"Salaried wage jobs are the distinguishing feature separating the middle class from the poor in
developing countries (Banerjee and Duflo 2008). Where do salaried wage jobs come from, and
how can small and medium-sized firms create more of them? We review the evidence on
constraints to growth of small and medium enterprises. We first examine evidence on
constraints to capital and skilled labor, firms’ primary inputs to production. We then consider
factors that affect the efficiency with which firms are able to transform inputs into outputs,
focusing on managerial talent. Finally, we look at the importance of linking firms to markets
and the role of demand in generating firm growth. We conclude with a proposal for a research
agenda built around important but unanswered questions. "

"In the GALI dataset, approximately one-third of ventures based in Mexico that applied to accelerators had already participated in a similar program. GALI produced this knowledge brief, with the support of Citibanamex, to better understand the incremental benefits that entrepreneurs receive by attending multiple programs as well as how entrepreneurs and accelerators view this phenomenon."

"This report summarizes a more comprehensive assessment undertaken in 2017 which examined the characteristics of women-led, small and growing businesses (SGBs) in Mexico. Aimed at understanding Mexico's current entrepreneurial ecosystem and the financial and non-financial barriers facing female entrepreneurs, the assessment offered recommendations for how different actors can support women entrepreneurs. Available to a wide audience as a learning report, this summary assessment contributes valuable insights into how a broader set of actors implementing services and programmes for women entrepreneurs can improve their support to women in their entrepreneurship endeavours in Mexico and beyond."

"This report was published as part of an interest in expanding knowledge and contribution to create a more enabling environment for inclusive business. The intentions of this are: firstly, to illustrate how the consideration of BoP communities exclusively through their income levels is limiting and can be misleading for practitioners; and secondly, to develop a series of recommendations to governments and public institutions on how to create an enabling environment for inclusive business models."

"A randomized control trial with 432 small and medium enterprises in Mexico shows positive impact of access to 1 year of management consulting services on total factor productivity and return on assets. Owners also had an increase in "entrepreneurial spirit" (an index that measures entrepreneurial confidence and goal setting). Using Mexican social security data, we find a persistent large increase (about 50 percent) in the number of employees and total wage bill even 5 years after the program. We document large heterogeneity in the specific managerial practices that improved as a result of the consulting, with the most prominent being marketing, financial accounting, and long-term business planning."

"A study from Zeppelin University and Siemens Stiftung provides for the first time data that evaluates the ability of social enterprises to satisfy the basic needs of poor populations. Focusing on Colombia, Mexico, Kenya and South Africa, the dynamics in the public, private, and third sectors were examined, and to what extent these influence the activities of social enterprises. The study includes concrete recommendations on how to increase the contribution of social enterprises to poverty alleviation."

"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."

"Este informe pretende captar las peculiaridades del sector de inversión de impacto en América Latina durante los dos últimos años, basándose en una muestra de los inversionistas en la región. Mediante información a nivel institucional y a nivel transacción de estos inversionistas, se ofrece un retrato de dónde y cómo se está asignando capital, e identifica los retos que enfrenta el ecosistema. Si bien abarca la región entera, el informe se enfoca en los tres mercados principales de la región: Brasil, México y Colombia."

"Este relatório pretende retratar características do setor de investimento de impacto na América Latina no decorrer dos últimos dois anos com base em uma amostra de investidores de impacto ativos na região. Utilizando dados das organizações e de transações (deals) compartilhados por esses investidores, proporciona-se uma visão geral de onde e como o capital está sendo alocado e identificam-se desafios enfrentados pelo ecossistema. O relatório foca na região como um todo e se aprofunda nos três maiores mercados: Brasil, Colômbia e México."