This report provides an overview of the 2025 Inaugural Pan Africa Conference, hosted by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), held in Dakar, Senegal, from February 11–13.

Business development service (BDS) programmes, such as accelerators and incubators, are increasingly looked to as promising ways to help entrepreneurs enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and access investment. In Fiji, there is a small but quickly growing entrepreneurial ecosystem supported by over a dozen BDS programmes. This report seeks to characterize the BDS landscape and form recommendations for its continued growth based on international research and established best practices from other ecosystems across the globe.

In this report, the authors assess the practices of Fiji's BDS providers against the SCALE principles, a set of recommendations published in 2021 by the Argidius Foundation which reflect global best practices for BDS provision. This study identified a total of 21 BDS programmes in the Fijian ecosystem administered by 14 service providers, including eight accelerators, five incubators, and eight additional programmes such as co-working spaces, grantmaking facilities, and technical assistance. Based on desk research and interviews with programme managers, the authors assessed Fiji’s accelerator and incubator landscape as moderately applying the SCALE principles.

The key role of guarantees is to crowd in investors and open new markets. This is achieved by:

solving collateral deficiency challenges;
closing the gap between perceived and actual risk; and
absorbing portions of risk so that lenders can enter new markets with lower risk

However, guarantees are not a silver bullet to bypass credit processes e.g., business documentation (registration, business plans, financials, etc), nor do they serve as an exemption to finance unbankable deals. Measuring the effectiveness of guarantees is not standardized and the context of the guarantee (e.g., sector, region, lender) must be considered when comparing metrics such as utilization, catalyzed capital, or additionality. While the ultimate aim of guarantees is to be made redundant, this goal is unlikely to be met in the short term for agriculture as a sector and in SSA given the sector’s profile i.e., mainly fueled by smallholder farmers who are deemed risky because of informality, largely non-commercial farm models and the sector’s vulnerabilities resulting from climate risk. There are several opportunities for donors to support lending to agriculture across the value chain to build the market using an ecosystem approach to increase agri-lending.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are the cornerstone of the global transition towards sustainability. India's ambitious climate commitments make EVs not just an environmental imperative, but an economic opportunity. They represent our path to both decarbonization and energy independence, while providing opportunity to accelerate innovation and manufacturing.

This report comes at a crucial time when India's EV charging landscape is at an inflection point. The challenges we face are unique – from installing charging points in crowded urban areas to building networks that withstand everything from Rajasthan's heat to Kerala's monsoons. 'Charging Ahead-Part II' delves into the intricate interplay of policy, regulation, and industry trends shaping this crucial segment, providing cross-jurisdictional analysis that contextualizes India's efforts within a global framework. The insights from markets like California, Singapore, and the UK offer invaluable lessons for our path forward, from integrating renewable energy to deploying innovative business models. The collaboration between GameChanger Law Advisors and Speciale Invest in producing this report
exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach needed to build a sustainable future.

The OECD Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostics report introduces a novel framework and dataset to assess and compare entrepreneurial ecosystems across all 38 OECD countries. Rather than producing a single index to rank countries, the report adopts a multi dimensional approach based on three core components: inputs, outputs, and variation. Inputs cover ten essential elements—Institutions, Culture, Networks, Infrastructure, Markets, Finance, Knowledge, Talent, Leadership, and Intermediate Services—captured through composite indexes built from about 40 indicators drawn from OECD statistics and other sources. Outputs reflect entrepreneurial performance, with indicators such as startup rates and business survival. The variation dimension measures how entrepreneurship is distributed socially and regionally, with attention to inclusivity, particularly for women and distribution of startups across regions. Each dimension is tracked at three time points to monitor ecosystem evolution and progress. Designed as a policy support tool, the report provides robust, evidence based insights to identify systemic bottlenecks and guide national strategies. It aims at facilitating informed dialogue and targeted policy action to build dynamic and balanced national entrepreneurial ecosystems. Released as a pilot, this first edition lays the foundation for future iterations, with continued refinement of data and analytical depth to enhance its relevance and impact.

With support from the Vitol Foundation, ANDE is pleased to launch the Mozambique Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Map, a new tool designed to improve connectivity within the entrepreneurial landscape across the country.

This essential resource includes a filterable web directory of the diverse ecosystem players in South Africa, including investors, entrepreneur support organizations, academic institutions, donors, and more.

The map is available in English and Portuguese.