Addressing adolescent girls’ persistent economic disadvantage is the focus of multiple interventions for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to reduce youth unemployment, poverty and vulnerability. Evidence suggests that these programs demonstrated the potential to improve girls’ economic capabilities.

This rapid evidence review focuses on evaluated interventions that target adolescent girls in LMICs with economic strategies that seek to promote their economic capabilities and empower them. The review examines 57 interventions, grouped into three categories: interventions providing financial education and/or financial assets; vocational and/or business skills training interventions; and integrated interventions providing a combination of support services, including an economic component. The review synthesizes evidence on the positive impact these interventions had, and identifies the gaps in our knowledge about which strategies are most effective.