"Spring Impact's new report, generously supported by the Argidius Foundation, shares recommendations on creating effective mentoring programs for micro, small, and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). This report is designed to provide immediate support to practitioners, funders and other champions of mentoring by sharing essential good practices to strengthen or build effective programs."

"Unlike social programs targeting individuals, few enterprise support programs have been rigorously evaluated, and existing evaluations have mostly been done in high-income countries such as the United States and Europe. Mexico spends a large share of government resources on small and medium enterprise programs each year. How effective these programs have been in achieving their objectives is unclear. In Mexico, impact evaluations of small and medium enterprise programs are rare, and most are qualitative in nature. This is the first paper evaluating these programs in Mexico using firm-level panel data. The continuous and ten-year panel data -- from the 1994-2005 period -- allow the authors to address selectivity bias and unobserved firm heterogeneity by applying a generalization of differences-in-differences models combined with propensity score matching methods. This study finds evidence that participation in small and medium enterprise programs is associated with improvements in key variables such as value added, gross production, and wages. Furthermore, the study finds evidence that some of the positive effects can take several years to realize. The results also call for streamlining and greater efficiency in Mexico's small and medium enterprise programs."

"This paper argues that the time is right for banks to step up their efforts to serve micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging markets. There are three reasons for our optimism. First, an estimated 60 per cent of global banking revenue growth over the next decade will lie in emerging markets. Second, more and more banks in emerging markets are finding ways to overcome the difficulties of serving the important MSME segment. Third, innovations in technology, risk assessment and business models are increasingly facilitating their effort. It is not just banks in emerging markets that should grab the opportunity. Western banks will find innovative practices that they can use to refresh and adapt their traditional banking models back home."

"The puzzle for policy-makers, or others interested in a specific 'place' or region, is that this phenomenon - especially of 'innovation-driven entrepreneurship' - is not only highly concentrated but also seems to be characterized by a positive reinforcing cycle of growth, once IDEs reach a particular concentration (Audrestch & Feldman 2004). The systems-like behavior of these places has knock-on consequences, both for the regions in which it takes place, but also for those localities that have not crossed the threshold for accelerated growth (or at least not at the same rate). The logic of 'co-location', with growing networks of exchange and the consequent 'network effects,' means that the successful regions (and nations) may end up continually doing better, while those less successful ones get left further and further behind. As Audrestch & Feldman described, "geography has been found to provide a platform upon which new knowledge can be produced, harnessed and commercialized into innovations" (2004, p.31)."

MIT's study of these phenomena tries to address this puzzle, and provide advice and options for those who wish to optimize innovation-driven entrepreneurship in their specific regions, and who seek to build a vibrant innovation ecosystem in their locality. A key to MIT's approach is a Stakeholder Framework (which will be the subject of this Working Paper), but it is important to first place this in context."

"The extensive and ever-increasing penetration of mobile phones in developing and emerging markets presents a significant opportunity to women entrepreneurs who want to develop their micro businesses into flourishing small and growing enterprises. The objective of this study was to identify the most useful mobile value added services (VAS) solutions which would enable women entrepreneurs to advance their businesses in selected geographies. As a result of this identification exercise, this report serves as a valuable reminder that investment in mobile VAS presents promising and beneficial outcomes for commercial stakeholders, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), governments and women entrepreneurs alike."

"G7 countries now have a strategic opportunity to scale up green and sustainable finance for SMEs. This could help support and strengthen the role that SMEs can play in connecting business growth, innovation strategies and entrepreneurial efforts with climate action and sustainable development. Mobilizing Sustainable Finance for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. To this end, a Sustainable Finance Toolbox for SMEs has been developed which contains a range of options for G7 countries to implement on a voluntary basis in partnership with key stakeholders such as financial institutions, SME business associations, public financial institutions, as well as central banks and regulators."

"This document describes our development of an impact management approach, which we define as the management of assets in order to meet explicit impact goals (alongside financial goals). It is primarily intended for existing or prospective impact investors – although we hope the logic can also be relevant for other practitioners engaged in philanthropy and sustainability, in the interests of coordinating the various approaches to creating societal impact."

"Investments designed specifically to promote development are not new, but their application across a broad range of sectors-from moderate-income housing, to health care, water and sanitation, and rural development-is recent. And they raise several critical questions for development policy. Are they an effective new tool for long-term development? Are they likely to reach the scale necessary to be part of an overall development strategy?

This report offers an important survey and analysis of the field. Impact investing has the potential to spur development in regions and sectors that traditional foreign direct investment does not target, but it faces many challenges, notably market fragmentation and a lack of infrastructure. The authors, former executive vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and former CGD visiting fellow, John Simon, and Julia Barmeier suggest concrete steps that will help the market mature and grow, with separate and specific recommendations for practitioners, development finance institutions, and regulators."

"Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are uniquely positioned to address the troubling trend of rising wealth and income inequality in the United States by focusing on the creation of higher quality jobs. To move toward a reality where quality jobs are the standard- not the exception-CDFIs must build consensus around a common definition of a quality job, undertake practical efforts to foster the creation of quality jobs, and measure results to understand what works.

This discussion paper seeks to answer two important questions at the center of Community Development Financial Institutions' (CDFIs) efforts to create quality jobs: what is a quality job, and how can CDFIs measure job quality?"

"During the past 10 years of impact investing in Brazil, we have observed a significant development in the impact investing space.

This market study of the impact investing sector in Brazil reveals significant market growth. Nineteen of Brazil's largest impact investors, including fund managers, banks, foundations, family offices and others surveyed expect to commit 40% to 50% more capital to impact investments in 2014 compared to 2013."