©IDinsight
Endline Report – Mobilized communities impact evaluation - 3 MB
Overview – First RCT study on bicycle impacts - 6 MB
Executive Summary – Summary of findings - 2 MB
World Bicycle Relief (WBR) is a non-profit social enterprise that supports rural and remote communities by helping adults and children overcome transportation barriers. Through community-led programs and sales, bicycles enhance access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. WBR is implementing a program in Mumbwa District in Zambia called the Mobilized Communities (MC) program, to provide bicycles and supportive programming to help communities sustainably increase access to livelihoods, education, and healthcare.
IDinsight partnered with WBR to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to estimate the causal impact of WBRʼs MC program on economic outcomes, including household consumption, income, savings, productivity, and empowerment measures. Using WBRʼs lists of individuals eligible for the program in the study area in Mumbwa district, our final endline survey sample was 1,488 respondents, comprising 1,227 Livelihoods group members (LGM) across 120 livelihoods groups and 261 community service workers (CSWs). This report describes the results of the RCT of the MC program, conducted between May 2023 and June 2024.
Bicycle recipients saved an average of 4.2 hours in weekly travel time to essential destinations relative to the control group. While we observed no difference in travel distances between treatment and control groups, bicycles shifted the composition of travel destinations, with treatment recipients making more trips to markets and health facilities. 90% of bicycle recipients were able to access healthcare when needed in the past month, compared to just 54% in the control group, showcasing a substantial improvement in accessibility. Community health workers with bicycles served 63% more households monthly, underscoring the impact on service provision.
Bicycle recipients reported ZMW 867 (USD 33) or +24% higher average monthly household consumption and ZMW 553 (USD 21) or +43% higher monthly household income compared to non-recipients. While the control group experienced a steep drop in living standards during the previous yearʼs drought, bicycle recipients were partly insulated from the shock.
Bicycles led to an 11% increase in life satisfaction among participants and elevated self-esteem.
Subgroup analysis revealed that bicycle provision uniformly benefited all demographic segments—age, gender, and poverty levels—without significant variances across the various subgroups.
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–> Delve into the overview of the first RCT study on bicycle impacts among adults in rural Zambia.
–> View our executive summary of the impact evaluation and our findings.
–> Read IDinsight’s endline report of the impact evaluation of WBRs Mobilized Communities program.
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