PEM is completing an exit assessment and impact evaluation of the European Union’s (EU’s) support to the Nordic Horn of Africa Opportunities Fund (NHAOF), commissioned by the Impact Fund Denmark (formerly IFU). The Fund provides Sharia-compliant loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Somalia— where access to capital remains extremely limited and the business environment poses significant challenges. The Fund seeks to foster local economic growth through private sector development, improve access to essential goods and services, create jobs and income-generating opportunities, and promote gender equality, with a particular focus on empowering women-owned and youth-owned enterprises. PEM’s evaluation assessed the Fund’s impact, efficiency and effectiveness, with special attention given to development outcomes and beneficiary experiences, the Fund’s contribution to observed changes, potential risks and unintended effects, its influence on Somalia’s financial markets, and the additional value created—especially at the enterprise level and in terms of employment. Gender and youth

PEMconsult is currently formulating project documentation for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IFU -the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries, to support the creation of a new IFU Africa Facility. The Facility will contribute to the aim of the Danish government to strengthen Danish trade with African countries and explore the investment and collaboration opportunities in the discovery of pressingly needed climate solutions. To ensure successful development of the new Africa Facility, PEM is supporting Danida and IFU by: To ensure the alignment with the SDGs, the formulation concentrates to the inclusion of Gender, Climate Change, Green Growth and Social Equity considerations in the development of the Africa Facility.

PEMconsult was subcontracted to conduct an evaluation of Phase II of the Environmental Governance Programme, running from 2020-2023. The programme was funded by Sida and jointly implemented by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the UN Development Programme. The programme consists of two sub-programmes, one of which targets sustainable mining governance in 10 participating countries, while the second sub-programme supports the implementation of the UN Sustainability Strategy and therefore aims to promote sustainable practices within the UN. PEMconsult evaluated both subprogrammes, using a mixed-method approach including a survey, semi-structured interviews, a desk review, and more. Field visits were undertaken to Kenya and Zambia and while remote in-depth studies were done on Liberia and Colombia.

Pakistan’s textile and fashion sector, concentrated mainly in Punjab, is the country’s most significant sector, contributing 8.5% to the GDP and constituting 54% of exports. Despite its significance, the industry is lagging behind regional counterparts when it comes to productivity rate while also facing substantial environmental and social problems. Meanwhile, the rising demand from global buyers for textiles produced sustainably is putting pressure on Pakistan and imposing demands of a substantial modernisation of the country’s textile and fashion industry. Therefore, The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) aims to promote sustainability in Pakistan’s textile and fashion sector by improving productivity, competitiveness, and economic resilience through the programme Improvement of labour-, social- and environment standards in the Pakistani textile Industry. PEMconsult has conducted an evaluation of the improvements of the labour, -, social-, and environmental standards recommending both public and private sector entities to embrace the standards within the industry. The