Supporting jobs by strengthening financial systems

FSD Africa, in collaboration with The Good Economy and Tandem, has developed a four-step framework to measure how financial sector deepening impacts job creation. The framework emphasizes the use of full-time equivalent (FTE) metrics to account for underemployment and employs a sectoral approach to assess job quality and 'decent work' multipliers. The process involves a theory-based assessment of materiality, estimation of direct and indirect jobs, a decent jobs assessment using sector proxies, and optional bespoke research for high-impact projects.

• The measurement framework consists of four sequential steps: first, a theory-based assessment to determine if a project has a 'material' or 'significant' effect on employment; second, estimating job numbers using primary data and modelling 'indirect' supply chain effects; third, a 'decent jobs assessment' evaluating gender equality, inclusion, earnings, and security using sector averages; and finally, optional bespoke research for projects with large impacts or evidence gaps.
• Using full-time equivalent (FTE) terms is critical for measuring impact in regions with high underemployment, as job creation often involves increasing the work volume for existing employees rather than creating new positions.
• A sectoral approach is necessary because employment intensity and job quality vary by industry; this allows for the use of a 'decent work employment multiplier' to qualify job numbers based on the relative quality and inclusion of jobs in a specific sector.
• Financial systems can drive economic growth and job creation by overcoming finance constraints for small firms and improving capital allocation to high-growth firms.

APA

Ripley, M., Davies, G., Munjal, K., & Mwanzui, R. (2021). Supporting jobs by strengthening financial systems. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/supporting-jobs-by-strengthening-financial-systems/

Chicago

Ripley, Matt, Gareth Davies, Kevin Munjal, and Ryan Mwanzui. Supporting jobs by strengthening financial systems. FSD Africa, 2021. https://fsdafrica.org/supporting-jobs-by-strengthening-financial-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ripley |first1=Matt |last2=Davies |first2=Gareth |last3=Munjal |first3=Kevin |last4=Mwanzui |first4=Ryan |title=Supporting jobs by strengthening financial systems |publisher=FSD Africa |date=20 January 2021 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/supporting-jobs-by-strengthening-financial-systems/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ripley2021supporting, author = {Ripley, Matt and Davies, Gareth and Munjal, Kevin and Mwanzui, Ryan}, title = {{Supporting jobs by strengthening financial systems}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/supporting-jobs-by-strengthening-financial-systems/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }