilience.

Applied Insights and Methodology:

The study utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative economic modeling with qualitative field research. Key applied insights included:

1. Economic Quantification: Developing a methodology to estimate the value added by creative industries, distinguishing between formal and informal cultural economic activities, which are particularly significant in Mali.
2. Employment and Livelihoods: Analyzing the types of employment generated, focusing on youth and women, and assessing the overall impact on livelihoods and poverty reduction.
3. Policy Landscape Assessment: Reviewing the existing national and regional policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks that govern the creative sector to identify gaps and opportunities for intervention.
4. Value Chain Mapping: Detailed mapping of the production, distribution, and consumption value chains for selected high-impact cultural sectors to pinpoint critical investment nodes and bottlenecks.

Importance of the Study for Policy Promotion in Mali and the West Africa Region:

This study is of paramount importance for the following reasons, particularly for the promotion and implementation of effective policies relating to creative industries in Mali and across the wider West Africa region:

1. Evidence-Based Policymaking: The study provides governments, development partners, and regional bodies like ECOWAS with credible, quantitative data. This evidence is essential for moving the creative sector from a peripheral social concern to a central economic priority, justifying public investment and policy focus.
2. Strategic Resource Allocation: By quantifying the contribution to GDP, the study offers a powerful argument for allocating domestic and international resources towards the creative economy. It helps policymakers prioritize sub-sectors with the highest potential for economic return and sustainable employment.
3. Regional Policy Harmonization: The findings can serve as a benchmark and a model for similar studies in other West African nations. This is crucial for regional integration and for harmonizing policies—especially those concerning intellectual property rights, cultural goods mobility, and taxation—to facilitate a more robust regional creative market.
4. Private Sector Engagement: The concrete economic data helps to de-risk the creative sector in the eyes of private investors and financial institutions. It makes a compelling case for developing specialized financing mechanisms, such as cultural enterprise funds or creative sector loan guarantees, which are vital for scaling up micro and small cultural enterprises.
5. Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power: The data reinforces the value of Mali’s rich cultural heritage not just as a domestic asset, but as a source of regional and international “soft power.” Promoting the creative industries thus becomes a tool for international cooperation, trade, and cultural diplomacy.

The COVID-19 pandemic did more than trigger a global health crisis; it unleashed a devastating socio-economic storm, particularly on vulnerable groups like women and youth in already fragile intervention areas. When GIZ tasked us (ALG) in 2021 with designing a strategy and fund to mitigate these impacts in Mali, we knew a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work.

Our key insight was simple yet profound: Effective mitigation requires a foundation built on granular, validated needs assessment and locally-tailored implementation tools.

The ALG Insight: Beyond Relief, Towards Sustainable Empowerment

Many emergency responses focus solely on immediate relief. While critical, this often misses the underlying systemic vulnerabilities that the crisis exacerbated. Our approach, highlighted by the focused study mentioned: “Design of the strategy for setting up a fund to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic in the project intervention area for the benefit of women and young people – GIZ,” demonstrated this core principle:

1. Needs Assessment as the Blueprint:

We didn’t rely on assumptions. The first and most crucial step was assessing the specific needs of the target groups—women and young people—within the project intervention area. In a context like Mali, this meant understanding:

• How the pandemic uniquely disrupted women’s informal businesses and access to markets.
• The impact of school closures and economic downturns on youth employment and training opportunities.
• The most pressing gaps in local capacity and existing social safety nets.

This deep dive ensured that the resulting fund would address real bottlenecks, not perceived ones, maximising the impact of every resource invested.

2. Tool Development for Local Ownership:

A brilliant strategy is useless without practical means of execution. Our project’s second pillar was developing the tools for the implementation of the project. This wasn’t just about financial models; it involved creating practical instruments that local partners could readily use:

• Fund Disbursement Criteria: Simple, transparent rules that prioritized the most affected and potentially high-impact initiatives (e.g., micro-grants for women-led food processing units).
• Monitoring & Evaluation Frameworks: User-friendly tools that allowed for real-time tracking of socio-economic indicators and fund performance, ensuring accountability and adaptability.
• Capacity Building Modules: Materials to train local implementers on project management, financial literacy, and gender-sensitive approaches.

By focusing on these core insights—validated needs and localized tools—ALG ensured that the GIZ-supported fund wasn’t just another temporary handout. It was a structured, resilient mechanism designed to empower women and youth to recover their livelihoods, build resilience against future shocks, and become drivers of economic stability in their communities.

ALG conducted this assignment in 2021, proving that a data-driven, localized approach is the most sustainable way to navigate global crises.

In 2012, ALG successfully completed a critical assignment for the Ministry of Gender and Family in Burkina Faso: conducting a comprehensive gender diagnosis across various government ministries and institutions. This initiative was a significant step towards assessing and strengthening the nation’s commitment to gender mainstreaming.

The Imperative for a Gender Diagnosis

The core objective of this diagnosis was to provide a clear, evidence-based assessment of the efforts undertaken by different sectors of the government to integrate gender perspectives into their policies, programs, budgets, and institutional cultures. By identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) related to gender equality, the diagnosis aimed to inform targeted interventions and foster a more equitable public service landscape.Approach and Methodology

ALG employed a rigorous and participatory methodology to ensure the relevance and accuracy of the findings. The approach was structured around the following key components:

1. Desk Review and Document Analysis:

A thorough review of existing national gender policies, legal frameworks (including international and regional commitments), sector-specific strategies, organizational charts, and annual reports of the targeted ministries and institutions was conducted. This step established a baseline understanding of the formal commitment to gender equality.

2. Institutional Capacity Assessment:

This focused on evaluating the internal capacity for gender mainstreaming. 

Key areas of inquiry included:

• Existence and Functionality of Gender Focal Points/Units: Assessing the mandate, resources, and influence of the designated gender mechanisms within each institution.
• Staff Competencies: Evaluating the level of gender sensitivity and technical skills among staff, particularly those in decision-making positions, through training records and direct interviews.
• Resource Allocation: Analyzing the extent to which budgets were gender-responsive, ensuring resources were dedicated to activities promoting gender equality.

3. Data Collection and Stakeholder Consultation:

• Qualitative Interviews: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants, including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of Administration and Finance, Gender Focal Points, and representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs) and development partners. These conversations sought to understand the practical challenges and successes of gender integration.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): FGDs were held with various groups of staff (men and women at different hierarchical levels) to gather diverse perspectives on the organizational culture, resistance to change, and perceived impact of gender initiatives.
• Survey Questionnaires: Structured questionnaires were administered to a broader sample of employees to quantify levels of awareness, attitudes, and practices related to gender equality in the workplace and in program delivery.

4. Analysis and Report Generation:

The collected data—both qualitative and quantitative—was systematically analyzed against established gender mainstreaming indicators. The final diagnosis report provided a clear rating or score for each institution, highlighting specific areas for improvement and offering concrete, actionable recommendations tailored to the mandate of each ministry and institution.

Impact and Legacy

The successful completion of this gender diagnosis by ALG in 2012 provided the Ministry of Gender and Family with a vital strategic tool. The findings were instrumental in:

• Policy Refinement: Informing the revision and development of the National Gender Policy and associated sectoral strategies.
• Targeted Capacity Building: Guiding the design of specific gender training programs for public sector employees where capacity gaps were most pronounced.
• Accountability: Establishing a baseline against which future progress on gender equality could be measured and monitored, fostering greater institutional accountability.

This assignment underscored Burkina Faso’s commitment to transforming its public sector into a more equitable and effective driver of national development through the consistent integration of a gender perspective.

The fight against corruption is a global challenge, particularly in developing nations where institutional fragility can be exploited. From 2007 to 2009, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) recognized this imperative and partnered with the Africa Label Group (ALG) for a crucial intervention aimed at strengthening the anti-corruption framework in Burundi. This collaboration was more than a series of isolated tasks; it was a dedicated, multi-faceted strategy to design and implement robust mechanisms to combat entrenched corruption within the nation’s public sector.

ALG was entrusted with executing a comprehensive set of activities that focused on both the supply and demand sides of the anti-corruption fight. The core of the intervention was dedicated to providing targeted support to key public bodies whose mandate is critical for integrity and accountability:

• Inspection Générale d’Etat (IGE): The General State Inspectorate, responsible for auditing public accounts and administrative processes. Support focused on enhancing its capacity for rigorous investigations and oversight.
• La Cour Anticorruption: The Anti-Corruption Court, a specialized judicial body. The program aimed to strengthen its ability to handle complex corruption cases, ensuring timely and fair prosecution and judgment.
• La Brigade Spéciale Anti-Corruption (BSAC): The Special Anti-Corruption Brigade, the investigative arm of the judiciary. Capacity building was vital here to improve forensic investigation techniques and evidence gathering.

The intervention also recognized the crucial role of civil society as a watchdog. Support was extended to OLUCOME (Observatoire de Lutte contre la Corruption et les Malversations Économiques), a leading civil society organization. Empowering OLUCOME helped to mobilize public opinion, monitor government integrity, and advocate for policy reforms, thereby increasing the demand for good governance and accountability from the citizenry.

The array of activities undertaken by ALG was comprehensive and strategic, designed to create a lasting institutional impact:

1. Capacity Building and Professional Development: This was a cornerstone of the project. It involved extensive training for personnel across all supported institutions. Training modules covered specialized areas such as financial investigations, asset recovery, prosecutorial techniques for corruption crimes, ethical standards, and modern auditing practices. The goal was to professionalize the anti-corruption workforce.
2. Development and Reform of Legal and Institutional Frameworks: ALG provided technical assistance to review, draft, and refine the legal instruments necessary for effective corruption fighting. This included support for updating anti-corruption laws, improving procurement regulations, and establishing clear codes of conduct for public officials. The aim was to ensure that the institutions had the necessary legal teeth to execute their mandates.
3. Enhancing Institutional Coordination and Communication: Corruption is often successfully fought when institutions work in concert. A key focus was improving communication channels and coordination mechanisms between the IGE, the Court, and the Brigade to streamline case processing, information sharing, and joint operations.
4. Strategic Planning and Operational Support: ALG assisted the institutions in developing clear strategic plans and improving internal operational procedures, leading to greater efficiency and transparency in their work.

The partnership between IFES and ALG from 2007 to 2009 delivered a significant, multi-pronged effort to bolster Burundi’s anti-corruption architecture. By simultaneously strengthening key government bodies and empowering civil society, the initiative laid a foundational framework for greater transparency, accountability, and the long-term pursuit of integrity in Burundian public life.

In 2011, Africa Legal Group successfully executed a specialized training program in Burundi, specifically tailored for magistrates of the Commercial Court. The initiative focused on two critical and complex areas of commercial jurisprudence: Banking Law (Droit bancaire) and the Law of Negotiable Instruments (Droit cambiaire). This mission was mandated by the Government of Burundi and was supported by the World Bank-funded Economy Governance Support Project (PAGE).

Scope and Impact of the Training:

The training was meticulously designed to address the practical challenges faced by commercial magistrates in adjudicating cases involving financial transactions, credit operations, and the use of commercial instruments such as checks, bills of exchange, and promissory notes.

Services Provided by ALG:

ALG’s service provision encompassed:

1. Curriculum Development: Creating a comprehensive, context-specific module that synthesized international legal standards with the nuances of Burundian commercial law.
2. Expert Instruction: Deploying seasoned legal consultants and academics with deep expertise in commercial and financial law to serve as instructors.
3. Practical Case Studies: Integrating real-world scenarios and hypothetical case studies to transition theoretical knowledge into practical application.
4. Resource Documentation: Providing magistrates with a robust set of reference materials, legal texts, and simplified guides on the complex topics covered.
5. Post-Training Support: Offering avenues for follow-up and clarification, solidifying the long-term impact of the knowledge transfer.

Extent of the Training:

The program was intensive, spanning a dedicated period to ensure thorough coverage of the subject matter. It delved into fundamental concepts, including:

• Banking Law: The legal framework governing banking institutions, lending agreements, security interests, electronic banking, bank liability, and regulatory compliance.
• Negotiable Instruments Law: The technicalities of drafts, endorsement, presentment, dishonor, and the legal recourses available to parties involved in commercial paper transactions, ensuring magistrates could accurately interpret the rights and obligations arising from these instruments.

Knowledge Transmitted to Beneficiary Magistrates:

The training aimed to equip the Commercial Court magistrates with advanced specialized knowledge, enabling them to:

• Enhance Judicial Competence: Improve the quality and consistency of judgments in complex commercial disputes, thereby strengthening the predictability and reliability of the commercial justice system in Burundi.
• Resolve Technical Disputes: Gain the necessary tools to navigate highly technical legal arguments involving financial instruments and banking regulations, which are crucial for a functioning commercial economy.
• Promote Economic Confidence: By demonstrating a high level of legal expertise in commercial matters, the magistrates contribute to a legal environment that is attractive to both domestic and foreign investors, fostering confidence in the Burundian financial sector.

The 2011 training underscores ALG’s commitment to reinforcing the legal capacity within emerging economies and facilitating the development of a robust and informed commercial judiciary.

Project Title: Providing high expertise on social protection

Africa Label Group (ALG) successfully executed a long-term, high-impact assignment in Burundi, providing specialized technical assistance to bolster the country’s social protection system. This extensive project, undertaken in partnership with UNICEF, spanned from April 2020 to August 2022, demonstrating ALG’s commitment to sustained engagement and in-depth support.

• Country of Assignment: Burundi
• Client: UNICEF
• Period: April 2020 – August 2022 (Long-term agreement)

Core Objective of the Consultancy:

The primary goal of the consultancy was to ensure the robust implementation of Burundi’s national safety net program while simultaneously providing the necessary policy framework and technical elements to consolidate and strengthen social protection interventions across the country. Initially scoped for a period of approximately 6 to 7 months, with a kick-off in December and two in-country missions, the project ultimately evolved into a multi-year partnership, reflecting the depth and complexity of the required support.

The consultancy’s work was strategically organized around achieving three distinct, yet interconnected, levels of results:

1. Capacity Building on Social Protection: This crucial pillar focused on enhancing the skills, knowledge, and institutional capacity of key national stakeholders—including government counterparts, local implementers, and partners—to design, manage, and monitor effective social protection programs independently and sustainably.
2. Evidence Generation: A foundational element of the work involved conducting rigorous analysis, studies, and assessments to generate high-quality evidence. This data-driven approach was essential for informing policy decisions, understanding the impact of existing interventions, and identifying vulnerable populations and coverage gaps.
3. Policy Advocacy: The third objective centered on translating the generated evidence and technical insights into actionable policy recommendations. This involved high-level advocacy and technical support to government bodies to help formulate, refine, and adopt progressive social protection policies that align with international best practices and national development goals.

Scope and Execution:

The assignment’s primary function was to support the UNICEF team by injecting high-level, specialized expertise into the social protection sector. This support covered several critical areas, including system strengthening, targeted training delivery, and in-depth analytical work, all managed through an Institutional Contract mechanism.

To deliver on this complex mandate, ALG mobilized a dedicated team of four high-quality, specialized experts. These consultants brought a wealth of technical knowledge and practical experience to the project, enabling ALG to effectively manage the more technical and specialized components of the assignment and ensure the delivery of a clearly defined set of expected outputs and deliverables associated with each of the three specific objectives. Through this institutional support, ALG helped UNICEF and the Burundian government move closer to achieving a comprehensive and resilient national social protection system.

The “Alley-Oop Africa” project benefited from a collaborative, innovative, and rigorous evaluation methodology deployed by ALG in partnership with “Initiatives et Impacts Territoires.” Our mission was to deliver a 360° strategic perspective to significantly enhance the project’s impact and ensure its long-term sustainability.

Our expert approach was built on the following key pillars:

1. Multidimensional and Integrated Analysis

We moved beyond a simple review of outcomes to thoroughly explore all aspects of the project, ensuring a complete understanding of its operational mechanisms:

• Strategy & Governance: We analyzed the management structure and key decision-making processes.
• Design & Tools: We assessed the suitability of planned activities and the quality of deployed resources.
• Operational Deployment: We reviewed the concrete implementation of activities, from local field actions to digital tools.

2. Transforming Diagnosis into Strategic Recommendations

The core purpose of our involvement was to convert analytical findings into actionable steps. We formulated concrete avenues for reflection and improvement designed to strengthen every component of the project. This forward-looking perspective empowers “Alley-Oop Africa” to adapt dynamically to real-world conditions.

3. Co-creation for Success and Ownership

ALG and “Initiatives et Impacts Territoires” firmly believe that an evaluation is only effective when fully embraced by those actively involved. Therefore, our methodology culminates in a co-creation workshop:

• Collective Intelligence: Final recommendations emerge from direct dialogue and collaboration with the project team.
• Shared Validation: This process guarantees that the proposed solutions are realistic, fully operational, and perfectly aligned with the organization’s overarching objectives.

4. Agility and Adaptability in Execution

Acknowledging the dynamic nature of development initiatives, we employed a flexible, indicative timeline. This agility allowed us to adjust our approach based on the project’s actual on-the-ground progress, ensuring the evaluation remained current and relevant to the mission’s evolving state.Conclusion

This collaboration between ALG and “Initiatives et Impacts Territoires” provided “Alley-Oop Africa” with more than just an assessment: it delivered a vital strategic compass. By skillfully combining high-level technical expertise with a deeply participatory approach, we reaffirm our dedication to guiding high-impact social projects toward operational excellence.

We are proud to announce the completion and approval of the impact assessment report for the Order of Malta Hospital in Elavagnon, Togo (HOME), a mission conducted by ALG on behalf of the Order of Malta France (OMF), with the support of the International Foundation (IF).

This strategic study is part of the overall objective to ensure the sustainability and optimization of hospital services dedicated to mother and child, while seeking a technically and financially viable structural model.

ALG’s mission had three crucial specific objectives:

1. To assess the maintenance of the level of activity of mother and child services at the Order of Malta Hospital in Elavagnon (HOME).

2. Evaluate the level of improvement in the quality and medical services offered by the hospital.

3. Evaluate the continued status of HOME as a referral hospital, as recognized by the Togolese government.

To ensure the reliability and consistency of the findings, our methodological approach comprised two main components:

• Quantitative Component: A thorough documentary analysis of data from reports by HOME and other health services in the Est-Mono prefecture.

• Qualitative Component: Fifteen (15) interviews (individual and group), including HOME administrative and technical staff, resource persons from the Prefectural Health Directorate, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and community and religious leaders.

Based on these results and analyses covering the quality of medical services and the hospital’s status as a referral center, the final report provides a detailed roadmap, including an operational plan for the HOME’s activities over the period 2022-2025.

The success of this mission reaffirms ALG’s expertise in evaluating healthcare projects with a strong social impact. We thank the Order of Malta France and the International Foundation for their trust and commitment.

The ALG team recently conducted a crucial mission by carrying out the Feasibility Study for the BMZ 2026 Project, an ambitious development program supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This mission reflects ALG’s ongoing commitment to providing strategic expertise for high-impact social initiatives.

The Mandate: Evaluating and Guiding the Future of the Project

ALG’s primary mandate was to thoroughly analyze the relevance and viability of a major new project, in collaboration with the implementing organization, Espace Solidarité Globale Bénin (ESGB/La Passerelle). The objective was threefold:

1. Diagnosis and Rationale: Analyze the current context, the initial challenges (particularly regarding child protection and the specific needs of victims), and the rationale for the project.

2. Evaluation according to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC/OECD) Criteria: Evaluate the project based on the six standard criteria of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC/OECD): relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, potential impact, and sustainability. This evaluation also included a gender sensitivity analysis and a detailed review of the partnership between ESGB and KiRA (Kinderrechte Afrika e.V.).

3. Proposals for Improvement: Provide a critical analysis of the initial Logical Framework of the BMZ 2026 Project and formulate concrete proposals to improve its indicators, quantification, and the integration of institutional bottlenecks.

In essence, ALG’s mission was to lay the strategic and methodological groundwork to ensure that the future BMZ 2026 Project is not only relevant to real needs, but also robust, effective, and sustainable in its implementation.

Results: A Solid Basis for Decision-Making

Following this feasibility study, ALG submitted the final report to the client, a detailed document that will serve as a roadmap for decision-making. This report contains key strategic recommendations on:

• The overall strategy and duration of the new project (aiming for the sustainability of behavioral change).
• The optimal integration of beneficiary support and how to address gaps identified in the field.
• The most appropriate Monitoring, Evaluation, and operational management mechanisms.

The report thus confirms the main directions and areas for strengthening that will enable the BMZ 2026 Project to maximize its impact on the target communities. The ALG team in Benin is delighted to have contributed to this crucial step and looks forward to the realization of the next phases of the project.