SMEs make up a large part of businesses, jobs, and GHG emissions. A concerted effort towards climate action in India has to include how we engage and support small and growing businesses.
We work to create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and deepen ANDE’s role as the leading convener for organizations committed to supporting entrepreneurship in developing economies. Chapter activities aim to strengthen the local network, encourage collaboration, and co-develop programs and services for and with our members and the sector at large.
In 2020, the Metrics from the Ground Up conference took place as a track alongside the Sankalp Global Summit. The event gave ANDE members and the community in India (and beyond) the chance to meet and share knowledge and best practices on impact measurement and management relevant to entrepreneurial support and the greater impact ecosystem.
This piece is part of a series under the theme of “Elevating Underrepresented Voices at ANDE.”
On September 24, 2020, Geigy Mathews and Denis Karema from Enviu hosted a Solution Salon entitled "Eliminating waste to 0% in the textile & food chain, impossible?" as part of ANDE's 2020 Annual Conference. The session highlighted the complex, multi-sector solutions that will be required in order to facilitate the transition towards fully circular textile and food sectors.
2019 was a promising year for the small and growing business (SGB) ecosystem. The recently released State of the Small and Growing Business Sector report from ANDE shows that a wide variety of investment vehicles were launched last year, committing capital close to $3 billion.
In May, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs announced that its new Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund will offer grants to eight organizations. With support from the US Agency for International Development and the Visa Foundation, the $1.2 million fund will target the finance gap for women-led small and growing businesses in South and Southeast Asia.
Fund will distribute up to $1.2 million in grant capital across eight winning proposals out of a pool of more than 180 total applications.