A Call to Action from ANDE’s Leadership

The day opened with welcoming remarks from Devin Chesney, ANDE’s executive director, who reflected on the cuts in international cooperation and the geopolitical tensions slowing the growth of many organizations. He reminded participants that entrepreneurs thrive precisely because they dare to build—against all odds—what only they can imagine.

Chesney emphasized that ANDE has never been about “the flashiest spectacle,” but about bringing the right people to the table to create conversations that spark action. He argued that the disruption of aid and the realignment of global power offer a window of opportunity for a new paradigm: one where local actors seize control of their economic futures and strengthen ecosystems through partnerships with business, philanthropy, and development institutions.

He also restated ANDE’s mission in simple terms: to make members more effective at helping entrepreneurs grow and to strengthen ecosystems across low- and middle-income countries. A recurring theme was measurement: “You cannot improve what you do not measure,” Chesney stressed, highlighting the importance of curating knowledge, encouraging research, and building members’ capacity to evaluate impact as central to ANDE’s work.

Evidence and Policy Innovation

Devin Chesney then introduced a video interview with Esther Duflo, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2019). Duflo outlined three priorities for international aid:

• Responding to crises in countries with limited fiscal capacity, drawing on the example of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Financing global public goods such as health and climate action; and
• Investing in policy innovation to test and scale what works.

She underscored the importance of rigorous evidence in guiding resource allocation, particularly for governments in low- and middle-income countries that mobilize the vast majority of social and economic investment. Duflo also reminded participants that most people do not aspire to become entrepreneurs—they want stable jobs. The real challenge, she argued, is ensuring that small and growing businesses generate quality employment.

Beyond Capital: Building Ecosystems

In a fireside chat, Erik Stam, professor at Utrecht University, cautioned that building strong entrepreneurial ecosystems goes far beyond injecting capital. More funding alone, he argued, does not guarantee results without the presence of talent, clear regulations, infrastructure, and a culture that values entrepreneurship.

For Stam, an ecosystem approach requires identifying weaknesses in each context and reinforcing the elements that sustain it—regulations, financing, networks, support services, and leadership. “A lot of governments want to throw more venture capital into the system,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily help if there is no market, no enabling rules, and no talent.”

From Waste to Value

The Entrepreneur Journey session brought these ideas to life with the story of Chum Chum, a Mexican company that transforms food industry surplus into nutritious and sustainable products.

Their model demonstrated that behind every excess lies a resource that can be turned into social and environmental value. Waste becomes opportunity—nourishing communities while opening scalable solutions with global potential.

Climate Entrepreneurship: Trends and Tensions

The panel “Innovating for Impact – Trends in Climate Entrepreneurship,” moderated by Kate Scaife Díaz (ANDE), examined how climate-focused ventures are evolving. Severin Peters (GIZ) highlighted the complexity of measuring true climate impact, which requires analyzing the entire life cycle of products against alternatives. He also stressed the decisive role of national and regional governments in providing direction for priority sectors.

Rafael Lorenzo Piñón (Tec de Monterrey) emphasized that support for entrepreneurs cannot rely on investor capital alone. He described how the Innovation Hub for Climate brings together corporations, academia, and support organizations to address regional needs and co-create grounded solutions.

Rethinking SME Finance

The morning concluded with Matthew Wallace (ONOW), who challenged the notion that repayment history alone can determine SME credit risk. The real signals, he argued, lie in daily business practices: inventory management, customer follow-up, pricing, and supplier payments. ONOW developed a model that translates these practices into clear performance metrics—cash buffer days, profit margins, and timely receivables—making it possible to evaluate true “investability,” where repayment is only part of the picture.