Today, we’re celebrating women and girls around the world in honor of International Day of the Girl. The official theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement,” is a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analyzing female-focused and female-relevant data. According to the UN, improving data on girls and addressing the issues that are holding them back is critical for fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.

At Akilah, investing in data allows us to assess our model in real time. Our Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) program ensures that our students are receiving the benefits of a market-relevant education, and are subsequently evolving into leaders. When women hold leadership roles within their communities, they make significant and lasting contributions to their families, communities, and the economy. Akilah has witnessed the exponential impact of educating female leaders firsthand. Three-quarters of Akilah students are unemployed before enrolling. The data we have collected shows that after graduating, they earn, on average, 12x the national median income. Graduates then support family and community members, start businesses, or invest in their own professional careers. Leadership development leverages women’s productive potential — their energy, talents, and ideas — to benefit communities and society at large.

The main purpose of our M&E approach is to understand changes in our students’ skills and competencies, so we can continue improving, communicate our results to donors and partners, and ensure positive outcomes for our students and their communities — in Rwanda and in East Africa. We focus on measuring student growth in three main areas: academics, leadership, and career-navigation skills.

Academics

We measure the skills and competencies of our students and alumnae based on how they perform in practice. This is part of Akilah’s overall shift to a competency-based approach. For example, rather than testing our Entrepreneurship students’ knowledge on writing a business plan, we measure their progress through a concrete business plan project or competition.

Leadership

Akilah measures leadership development by assessing student performance across a range of skills, including communication, teamwork, social skills, ambition, and growth mindset. “We ask the students how they would react in different scenarios and situations, and that tells us a lot about their leadership skills,” says Ashley Hollister, Akilah’s M&E specialist. Akilah is also looking into different evidence-based solutions for tracking improvements in leadership skills in partnership with Education Development Center and Pro-Exam.

Career Navigation

We measure our students’ career-navigation skills by assessing their ability to create a strong CV, excel in job interviews, draft and follow a career plan, build a strong network, and confidently make career choices. We ask specific students about their level of confidence in job seeking and networking before and after graduation and measure the difference.

Tracking developments in these areas ensures that Akilah can:

• Create a dynamic and targeted curriculum based on evaluations of our students’ skills and competencies

• Enable our students and alumnae to do better in society and their careers through high-quality, demand-driven programs in Entrepreneurship, Hospitality Management, and Information Systems

• Strengthen our partnerships with the private sector and ensure that our students’ skills and competencies fit their needs

• Communicate results and achievements to donors, partners, and stakeholders to attract more support for our model, expand our reach, serve more students, and potentially open more campuses across East Africa

Our investment in data collection and results analysis will allow us to continue to improve our methods and model and leverage the leadership potential of women and girls everywhere. On International Day of the Girl Child, we stand with the global community to support female progress everywhere. Join us in celebrating the #LeadingLadies of the Akilah Institute, of East Africa, and of the world. Happy #DayoftheGirl!