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A field-tested methodology to diagnose entrepreneurial ecosystems before deciding what they need.
ANDE published the first edition in 2013 on a simple premise: before investing in an ecosystem, you need to know what’s actually there. Since then, governments, foundations, and development organizations have used the toolkit to map ecosystems across multiple regions.
This second edition integrates insights from 28 international frameworks alongside methodologies developed by the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Entrepreneurship Institute at Tecnológico de Monterrey and Seedstars. It also draws on what we learned from recent diagnostics in Costa Rica, Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. The update was supported by Fundación Coppel.
A methodology for diagnosing ecosystems
What the toolkit gives you
A structured baseline of an ecosystem’s current condition: where it is strong, where it is constrained, who is active, who is missing, and where targeted investment is most likely to move the needle. The output is designed to inform real decisions — funding allocations, policy priorities, program design, partnership strategy — not sit on a shelf.
The methodology is built around seven structural domains, the key actors operating within them, the stages of the entrepreneurial journey, and digital maturity as a cross-cutting layer.
Who uses it Governments, universities, entrepreneurship support organizations, funds, corporations, and any team that needs a defensible baseline before deploying resources.
AI extends the toolkit’s reach
The 2013 edition required months of fieldwork. This one doesn’t have to.
We are integrating AI across the diagnostic process to make rigorous ecosystem analysis faster, more comparable, and more accessible to organizations that previously couldn’t afford it. AI accelerates desk research, standardizes how data is gathered and visualized across cities, and surfaces structural patterns that single-ecosystem analyses tend to miss.
The methodology stays human-led. Interpretation, recommendations, and stakeholder dialogue remain with practitioners — but data collection and synthesis no longer dictate the timeline or the budget.
This work is being developed through a dedicated lab focused on intelligence tools for the impact economy. We will share more as it matures.
Three diagnostic phases
The toolkit scales from a fast baseline to a deep systemic analysis. You choose the depth that matches your decision.
Phase 1 — Conditions assessment Identifies which actors and conditions exist in the ecosystem, determines its level of maturity, and detects the binding constraint. Source: public data, 30 indicators.
Phase 2 — Actor activity Analyzes how actors actually behave: which domains they cover, which stages of the entrepreneurial journey they support, and where the pipeline has gaps. Source: surveys and desk research.
Phase 3 — Deep dive (optional) A systemic analysis that explains why the gaps exist and where intervention is most likely to generate compounding impact. Source: in-depth interviews with key actors.
The toolkit in action: 10 cities in Mexico
For more than a decade, ANDE has studied entrepreneurship ecosystems around the world. These studies, known as Ecosystem Snapshots, focus on identifying and mapping the organizations that support entrepreneurs in a specific geography: investors, accelerators, incubators, academic institutions, government agencies, and more.
Likewise, during 2025 we conducted new diagnostics in Costa Rica and, in collaboration with Bridge for Billions, in Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. The insights from these studies and previous mappings informed the final version of the model we present today.
Apply the toolkit in your territory
The methodology adapts to different levels of institutional capacity and territorial scope — from a single municipality to a national-level analysis. If your organization is considering a diagnostic, we can help you scope it and connect you with practitioners who have run it.