"A growing body of research has shown that business accelerators programs can effectively help ventures move to the next stage of growth. However, further examination has revealed that women entrepreneurs do not experience the same benefits as their male counterparts, showing that women are still underrepresented and underperforming in accelerator programs. This brief synthesizes the key findings of four selected research projects and draws actionable insights for practitioners aiming to fill the evidence gap on the needs of women entrepreneurs and in what ways accelerators can address key barriers."

"A growing body of research has shown that business accelerators programs can effectively help ventures move to the next stage of growth. However, further examination has revealed that women entrepreneurs do not experience the same benefits as their male counterparts, showing that women are still underrepresented and underperforming in accelerator programs. This brief synthesizes the key findings of four selected research projects and draws actionable insights for practitioners aiming to fill the evidence gap on the needs of women entrepreneurs and in what ways accelerators can address key barriers."

"Entrepreneurs need to be prepared to measure and communicate their contribution to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to key stakeholders. However, there is currently no standardization of climate impact reporting in the small business sector, leaving the burden on entrepreneurs to grow a successful business and implement the right tools to measure climate impact. Climate Collective Foundation and the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) have published this guide to provide SGBs, impact investors, and ESOs with a consolidated list of available tools and frameworks for climate impact measurement, along with guidance on how to select best-fit resources based on their industry and impact area."

"Entrepreneurs need to be prepared to measure and communicate their contribution to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to key stakeholders. However, there is currently no standardization of climate impact reporting in the small business sector, leaving the burden on entrepreneurs to grow a successful business and implement the right tools to measure climate impact. Climate Collective Foundation and the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) have published this guide to provide SGBs, impact investors, and ESOs with a consolidated list of available tools and frameworks for climate impact measurement, along with guidance on how to select best-fit resources based on their industry and impact area."

"Empreendedores precisam estar preparados para medir e comunicar aos principais stakeholders, suas contribuições para a mitigação, adaptação e resiliência às mudanças climáticas. No entanto, atualmente não há padronização dos relatórios de impacto climático no setor de pequenas empresas, deixando o ônus de crescer um negócio bem-sucedido e implementar as ferramentas certas para medir o impacto climático para os empreendedores. A Climate Collective Foundation e a Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) publicaram este guia para fornecer a SGBs, investidores de impacto e ESOs uma lista consolidada de ferramentas e frameworks disponíveis para medição de impacto climático, com orientações sobre como selecionar os recursos mais adequados com base em seu estágio, indústria e região geográfica."

"This Guide was developed for impact and mission-driven investors (“Investors”) operating in emerging markets to provide concrete, practical pathways for investing with a gender lens. The adoption of Gender Lens Investing strategies amongst investors in emerging markets in turn increases the amount of capital deployed towards women-led and gender inclusive businesses. Specifically, this Guide offers pathways for investment professionals, limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) at impact and mission-driven Venture Capital (VC) and Private Equity (PE) firms that are investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Other actors that may also find the Guide useful are limited partners (LPs), asset managers, foundations, family offices and development finance institutions (DFI) that are providing capital to SMEs in emerging markets (Please see Figure 1: Who is this Guide for?). While the investor examples and data presented in the Guide originate from Investing in Women partners and countries of focus, the lessons learned apply broadly to investors operating in emerging markets.

There is no singular or linear path to investing with a gender lens, and there is no single ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to meet the needs and theses of all investors. With that in mind, the Guide outlines various options for investing with a gender lens. We know that gender lens investing is not an “all-or-nothing” scenario. There are multiple ways to integrate progressive practices, including ways that are not resource-intensive. This Guide outlines entry points for investors at any point in their gender lens investing journey and provides various options for decisive actions that can be taken at any stage of the investment process.

There is no single prescribed starting point. Investors can customize their approach to getting started and/or to deepen their involvement. The Guide builds on – and contributes to – a rapidly growing body of knowledge shared within the fields of gender lens investing and development, and is intended to spur action and learning. Recognizing that new resources are continually emerging, this Guide delves into the “how” of gender lens investing and is designed to complement the work of our partners and colleagues cited throughout this paper."

Este reporte presenta de manera resumida los resultados claves de un estudio de las dinámicas de colaboración entre actores del ecosistema de emprendimiento basado en innovación en Ciudad de México, México. Elestudio y mapeo del ecosistema utilizó métodos de Social Network Análisisen conjunto con un taller participativo que tomó lugar los días 29-30 julio del 2019 en Ciudad de México. El reporte comparte los resultados claves, enfocándose en la composición del ecosistema, sus dinámicas de colaboración, así como retos y oportunidades para fortalecerse y evolucionar. Este reporte forma parte de una serie de resúmenesejecutivos que comparten los hallazgos principales de estudios de ecosistemas realizados en seis ciudades de Iberoamérica durante el período junio 2019 a febrero 2020. Estas ciudades son Buenos Aires, Madrid, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile, y Sao Paulo. Los resúmenes ejecutivos están publicados en español. A finalesde 2020, se publicará un reporte completo con análisis adicional de los seis ecosistemas en inglés y español.

Zevoli Growth Partners in partnership with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) created the first volume of our much-anticipated funding guides for local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The MSME Funding Handbook will equip MSMEs with comprehensive information as they embark on sourcing various types of funding for their businesses. The first issue of the handbook explores national development funding institutions in South Africa. Subsequent issues will unpack a range of others, including provincial DFIs, Corporate Funding, Commercial funding, Venture Capital, and Private Equity.

"Las y los emprendedores deben estar preparados para medir y comunicar su contribución a la mitigación, adaptación y resiliencia ante el cambio climático. Sin embargo, en la actualidad no existe una estandarización de los informes sobre el impacto climático en el sector de las pequeñas empresas, lo que deja en manos de las y los emprendedores la carga de hacer crecer un negocio exitoso y aplicar las herramientas adecuadas para medir el impacto climático. La Climate Collective Foundation (CCF) y la Red Aspen de Emprendedores para el Desarrollo (ANDE) han publicado esta guía para proporcionar a las Pequeñas Empresas en Crecimiento, los inversionistas de impacto y las Organizaciones de Apoyo al Emprendimiento, una lista consolidada de las herramientas y los marcos de referencia disponibles para la medición del impacto climático, junto con orientación sobre cómo seleccionar los recursos más adecuados en función de su etapa, industria y región geográfica."

"Conventional wisdom holds that women are less likely than men to start and lead  businesses. This trend, however, may be changing. Since 2020, the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) has surveyed small businesses around the world. Our findings suggest that firms born in the past two years are more likely than older firms to be headed by women. They are also more likely than pre-pandemic firms to be led by minority women. And once they start to export, they sell to a larger and more diverse set of markets. These women-led firms are also adopting digital technologies at about the same rate as those led by men. What factors predict success? The newly established women-led firms that weathered the initial impacts of COVID-19 better than other businesses share three characteristics: 1) they are more likely to use digital payments; 2) they are more likely to sell on global marketplaces that enable them to scale their sales and diversify their markets; and 3) they are more likely to export. This paper sets out recommendations for policymakers and the business community to better encourage and support the development of women-led firms by: 1) providing access to digital opportunities; 2) fostering digital skills; and 3) promoting a safe environment in which women-led firms can operate."