"How do different sources of social influence impact the likelihood of entrepreneurship? We examine this question in the setting of an entrepreneurship class in which students were randomly assigned to receive mentorship from either an entrepreneur or a non-entrepreneur. Using a longitudinal field experiment with a pre-test/post-test design, we find that randomization to an entrepreneur mentor increases the likelihood of entrepreneurial careers, particularly for students whose parents were not entrepreneurs. Additional analysis shows the mentor influences the decision to join an early-stage venture, but not to become a founder. Performance data suggests that entrepreneurial influence is not encouraging "worse" entrepreneurship and may have helped students in joining or founding better-performing ventures. We contribute to the literature on social influence in entrepreneurship by examining the interaction between multiple sources of social influence and by using a randomized field experiment to overcome the endogenous process of tie formation."

"This SIGI Regional Report on Latin America and the Caribbean highlights the positive strides, commitments and momentum to challenge gender-based discrimination in social institutions, notably in land, property and financial rights, and in legal reforms to eliminate gender-based violence."

"The purpose of this report is to provide delegates to the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference with up-to-date evidence on the relevance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for employment, the key constraints faced by SMEs and their workers, and the effectiveness of measures to support this enterprise segment. The report ultimately attempts to provide answers to crucial questions such as whether SMEs are living up to their promise of being a major contributor to job creation, whether these jobs are of adequate quality, and how effective the various policies for promoting SMEs are."

"Despite the popularity of business training among policy makers, the use of business training has faced increasing skepticism. This is, in part, fueled by the fact that most of the first wave of randomized experiments in developing countries could not detect statistically significant impacts of training on firms' profits or sales. This paper revisits and reassesses the evidence for whether small business training works, incorporating the results of more recent studies. A meta-analysis of these estimates suggests that training increases profits and sales on average by 5 to 10 percent. The author argues that this is in line with what is optimistic to expect given the relatively short length of most training programs, and the expected return on investment from the cost of such training. However, impacts of this magnitude are too small for most experiments to detect statistically. Emerging evidence is provided on five approaches for improving the effectiveness of traditional training by incorporating gender, kaizen methods, localization and mentoring, heuristics, and psychology. Training programs that incorporate these elements appear to deliver improvements over traditional training programs on average, although with considerable variation. Given that training delivers some benefits for firms, the challenge is then how to deliver a quality program on a cost-effective basis at a much larger scale. Three possible approaches to scaling up training are discussed: using the market, using technology, or targeting and funneling firms."

"The Stocktaking Report aims to provide the G-20 Leaders with a summarized but comprehensive framework by which to understand the SME finance gap and its challenges. The first part of the report is conceptual and primarily consists of a review of the literature on SME Finance in the developing world; the second part of the report discusses the analysis of 164 cases of SME Finance interventions compiled through a collective effort involving G-20 member countries, non-member countries, development finance institutions, and private sector players. Finally, the report highlights key recommendations that are proposed to the G-20 Leaders in order to achieve signifi cantand sustainable scale-up of SME access to financial services across the developing world."

"This resource page contains a theory of change template that is free to download and use."

"With the aim of better understanding trends, challenges, and growth opportunities, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) has developed a series of publications about impact investing in four sectors: biodiversity conservation, education, financial inclusion and health. This publication focuses on the specifics ofi mpact investing in biodiversity conservation. It begins with an overview of the social, environmental and economic context in Brazil, which is followed by data on impact investing in the sector taken from the second edition of the report "The Impact Investing Landscape in Latin America", recently publishec by ANDE and LAVCA (The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America). The publication then presents a case study of a business that rec3eived investment, before concluding with recommendations for the sector."

"This publication focuses on the specifics of impact investing in financial inclusion and fintechs. It begins with an overview of the social and economic context in Brazil, which is followed by data on impact investing in the sector taken from the second edition of the report "The Impact Investing Landscape in Latin America", recently published by ANDE and LAVCA (The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America). The publication then presents a case study of a business that received investment, before concluding with recommendations for the future."

"Learn about how our partners are getting sustainable returns for their business, while empowering farmers through service delivery. This report shares our most complete findings on commercially viable and impactful smallholder services."

"The current global crisis of economic exclusion and inequity has millions of people in poverty with limited opportunities to escape. The questions of how markets work, and who they work for, have never been more pressing.

Truly inclusive markets lead to expanded opportunity for more broadly shared prosperity, especially for those facing the greatest barriers. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, we analyzed historical cases where such inclusive transformations actually occurred in order to understand the ways in which they were achieved. Using these insights, we offer practical recommendations for funders and intermediaries seeking to enable more of these shifts in the future."