Bodhi carried out a joint qualitative research exercise to understand the key determinants of socioeconomic background in Sub-Saharan Africa and the barriers to participation in the formal economy in eight priority countries (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Senegal). The objective was to identify the regionally relevant and viable interventions by looking at the impact of Social Economic Barriers (SEB) on career pathways, workplace behaviour and work delivery. The exercise supported a socio-economic sensitive approach and contributed to the generation of evidence to improve understanding of SEB in Sub-Saharan Africa. It used a mixed methods qualitative approach with a full desk review and primary data collection via KII, FGDs and co-creation workshops, with a strong focus on contextualisation and ethics.