The ANDE Asia Annual Report 2025 highlights a year of collaboration, learning, and action across the region’s small and growing business (SGB) ecosystem. Amid evolving markets and increasing expectations around impact, inclusion, and climate outcomes, ANDE and its members continued to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems through practical capacity building, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships.
From flagship trainings like Investment Manager Training and SCALE 360 to member showcases, research dissemination, Access and Opportunity Learning Lab, and Climate and Environment Learning Lab, the report captures key milestones, member voices, and regional insights that shaped 2025. It also reflects on the collective progress made by ecosystem builders, investors, and partners working together to unlock capital, scale solutions, and drive inclusive economic growth—while setting the stage for deeper collaboration and impact in 2026.
Global Disability Innovation Hub’s Bala Nagendran Marimuthu shares three frameworks—from inclusive cities to clean energy and climate planning—that help policymakers move beyond stereotypes and embed disability inclusion in program design.
In KINETIK–ANDE–ROI Investment Manager Training sessions, Roots of Impact showed how impact-linked finance ties better terms to verified outcomes—turning measurement into strategy, strengthening credibility, and rewarding meaningful performance.
Lessons from Seedstars’ work across Asia and Africa, shared by Tom Sebastian, Regional Director of Partnerships (Asia & APAC).
How Seedstars uses Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning to reduce exclusion while programs are still running.
UNDP’s two-front approach, strengthening internal DEI systems while embedding inclusion across programs, offers practical MEL tools, accountability mechanisms, and syndicate strategies SGB support organizations can adopt to create lasting, inclusive ecosystems.
The adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards is relevant not only because investors are more inclined to consider them in their investment decisions but also due to their potential positive impact on sustainable development. While ESG implementation is still mostly voluntary, governments around the world are increasingly integrating these standards into their legal frameworks. Thus, understanding how the law supports ESG adoption becomes essential. However, the law alone is not sufficient to ensure that companies apply these standards. Investment is also needed to guarantee that the impact of ESG practices is long-lasting. In this paper we present our findings on how legal frameworks of 10 countries support ESG standards implementation, and what funding alternatives are available, particularly to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).