The SEED Incubator: Supporting Evidence for Women’s Empowerment and Development, strengthens women’s empowerment in Egypt by identifying, funding, and evaluating innovative programs in maternal health, digital financial inclusion, and gender-equitable education.
Sector: Economic Empowerment, Access to Healthcare
Region: Egypt
Approval year: 2025
Economic Empowerment; Opportunity & Inclusion; Access to Income & Assets; Access to Healthcare
Meem Foundation has partnered with J-PAL MENA at the American University in Cairo (AUC) to launch a three-year incubator to support and evaluate evidence-based approaches to women’s empowerment in Egypt. The initiative will fund and assess three NGO-led pilot programs focused on maternal and reproductive health, digital financial tools, and gender-equitable technical education.
J-PAL MENA (Middle East and North Africa) was established in July 2020 by The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) to reduce poverty in the region through evidence-based policies. J-PAL MENA builds long-term partnerships with governments, NGOs, and foundations to integrate rigorous evidence into policy and programming. Their work spans areas such as education, health, labor markets, and governance, aiming to ensure that policy decisions worldwide are guided by scientific evidence.
The SEED incubator will begin with a capacity-building workshop program for ten Egyptian NGOs, training them in theory of change development, program design, and impact evaluation. Three of these organizations will then be selected to receive funding and tailored technical assistance for pilot implementation. Each pilot will undergo rigorous monitoring and evaluation by J-PAL MENA to ensure measurable, data-driven outcomes.
By embedding evidence generation from the outset, the program strengthens local NGO capacity. It creates a pipeline of scalable, high-impact solutions that enhance women’s access to healthcare, digital finance, and employment opportunities. This partnership advances Meem Foundation’s mission to promote inclusion and evidence-based innovation across the Arab world.
