"Endeavor Insight partnered with the Lemelson Foundation and Small Foundation to understand how entrepreneurial agriculture companies can maximize their impact in developing countries. The purpose of the study is to provide a data-backed assessment of the challenges and opportunities for supporting entrepreneurs. Endeavor Insight’s approach used several lenses, including a special focus on the types of innovation the founders have created, as well as an analysis of the dynamics within selected agricultural value chains. The results offer guidance for decision makers who support entrepreneurs as they address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in raising the incomes of smallholder farmers and alleviating poverty, creating transformative solutions that can address global food security, and generating quality jobs. This study builds on recent research in the international development and social investment communities, and takes into account the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis."

Business startup and growth is an important pathway to industry leadership and the
creation of personal wealth, as well as a key source of job creation, innovation and
economic growth. In this sense, women’s entrepreneurship can provide a means to
more rapidly advance gender equality in industries, communities and countries around
the world. The GEM 2020 Adult Population Survey ran from April through August
2020 and offered an important opportunity to examine pandemic impacts on women
entrepreneurs, in addition to an analysis of global trends. This year, we also invited GEM
researchers from around the world to contribute chapters on women’s entrepreneurship.
This year’s GEM Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Report has three main aims:
1. Identify key gender differences and similarities in business stages and
motivations. We identify countries and regions where gender gaps may be
significant and where they may be closing. All of these trends are considered across
countries, geographic regions and levels of national income.
2. Examine the structural and cultural factors that influence women’s
entrepreneurship. This analysis includes demographic characteristics (age,
education, household income), business characteristics and cultural factors,
such as cultural perceptions and high-growth activities that influence women’s
entrepreneurship in complex ways across regions, countries and levels of national
income.
3. Analyse how women entrepreneurs were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In doing this analysis of the pandemic’s impact, we allow comparisons across the
country and regional contexts, taking into account the level of income by country as
an important indicator of economic development.
Our findings offer insights to a diverse audience of researchers, policymakers, educators
and practitioners. Our ultimate goal is to highlight areas where there are still gaps,
challenges and opportunities, where women entrepreneurs have made significant
progress and where the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their business performance and
perceptions.

"Entrepreneurship is an essential driver of societal health and wealth. It is also a formidable engine of economic growth. It promotes the essential innovation required not only to exploit new opportunities, promote productivity, and create employment, but to also address some of society’s greatest challenges, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the economic shock wave created by the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. The promotion of entrepreneurship will be central to multiple governments worldwide for the foreseeable future, especially considering the significant negative impacts on economies due to the pandemic. Governments and other stakeholders will increasingly need hard, robust and credible data to make key decisions that stimulate sustainable forms of entrepreneurship and promote healthy entrepreneurial ecosystems worldwide. During its 22 years of existence, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) has repeatedly contributed to such efforts. For example, in this report, GEM is — as it has after other crises — providing policymakers with valuable insights on how to best foster entrepreneurship to propel growth and prosperity once again."

"The year 2020 has been incredibly challenging for the global community. The spread of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has led to an unparalleled health crisis in countries across the world. The crisis has had unprecedented and serious impacts on all aspects of how people communicate, work, produce, trade, consume and live. The economic ramifications of the pandemic quickly became apparent, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been on the front lines. With workers and customers staying indoors, and supply chains tested by shutdowns, the small companies that provide 70% of jobs in countries around the world and about half of economic activity have been put under stress."

"Today India, and the world, finds itself in the unenvious position of enduring two major economic recessions in a span of 10-12 years, unprecedented in modern history. In the aftermath of COVID-19, which has hit the small enterprise sector the hardest, where a majority of women-led ventures are recorded, it has become imperative to actively find avenues to encourage sustainable growth. This report delves deep into the various factors and circumstances inhibiting the growth of women-led enterprises, and further explores how women entrepreneurship can be encouraged while also being a force of change. Through various articles mentioned in this collection, which are based on original research studies conducted in this area during the pandemic, we seek to provide a snapshot of the existing obstacles, but also the way forward in promoting women entrepreneurship, which can be a major contributor in the socio-economic recovery of India."

"O estudo, de natureza descritivo-exploratória, busca compreender as condições necessárias para o desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade financeira de organizações que oferecem apoio a empreendimentos de impacto. Entre seus objetivos específicos estão:
- Compreender o que os gestores dessas organizações entendem sobre sustentabilidade financeira.
- Identificar características organizacionais, de funcionamento e de atuação que influenciam a sustentabilidade financeira.
- Compreender projetos futuros, fatores limitantes e potencializadores para a consolidação da sustentabilidade financeira das OEIs.
- Identificar o impacto da COVID-19 na sustentabilidade financeira das OEIs e dos negócios apoiados.
- Identificar oportunidades de ação a partir do cenário estudado."

"This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses worldwide with a focus on developing countries. The results are based on a novel data set collected by the World Bank Group and several partner institutions in 51 countries covering more than 100,000 businesses. The paper provides several stylized facts. First, the COVID-19 shock has been severe and widespread across firms, with persistent negative impact on sales. Second, the employment adjustment has operated mostly along the intensive margin (that is leave of absence and reduction in hours), with a small share of firms laying off workers. Third, smaller firms are disproportionately facing greater financial constraints. Fourth, firms are increasingly relying on digital solutions as a response to the shock. Fifth, there is great uncertainty about the future, especially among firms that have experienced a larger drop in sales, which is associated with job losses. These findings provide a better understanding of the magnitude and distribution of the shock, the main channels affecting businesses, and how firms are adjusting. The paper concludes by discussing some avenues for future research."