“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.