"This assessment was conducted by a mixed international-local team with youth participation, and is the first of a series of labor market assessments to be conducted under the Workforce Connections project. The methodology builds on standard approaches to understanding labor markets used in the past by USAID, other donors, governments, and private organizations, with the addition of a more focused economic analysis which makes it possible to generate deeper insight into the drivers of skills demand. Results from this and the other Workforce Connections assessments, and the tools used to generate them, will be shared and further refined through the project's Community of Practice over the coming year. The assessment also contains a summary of lessons learned about workforce development programming."

"Women-led and women-owned businesses continue to be a largely untapped resource for economic growth in emerging economies. There is promising data, highlighted in this report, for the opportunity to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystems supporting women in emerging economies, despite the negative impacts of the pandemic. This report underscores the potential for women’s businesses, especially startup businesses and high-growth entrepreneurs, and emphasizes the need to fill critical gaps in access to financing, technology, social networks and training. "

Currently there are over 500 townships in the South Africa, whose combined land mass surpasses that of Johannesburg and Durban combined and which are home to an estimated 40% of South Africa’s urban population. While more is understood about the small and growing businesses (SGBs) in metropolitan areas, less is known about the entrepreneurial ecosystems in the townships and how to support the primarily micro, necessity-based businesses that operate there. This report focuses on identifying the key actors implementing programmes to support entrepreneurs and small businesses operating in townships in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, and Western Cape Provinces, the challenges the entrepreneurial support providers face, and the opportunities to strengthen this ecosystem.

Les écosystèmes entrepreneuriaux comprennent l’ensemble des éléments culturels, politiques et économiques qui permettent aux entrepreneurs de lancer, soutenir et développer une nouvelle affaire. Si le concept d’écosystème entrepreneurial est bien établi, la base de données probantes sur la manière exacte dont les écosystèmes se développent et sur la question à savoir si les interventions peuvent accélérer cette croissance est toujours en cours d’élaboration. Ce rapport synthétise les données existantes sur le processus complexe de création d’écosystèmes entrepreneuriaux et propose des enseignements clés tirés de la documentation.

Ecossistemas empreendedores compreendem o conjunto de elementos culturais, políticos e econômicos que permitem aos empreendedores iniciar, sustentar e expandir um novo negócio. Embora o conceito de ecossistema empreendedor esteja bem estabelecido, a base de evidências sobre como exatamente os ecossistemas crescem e se as intervenções podem acelerar esse crescimento ainda está emergindo. Este relatório resume as evidências existentes sobre o complexo processo de construção de ecossistemas empreendedores e oferece lições importantes da literatura.

Los ecosistemas de emprendimiento comprenden un conjunto de elementos culturales, políticos y económicos que permiten a las y los emprendedores iniciar, sostener y escalar un nuevo negocio. Mientras que el concepto de ecosistema de emprendimiento está bien establecido, la base de la evidencia sobre cómo crecen exactamente los ecosistemas y sobre si las intervenciones pueden acelerar este crecimiento es aún emergente. Este informe sintetiza la evidencia existente sobre el complejo proceso de construir ecosistemas de emprendimiento y ofrece lecciones clave a partir de la literatura.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems comprise the set of cultural, political, and economic elements that allow entrepreneurs to start, sustain, and scale a new business. While the concept of an entrepreneurial ecosystem is well-established, the evidence base on how exactly ecosystems grow and whether interventions can accelerate this growth is still emerging. This report synthesizes the existing evidence on the complex process of building entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers key lessons from the literature.