"Entrepreneurial ecosystems have become a prominent concept, yet in its current state, the concept itself represents a paradox. While it draws on a rich intellectual history and provides an opportunity to synthesize different strands of research, it is also under-theorized and the mechanisms that govern ecosystem evolution are not well understood. This paper takes stock of recent advancements in ecosystem scholarship and synthesizes the empirical reality of the causal mechanisms. We use these dynamics to position ecosystems in a broader context, within and beyond the domain of entrepreneurship research, and propose a transdisciplinary research program for ecosystem research and practice."

"A large portion of economic activity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is driven by (micro)entrepreneurs, who face significant challenges in starting and running profitable businesses. More than half of workers in low- and lower middle-income countries run their own business, against around 10 percent in high-income countries (ILO, 2019). Around a third of these entrepreneurs are driven by necessity (e.g., running their own business as a means of providing a subsistence income), rather than opportunity (e.g., hoping to build a business that grows beyond the scope of subsistence needs). Well-documented barriers facing LMIC entrepreneurs include weak education systems that hamper human capital development, limited access to finance, poor infrastructure and information access, and weak institutions. Policy interventions have sought to respond to these challenges with often inconclusive or underwhelming results.

Insights from behavioral science can help us better understand how the complexities of the human decision-making process impact LMIC entrepreneurs and the policies aimed at supporting them. Behavioral science recognizes that people’s behavior does not only depend on internal drivers (personality, preferences) and external drivers (information, incentives, regulations), but also on the decision-making process itself, which is influenced by available mental resources, automatic thinking, social norms and relationships, and mental models. While these influences impact everyone, their importance is exacerbated by challenging living conditions, making them potentially more influential for individuals living in LMICs. The majority of entrepreneurship research and programming continues to focus on building capital and business skills, but adding a systematic focus on behavioral influences shows a broad range of potential barriers that might interfere with an entrepreneur’s decision-making process (Figure A). A deeper understanding of entrepreneurs’ decision-making context can help practitioners improve both their diagnosis of the obstacles facing entrepreneurs and the design of entrepreneurship-related policies and interventions."

"This tool has been developed for businesses to allow them to directly enter data, in order to assess their business operations from a gender perspective at three levels: human capital, productivity management, and market. The tool will walk businesses through a three-step process to collect data about where women are within agribusiness operations, provide a report analyzing the data showing gender gaps in women and men participation as employees and suppliers, as well as highlighting the policies, practices and systems that should be in place for a business to support gender inclusion. Finally, the report will provide recommendations on action steps businesses can take towards increasing women's inclusion across core business areas."

"Today India, and the world, finds itself in the unenvious position of enduring two major economic recessions in a span of 10-12 years, unprecedented in modern history. In the aftermath of COVID-19, which has hit the small enterprise sector the hardest, where a majority of women-led ventures are recorded, it has become imperative to actively find avenues to encourage sustainable growth. This report delves deep into the various factors and circumstances inhibiting the growth of women-led enterprises, and further explores how women entrepreneurship can be encouraged while also being a force of change. Through various articles mentioned in this collection, which are based on original research studies conducted in this area during the pandemic, we seek to provide a snapshot of the existing obstacles, but also the way forward in promoting women entrepreneurship, which can be a major contributor in the socio-economic recovery of India."

"Globally, the literature on public sector experiences with GRP is limited. This report aims to contribute to the current knowledge base on how governments can better support women entrepreneurs and WLBs who seek to sell to the government. Most of the examples and case studies in this report come specifically from Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the City of Buenos Aires, which have developed GRP programs and are at different stages of implementation."

"In collaboration with Google, this report presents four opportunities for unlocking the potential of female entrepreneurship in India: 1) Level the playing field for the high-impact, employment-creating entrepreneurs; 2) Enable ambitious “solopreneurs” and small business owners to scale and become high-impact entrepreneurs; 3) Encourage more women to start enterprises; 4) Build, strengthen and scale productive rural “agripreneurs.”

"Now in its third year, the annual Mastercard Index of Women in Entrepreneurs (MIWE) continues to provide invaluable insights into the progress and achievemens of women in business. Despite many challenges, female entrepreneurs are opening successful businesses faster than ever before, and MIWE brings to the forefront the broad set of variables propelling this dynamism, globally."

"We initiated this study to identify demand-led macro unlocks that can drive growth for urban women (primarily the homepreneur segment), taking the lens of mass entrepreneurship. The intent was to present opportunities to ecosystem stakeholders, such that innovation, interventions, policies and business models can emerge that can lead to a conducive environment creating a path to bringing more women into the labour force in India."

"Syngenta Foundation India (SFI), established in 2005, is an independent not-for-profit organisation. SFI’s mission is to have small and marginal farmers participate in agriculture development by improving their access to better seeds and other inputs, technology, information, credit and market access. In this context, SFI launched its Agri-Entrepreneur (AE) Program in 2014. Under the program a rural youth is trained as an entrepreneur who provides last mile services to a group of 150-200 farmers. Currently there are 1763 AEs under the program who are supporting over 2, 00,000 farmers across India.

Of the total AEs, 265 are women AEs who are currently active across 5 project locations, i.e; Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The objective of the study was to understand the performance of women AEs and create an enabling environment to improve income and increase participation. The study methodology is based on the integration of quantitative and qualitative research methods."

"This short guide outlines tips for how to apply a gender and inclusion lens while developing and reviewing communications materials. The intention is to provide basic guidance to a group of impact investors working as part of the “Investing in Women” initiative supported by Australian Aid’s DFAT program. It aims to serve as a starting point for thinking more deeply and critically about how gender inclusion and gender equality can be embedded into communications products and processes and coupled with gender-lens investing actions and processes that cut across entire operations of investment firms. Far from exhaustive, this guide is intentionally brief and designed to spur further research and inquiry."