We are proud to share some highlights of the many ways in which ANDE has continued to demonstrate the resilience of its global network in pursuit of our shared goal to support small and growing businesses and strengthen small business ecosystems around the world. Let's keep up the momentum.
The SME Climate Hub 2023 Survey is a comprehensive report based on a survey of 2,800 SMEs from around the world conducted in late 2022. The report delves into the current state of climate action and sustainable business practices in SMEs. According to the survey findings, SMEs are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact. However, many SMEs continue to face significant challenges in implementing sustainable practices, such as a lack of access to finance and technical expertise. The report also emphasizes the importance of governments and financial institutions in assisting SMEs in making the transition to more sustainable business practices. Overall, the SME Climate Hub 2023 Survey offers useful insights into the challenges and opportunities that SMEs face as they navigate the transition to a more sustainable future.
"COVID-19 has taken a painful toll on numerous aspects of society, including the small and growing business sector. To restrain the spread of the virus, governments in many countries introduced lockdowns, social distancing, and mandatory shutdowns. However, those measures interrupted many commercial activities worldwide, causing major economic disruption.
Although the pandemic necessitated the transition to virtual program delivery, the experience allowed stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to discover the benefits and limitations of virtual support. Now that lockdowns have largely ended and economic activity is recovering, support organizations need to decide whether to continue with virtual entrepreneurial support, revert to in-person mode, or adopt a hybrid approach to retain the benefits of both virtual and in-person programming. To understand the effectiveness of virtual support and to synthesize lessons learned during this forced experimentation period, ANDE used surveys and interviews to gather perspectives from both entrepreneurs and intermediaries on what worked - and what did not - in the shift to virtual programming."
"The gender financing gap persists. Women-led startups raise significantly less capital than startups led by only men. According to PitchBook Data, in 2021, 85.4% of global VC dollars went to startups with only men on the founding team.
That number has hardly budged over the past decade — despite the fact that data continues to suggest that women-led startups outperform startups with all-men founding teams. For example, a BCG study found that women-led companies generate more than twice as much additional revenue per dollar invested (78 cents versus 38 cents) and a PitchBook study found that women-led startups reach their exit stage a full year earlier than all-male-founded startups (median 6.4 years versus 7.4 years).
For investors, focusing on only a fraction of all entrepreneurs means they leave significant opportunities for returns on the table. For startups, this gender financing gap means promising innovations do not receive the resources they need to scale.
That is why Village Capital partnered with IFC, We-Fi, the World Bank, and researchers Amisha Miller and Saurabh Lall to identify and test several concrete ideas for how to help close the gender financing gap. With the support of a research coalition that also includes Visa Foundation, Moody’s, ANDE’s Advancing Women’s
Empowerment Fund, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and ANDE’s SGB Evidence Fund, we have identified several promising interventions.
Now we are sharing our results, and encouraging investors and accelerators to take action."
Come join us for an ANDE Members Networking Reception at Halcyon in Washington, D.C!
The ANDE London Member Meeting will take place this April in London, UK and provide an opportunity to network, connect, discuss challenges, and share new findings.
As we reflect on what we learned and reminisce on the memories that we made during our time in Bangkok, the ANDE Team has put together a list of three key takeaways from each plenary panel session, workshop and break-out session.
"Social Norms are the rules that govern behavior. Gender norms are social norms defining acceptable and appropriate actions for women and men in a given group or society. They are embedded in formal and informal institutions, nested in the mind, and produced and reproduced through social interaction. They play a role in shaping women and men’s (often unequal) access to resources and freedoms, thus affecting their voice, power and sense of self.
The purpose of this study was to gain quantitative and qualitative information about social and gender norms affecting women entrepreneurs in Vietnam related to childcare responsibilities, who should be the breadwinner and who is upholding these norms. The focus group consisted of growth-oriented entrepreneurs with two or more employees and who have been in business for at least two years."