Summary

“After more than two years of living with the acute challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the small and growing business (SGB) sector is now facing a longer-term reality that affects not only business operations but also how these businesses measure and communicate their impact. The SGB sector is at a critical junction in the pandemic where organizations need to reflect on how hastily crafted impact measurement and management (IMM) solutions may or may not fit into their longer-term IMM strategy.

For these reasons, the purpose of this brief is to:

1. Highlight the unique IMM challenges faced by Sub-Saharan African SGBs due to COVID-19;
2. Guide entrepreneurial ecosystem builders in adapting their IMM systems within the context of the new COVID-19 reality; and
3. Provide tailored resources to enable entrepreneurial ecosystem builders to further adapt their IMM systems to best support entrepreneurs in the «new abnormal.»”

Summary

“Extant research results illustrate that women are roughly half as likely to become entrepreneurs as men (Kauffman Compilation: Research on Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2016). However, women may see themselves fit in traditionally male jobs when the language used in the job advertisement is communal in nature (Gaucher, 2011), and vice versa. To empirically test this idea, the authors first sought to understand if there were any gender biases in the accelerators’ calls for applications using a validated scale of masculine and feminine words. They found a higher percentage of feminine words across most regions, which is in the opposite direction of what was expected. Second, the authors manipulated the language used in an accelerator program call for application (1) with the percentage of gendered words found from the accelerators on the ANDE list (3-4%) and (2) an exaggerated percentage of gendered words (9%), to see how it affected women and men’s perceptions of the accelerator program. In general, men in the U.S. express high entrepreneurial fit, sense of belonging, and application success possibly because the U.S. is high on both individualism and masculinity on Hoefstede’s country culture dimensions. However, women in Latin America report results that are opposite to men in the United States.”

Summary

“The report “Impact Investments in Brazil – 2020″, carried out by ANDE in partnership with the Aliança por Investimentos e Negócios de Impacto, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, Fundação Grupo Boticário and with the support of Wright Capital, captures the characteristics of the sector of impact investing in Brazil in the year 2020, based on a sample of 38 impact investors active in the region. The report provides an overview of where and how capital is being allocated and identifies the challenges facing the ecosystem, as well as addressing topics such as gender equity and assessing climate risks and opportunities for portfolios.”

Summary

“Swisscontact and Startup Heatmap Europe have joined forces to develop a self serving toolkit that empowers startup hubs all around the world to measure the health of their ecosystems. The toolkit supports managers of startup programs, university incubators, research transfer organizations, ecosystem builders and policy makers to track the progress of their ecosystem build-up. End-users are empowered to use the toolkit to source data in their home ecosystems, enter them in an interactive dashboard and based on the outcomes, and identify recommended fields of action.”

Summary

“Taking advantage of China’s 2017 free trade zone (FTZ) program introduced in 15 cities, we adopt the difference-in-difference techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of FTZ policies in encouraging entrepreneurship. Our econometric analysis suggests that they have moderately motivated start-up businesses, evidenced by higher growth of company registrations. The impact was only seen in 2017 but not in any subsequent years. Moreover, the policies haven’t had a clear positive impact on individual firms’ business sizes. The Chinese government hasn’t released any estimation for the costs of FTZ programs, but we expect their economic return to be meager. Therefore, we would suggest not expanding the program further; instead, the government should address the pressing issues that suppress business activities.”

Resumo

“Em 2019, a ANDE anunciou uma parceria empolgante com a USAID e a Visa Foundation para lançar a Iniciativa de Igualdade de Gênero da ANDE (AGEI), que visa apoiar mulheres como líderes, funcionárias e consumidoras no setor de SGB de mercados emergentes. Como um projeto piloto sob a AGEI, cada um dos oito escritórios regionais da ANDE hospedou um Laboratório para Ação em Igualdade de Gênero de 9 a 12 meses. O Laboratório para Ação da ANDE utiliza um processo de design participativo em que um grupo de stakeholders regionais, com experiência profunda e diversificada e expertise em determinado assunto, se reúne para definir problemas e, em seguida, criar e testar soluções potenciais em conjunto.”

Resumo

“A Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) lançou o Fundo Avançado para o Empoderamento das Mulheres (AWEF, na sigla em inglês) em 2019 com o apoio da Visa Foundation e da Agência dos Estados Unidos para o Desenvolvimento Internacional (USAID). O objetivo geral dos projetos financiados pelo AWEF é abordar a lacuna de gênero para financiamento para pequenas empresas em crescimento (SGBs)1 pertencentes a mulheres em economias em desenvolvimento. A primeira rodada de grantmaking, a AWEF Asia, financiou oito organizações de apoio a empreendedores (ESOs) no Camboja, Vietnã, Mianmar, Filipinas, Paquistão e Índia, bem como programas que servem a região como um todo.”

Summary

“L’Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) a lancé l’Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund (AWEF) en 2019 avec le soutien de la Fondation Visa et de l’Agence Américaine pour le Développement International (USAID). L’objectif global des projets financés par l’AWEF est de combler l’écart de financement entre les sexes pour les petites entreprises en croissance (PEC) tenues par des femmes dans les économies en développement. La première série de subventions, AWEF Asie, a financé huit organisations de soutien aux entrepreneurs (OSE) au Cambodge, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines, Pakistan et en Inde, ainsi que des programmes desservant la région dans son ensemble.”

Resumen

“La Red Aspen de Emprendedores para el Desarrollo (ANDE, por sus siglas en inglés) lanzó el Fondo para el Avance del Empoderamiento de las Mujeres (AWEF, por sus siglas en inglés) en 2019 con apoyo de la Fundación Visa y la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID). La meta general de los proyectos fundados por el AWEF es abordar la brecha de género en términos de financiamiento para pequeños negocios en crecimiento (PEC)1 propiedad de mujeres en economías en desarrollo. La primera ronda de entrega de donativos, AWEF Asia, financió a ocho organizaciones de apoyo a emprendedores (OAE) en Camboya, Vietnam, Myanmar, Filipinas, Pakistán e India, así como programas apoyando a la región en su conjunto.”

Summary

“En 2019, l’ANDE a annoncé un partenariat passionnant avec l’USAID et la Fondation Visa pour lancer l’ANDE Gender Equality Initiative (AGEI), qui vise à soutenir les femmes en tant que dirigeantes, employées et consommatrices dans le secteur des marchés émergents de PEC. En tant que projet pilote dans le cadre de l’AGEI, chacune des huit sections régionales de l’ANDE a accueilli un Action Lab de 9 à 12 mois sur l’Égalité des Sexes. L’Action Lab de ANDE utilise un processus de conception participative dans lequel un groupe de parties prenantes régionales, ayant une expérience et une expertise profondes et diverses sur une question, se réunit pour définir les problèmes, puis créer et tester ensemble des solutions  potentielles.”