The concept of gender-lens acceleration has taken hold in recent years, with various toolkits outlining how to be more gender inclusive at every step of the acceleration process, from selection to programming and alumni support. However, it is not well understood how effective these strategies have been in producing more equitable outcomes for women. This report aims to fill that information gap by synthesizing the research on accelerating women-led ventures and exploring case studies of three accelerator programs in Asia that have outsized impacts for such ventures.

Micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) are crucial to economies, accounting for two-thirds of business employment in advanced economies and nearly four-fifths in emerging ones. They contribute half of all economic value added and play a key role in preserving competitiveness in globalized economies. However, MSMEs' productivity is only half that of large companies, with a more significant gap in emerging markets. Closing this gap could add 5% to GDP in advanced economies and 10% in emerging ones. Strategies to boost MSME productivity require tailored approaches to specific subsectors and countries. Collaboration between MSMEs and large companies is a win-win strategy that often leads to mutual productivity gains, as seen in sectors like automotive and software development. All stakeholders must develop targeted strategies, enhancing infrastructure, policies, and networks to support both MSMEs and large enterprises.

The McKinsey Global Institute aggregated a richly granular data set of micro-, small-, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) and large companies across 12 broad sectors, 68 level-two subsectors, and more than 200 level-three subsectors for 16 countries that account for more than half of global GDP.

In these countries, MSMEs on average have only half the productivity of large companies, and less than that in emerging economies. Raising MSMEs to top-quartile levels relative to large companies represents value equivalent to 5 percent of GDP in advanced economies and 10 percent in emerging economies.

A key challenge in empowering women in extreme poverty through entrepreneurship is securing access to capital for business growth after training. Small and microenterprises often face exclusion from formal financial systems due to a lack of traditional credit data, guarantors, and financial statements, resulting in high-interest informal loans ranging from 80% to 300%. This report examines the potential of a credit scoring system using alternative data such as peer group (Chama) lending performance and business income to assess creditworthiness. The goal is to demonstrate that alternative data can unlock capital from local financial institutions for women entrepreneurs at scale.

"'Bridging the Divide: Women, Technology and Business Success,' in partnership with Intuit, highlights the key issues facing women entrepreneurs and outlines our calls to action for tackling them. The comprehensive report draws on responses from over 1,100 women across 81 countries. Identifying women’s common challenges and opportunities, the report casts a particular spotlight on the broader influence and potential of technology, such as AI, for women’s businesses, and resulting gendered social and economic outcomes."

In order to influence the UK government and global policymakers to fulfill their commitments to women and girls and women’s economic justice, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and CARE International UK collaborated, with support from the Ares Charitable Foundation, to explore solutions for overcoming inequalities in unpaid care, and share how building caring economies can foster women’s entrepreneurship and economic justice. This joint paper outlines successful interventions to build caring economies in line with the feminist concept of the “5 Rs” of Recognition, Reduction, Redistribution, Representation and Reward for care work. Interventions include increasing care provision; investment in care and social services; focusing on care across the broad spectrum of caring needs – from disability care to elderly care and childcare; redistributing care work at the household level through social norms change; and driving economic transformation that changes laws, structures and economies, with carers, women in all their diversity, and girls leading the way.

"Transform Finance is pleased to release a new database for investors interested in Alternative Ownership Enterprises (AOEs). Alternative Ownership Enterprises (AOEs) are firms that significantly shift economic value and decision-making power toward the non-investor stakeholders they impact, such as workers, producers, consumers, community members, or even a non-financial purpose. They include Cooperatives, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) and many other models (for more information about AOEs and the models described below, please refer to our report: “Alternative Ownership Enterprises: An Introduction For Mission-Oriented Investors”).

The focus of this database is on funds operating within the United States and Canada. We hope this database provides a helpful starting point for deploying capital in a way that fosters an economy that works for the many, not just for the few."

South African politicians frequently refer to entrepreneurship as a potential solution to the economy’s significant unemployment problem. In reality, many entrepreneurs need to come from townships. Numerous reports address challenges faced by South African entrepreneurs. What distinguishes this report from extant studies is that this report features the voices of entrepreneurs and entrepreneur support organisations (ESO) to vividly portray township entrepreneurs’ challenges through in-depth interviews. This report also aims to elucidate the factors that contributed to the success of exemplary township entrepreneurs despite existing challenges and other strategies that ESOs can employ to guide more entrepreneurs to emulate these success stories.

Every entrepreneur operates within an ecosystem that determines the access to talent, finance, and markets that they need to grow their business. ANDE’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Maps serve as a tool for stakeholders to learn about the organizations providing support to small and growing businesses (SGBs) in a specific city, region, or country.

This mapping identified 140 organizations and nearly 170 distinct resources supporting entrepreneurs across Ethiopia. The online mapping provides a filterable directory of these organizations, categorized by sector, location, and support type. The mapping is complemented by a report analyzing the data and synthesizing key trends in the ecosystem.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation champions economies that are equitable, participatory, and sustainable, with a focus on environmental respect. Impact investing is crucial for addressing social and environmental inequities but remains underutilized in Southeast Asia. To bridge this gap, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) partnered with TrustLaw, the TRF's global pro bono service, to enhance understanding of local impact investing regulations in 7 different countries in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Special thanks go to A&O Shearman, DFDL, Mayer Brown, MahWengKwai & Associates, and SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan for their pro-bono support. This guide aims to assist social enterprises, incubators, and investors in navigating local regulations and fostering greater investment in regional startups and their social missions.

The report by the Enrich in Africa Center (EiA-C) emphasizes the significance of funding for fostering innovation ecosystems in Africa and addresses the trends in funding activities from 2020 to 2023. It examines grant funding data from nine major funders, alongside insights from interviews with key stakeholders. The analysis encompasses both the broader innovation funding ecosystem and specific support for ecosystem activities and organizations. By providing data and intelligence, the report aims to empower both funders and recipients to build sustainable and impactful innovation ecosystems in Africa, highlighting EiA-C's role in facilitating collaboration and knowledge exchange among stakeholders.