The Gender in Emergencies Group – Delivering Gender Training Across the World

Earlier this year we were delighted to see that the Gender in Emergencies Group (GiE) had been named as one of The Challenges Group’s first ventures in their new programme, The Ventures Lab. The GiE Group first engaged with us in October 2023 with a specific challenge; to create a social enterprise that specialises in gender training. In this case study, we unpack how ISEO was able to help them to become a social enterprise.

As a pioneering organisation that offers specialised training and consultancy services in gender in emergencies within the humanitarian sector, the GiE Group are a unique social enterprise, both in the Scottish and the international context. Their journey from working within a large NGO to an independent, feminist social enterprise showcases the transformative impact of targeted support and innovative business models in the social enterprise sector.

The Problem

The idea for establishing a feminist social enterprise came after having seen what worked and didn’t within large NGO structures. There is a constant demand for training on gender in emergencies within the humanitarian aid sector. But gender training lacks consistent funding from traditional donors. There was an opportunity to develop gender in emergencies training into a standalone business.

Founder and CEO Isadora Quay approached The Challenges Group and ISEO with the goal of exploring the idea she had on gender training and using it as the basis for setting up a new organisation. Although experienced and passionate about the work that she was doing, Isadora knew that there would be challenges to setting up a new organisation. The primary issues they faced were:

1. Familiarising themselves with the social enterprise model: While the GiE Group had experience generating revenue, they needed guidance on how to structure themselves as a standalone social enterprise, a model uncommon in the humanitarian sector.
2. Maintaining mission while ensuring sustainability: the GiE Group needed to balance their commitment to feminist principles and serving under-resourced organisations with the need to generate sufficient revenue as an independent entity.
3. Navigating the humanitarian sector as a small, independent organisation: The sector is dominated by large NGOs and individual consultants. The GiE Group needed to carve out a niche as a mid-sized, specialist provider.

This was also in addition to the more general challenges the humanitarian sector faces:

1. Determining how to structure and operate as a sustainable, mission-driven organisation in the humanitarian sector, where social enterprises are uncommon.
2. Achieving financial sustainability through earned income in a space that predominantly relies on grant-based funding.
3. Filling a gap in the market for mid-sized providers specialising in gender in emergencies work. Most existing providers were either individual consultants or large, non-specialist firms.
4. Establishing themselves as a feminist social enterprise, a novel concept in the sector. This presented the additional challenge of aligning business operations with feminist principles, both in terms of external impact and internal organisational structure.

The Solution

ISEO provided comprehensive support to the GiE Group through its network of partners, particularly The Challenges Group and Morton Fraser MacRoberts (MFMac). This support included:

1. Financial advice: Guidance on structuring the organisation’s finances to support a sustainable business model.
2. Business setup consultation: Insights into various social enterprise models and help understanding the ecosystem they would be operating in.
3. Legal support: Assistance in navigating the legal aspects of establishing the organisation.
4. Ongoing operational support: Continued support in areas such as HR and finance, allowing the GiE Group to focus on their core competencies.

The Challenges Group provided important additional support by welcoming the GiE Group as a venture into their new programme, The Ventures Lab. This was crucial for the GiE Group, as it offered them the following benefits:

• A £100,000 patient capital loan to support GiE Group’s establishment and growth.
• Access to back-office services, reducing operational burdens on the new organisation.
• Resources for GiE Group to develop their learning and training platform.
• Support to expand their roster of consultants.

With this comprehensive support, the GiE Group created a unique business model with a three-pronged approach:

• Training services: They developed a comprehensive training program on gender in humanitarian contexts, offered both online and in-person.
• Consultancy services: They established the Gender in Emergencies Collective, a mid-sized collective consultancy.
• Technical advisory services: They provide a one-stop shop for advice on Rapid Gender Analysis.

To address their goal of being a feminist social enterprise, the GiE Group implemented several strategies:

• Offering free places on their courses for women’s rights organisations from the Global South.
• Joining feminist networks and co-chairing relevant technical working groups.
• Structuring their organisation with feminist principles, including equitable pay structures and policies that support work-life balance for people of all ages.

The Outcome

Since its establishment in October 2023, with ISEO’s support, the GiE Group has achieved significant results:

1. Training impact: They have trained more than 300 people worldwide, with the largest groups coming from sub-Saharan Africa. About 100 organisations have participated in their trainings, primarily from the Global South. These trainings cover a range of gender topics and are offered in multiple languages, making them accessible to a diverse audience of humanitarian actors.
2. Learning platform: With support from the Ventures Lab, the GiE Group has developed their own learning and training platform, enhancing their ability to deliver high-quality, accessible training to humanitarian workers globally.
3. Innovative pricing model: the GiE Group describes their training model as a “Low-No” model. While most courses are offered at a low cost to make them accessible to humanitarian workers, they also provide free places for women’s rights organizations from the Global South, ensuring that their target audience can access these crucial skills regardless of financial constraints.
4. Consultancy services: the GiE Group has successfully launched their consultancy arm, the Gender in Emergencies Collective. They have provided support to Women’s Rights Organisations in 11 countries, including Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia.
5. Tangible outcomes: Their work has led to concrete results, such as a Lebanese Women’s Rights Organisation Himaya Daeem Aataa publishing their first Rapid Gender Analysis with the GiE Group’s support.
6. Financial sustainability: Unlike many social enterprises in the sector, the GiE Group has operated entirely on earned income, without relying on grants. This demonstrates the viability of their business model, which was developed with the guidence of The Challenges Group as a lead ISEO delivery partner.
7. International recognition: The organisation is gaining traction internationally, with contracts with UNWomen and they are currently in talks with the French and Australian governments for potential contracts.
8. Innovative organisational model: the GiE Group has made strides in establishing itself as a feminist social enterprise, implementing policies and practices that align with feminist principles both in their external work and internal structure.

By leveraging the support from ISEO, particularly the financial, specialist legal support Morton Fraser MacRoberts and operational backing from The Challenges Group’s Ventures Lab, the GiE Group has successfully established itself as a unique player in the humanitarian sector. They have demonstrated that it’s possible to operate a sustainable, mission-driven social enterprise in a space traditionally dominated by grant-funded NGOs, while also pioneering new approaches to feminist organisational structures and providing crucial training and consultancy services in gender in emergencies.