"Female founders raise less capital from investors than male founders, even if their ventures are similar or identical. However, providing systematic evaluation frameworks could encourage investors to assess all candidates equally, thus reducing gender disparities. In this vein, the authors – Amisha Miller and Saurabh Lall – investigated whether changing systematic evaluation practices could close the gender gap in investment decisions. The authors designed and implemented a two-stage experiment in collaboration with Village Capital across different developing regions across Africa, South Asia (India), the Middle East, and Latin America to reduce gender disparities in investment decisions. The experimental findings confirm that using a systematic evaluation framework – prompting investors to consider both risks and growth, as well as progress – reduces or even reverses gender disparities in investment decisions. This study provides strong causal evidence for an intervention that can be implemented right out the gate at a low cost: providing a systematic evaluation framework to investors."

This report provides insights into the current policy landscape and regulatory environment for impact investment in Bangladesh, identifying the challenges that have hindered the growth of the impact investment sector in the country, such as the absence of a supportive ecosystem and inadequate policy frameworks. Through the analysis of the current state of the impact investment ecosystem, the report highlights the need for a clear and comprehensive policy framework, increased awareness and understanding of impact investment, and capacity building for investors and investees. It also stresses the potential of impact investment to promote sustainable development in Bangladesh and calls for increased government support and private sector engagement to foster the growth of the impact investment ecosystem. It finalizes by recommending the development of a national impact investment strategy, the establishment of a dedicated impact investment fund, and the creation of a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration among stakeholders to create an enabling environment for impact investment in Bangladesh.

This report provides insights into the startup ecosystem of Bangladesh, first describing the limited access to capital and infrastructure, the lack of necessary skills, and the absence of a supportive regulatory framework that have impeded the growth and development of startups in Bangladesh. It aims to identify the current state of the startup ecosystem in Bangladesh, exploring the challenges faced by startups, and analyzing the trends in startup investment in the country. It points to the significant growth in the number of startups and the total amount of investment in the sector, along with the increasing interest of foreign investors in Bangladesh's startup ecosystem, and the need for policy reforms and infrastructure development as imperatives to create a more conducive environment for startups to grow. Finally, the report highlights the potential of the startup sector to drive economic growth and job creation in Bangladesh and calls for increased government support and private investment to foster the growth of the startup ecosystem.

Climate change and environmental degradation place significant stress on India’s biodiversity, food supply, water and energy security, and human health. The private sector will play a critical role in achieving these objectives, particularly growth-oriented entrepreneurship that can bring new ideas into practice, introduce technical innovations, and create demand for new environmentally friendly goods and services. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), green entrepreneurs address climate change and/or create a positive environmental value either through the process of delivering products/services (e.g., utilizing clean technologies) or by working in a green sector (e.g., waste management). Such entrepreneurs tackle climate change from multiple angles.

This report establishes a baseline understanding of the state of green entrepreneurship in India by assessing existing business models, the available financial and technical support for entrepreneurs, and key sectoral issues regarding the policy landscape and market opportunity. The purpose of the study is to inform decision-makers, such as policymakers, donors, investors, and business development service providers, of the primary trends, opportunities, and challenges in the green entrepreneurial ecosystem in India.

“Firms in developing countries struggle to recruit effective employees, due in part to their reliance on traditional recruitment networks such as family, friends, and referrals. This can limit the quantity and quality of potential hires and constrain the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These hiring constraints can also limit employment opportunities for job seekers, especially in countries where SMEs employ a large share of the labor force. This research examines the impact of online job portals on reducing hiring frictions in the Indian labor market, using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology. The study finds that firms in developing countries are more likely to fill a job vacancy when they receive both online job portal interventions, compared to receiving only larger applicant pools or identity verification services. Firms in the joint treatment group were 68% more likely to hire workers from the portal than firms in the control group, and these firms are more likely to hire overall across all recruitment methods. The study suggests that online job portals can provide a source for suitable employees outside of traditional networks, especially for smaller employers who may have less capacity to screen applicants. The authors highlight the importance of addressing multiple recruitment challenges in tandem for online job portals to alleviate constraints on recruitment in emerging markets.”

The damaging effects of climate change in India are all-encompassing, threatening agriculture and food supplies, energy security, water security, and public health. To ameliorate climate and environmental challenges, India has committed to a green economic transition through various government policies and initiatives. India has the the world’s third largest entrepreneurial ecosystem after the United States and China, and an increasing number of sustainability-oriented startups, investors, incubators, and accelerators in India is shaping a vibrant green ecosystem. This report examines the ecosystem of support for green entrepreneurs in India. Using data collected via surveys and desk research, this snapshot report uncovers important challenges and opportunities for green entrepreneurship to inform stakeholders of how to better support the development of India’s green economy.

Enterprise growth in the developing world is often constrained by capital, lack of training and skilled labor, market frictions and a general difficulty in identifying ventures with greater growth potential. In the case of women, entrepreneurship or self-employment is constrained further by several additional factors, such as lower levels of education and skills acquisition, restricted mobility, a higher burden of care work and social norms regarding appropriate work for women. The expansion of e-commerce and internet access in recent years has led us to investigate if digital technology could be leveraged in our setting to improve these skilled women’s access to wider product markets and enhance their earnings. This project update shares the methodology used to address this research question and early insights that have emerged so far.