But social protection does more than fill income and consumption shortfalls; it also facilitates productive investment (Barrientos, 2010) and, thus, can increase income-generating capacity. Such investment is essential for sustainable poverty reduction because those who possess the means to invest are generally better able and more willing to access credit and complementary resources and services to undertake investments in new production assets and technologies and new marketing relations, as well as in education and health care for children. This chapter explains why social protection is relevant for household productive investment, and reviews the substantial body of evidence accumulated on the effectiveness of social protection in stimulating investment. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa, now and for the foreseeable future.