"This report is the second edition of the study “Fintech: Innovations You May Not Know were from Latin America and the Caribbean” (IDB, 2017), which offered a comprehensive view of the activity in and development of the Fintech industry in the region. The report describes the evolution and the progress achieved with respect to the measurement and analysis carried out in 2017, and examines new dimensions relevant to the ecosystem. The first chapter provides a snapshot of the sector in the region, highlighting the evolution of the different business segments and the geographical distribution of the start-ups, as well as the state of development and maturity of the ecosystem. It includes new dimensions, such as the situation in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, as well as an approach to issues such as cybersecurity and start-up failures. The second chapter tackles gender issues and Fintech in three dimensions: women as founders of Fintech companies, women as workers in the Fintech industry, and women as users of Fintech services. The third chapter addresses collaboration between the different actors, how they are organized, and their main programs and initiatives, with special emphasis on Fintech associations in different countries in the region. The fourth chapter discusses the Fintech sector’s potential for improving financial inclusion and funding for the productive sector in Latin America. The fifth chapter examines the evolution of regulation and oversight and presents examples and developments in this area. The sixth chapter offers some conclusions about the continuous growth and progressive consolidation in the region’s ecosystem."

"El estudio identifica las barreras al financiamiento de paisajes sustentables a través de los pequeños productores en México, en específico en la Selva Maya, Yucatán; la Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, y Mascota, Jalisco. Además propone recomendaciones para superar estas barreras.

Incluye tres objetivos secundarios:
(i) entender los instrumentos e iniciativas financieras que existen y que estén enfocados a prácticas productivas sostenibles;
(ii) identifica las barreras al financiamiento para prácticas productivas sostenibles que enfrentan los pequeños productores, y
(iii) desarrolla recomendaciones para superar estas barreras."

"We study the medium-term impacts of the Skills for Effective Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) program, an innovative in-residence 3-week mini-MBA program for high school students modeled after western business school curricula and adapted to the Ugandan context. The program featured two separate treatments: the hard-skills MBA features a mix of approximately 75% hard skills and 25% soft skills; the soft skills curriculum has the reverse mix. Using data on 4400 youth from a nationally representative sample in a 3-arm field experiment in Uganda, the 3.5 year follow-up demonstrated that training was effective in improving both hard and soft skills, but only soft skills were directly linked to improvements in self-efficacy, persuasion, and negotiation. The skill upgrade was rewarded in substantially higher earnings; 32.1% and 29.8% increases in earnings for those who attended hard- and soft-training, respectively, most of which, was generated through self-employment. Furthermore, youth in both groups were more likely to start enterprises and more successful in ensuring their businesses' survival. The program led to significantly larger profits (24.2% and 27.2% for hard- and soft- treatment arms respectively) and larger business capital investments (38.4% and 32.6% for SEED hard and SEED soft, respectively). Both SEED curricula were very cost-effective; two months worth of the extra earnings caused by the training alone would exceed the cost of the program. These benefits abstract from the job- and business-creation benefits of the program, which were substantial: relative to the control group, SEED entrepreneurs created 985 additional jobs and 550 new businesses."

"This knowledge brief seeks to capture the key takeaways from the recent series of three Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) Learning Labs hosted by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, South Africa Chapter (ANDE SA) in partnership with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. These learning labs explore the importance of understanding impact in context, engaging multiple stakeholders to ensure appropriate contextual perception and the need to guarantee accurate reporting and impact measurement. This enables greater transparency in the data collection process, improved ability to interrogate assumptions leading to greater data-driven decision making to appropriately measure ones’ impact – be it at an intervention or organisational level."

This study demonstrates how investors can begin comparing investments based on impact, not only highlighting impact performance across this sample of investments but also exploring investors’ contribution to that impact in terms of the progress so far in supporting quality jobs. Fundamentally, this research is intended to cultivate the suite of impact analytic tools to come, such as impact performance benchmarks, ratings, and indices. Its specific findings highlight the tremendous need for further research to enhance the industry’s insights into impact performance and its drivers, enabling evidence-based decision-making. Ultimately, through this research and related efforts, the GIIN seeks to enable investors to optimize for impact at each stage of the investment process, accelerating progress
toward global goals.

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.

L’expression «gestion des talents» peut être définie de différentes manières, mais en général, elle fait référence aux processus d’une entreprise visant à recruter, développer et conserver les employés dont les fonctions offrent le meilleur potentiel permettant de renforcer les avantages concurrentiels d’une entreprise. En effet, les PME sont confrontées à certaines contraintes liées à leur taille et à leur fragilité et ont donc besoin d’approches différentes pour trouver et conserver une main-d’oeuvre performante.Ce rapport résume la littérature existante sur la gestion des talents au sein des PME, en mettant l’accent sur les économies en développement dans la mesure du possible, et souligne les lacunes spécifiques liées à la recherche qui devraient être prioritaires à l’avenir.

With the launch of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, "SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth" has become a rallying cry for practitioners aiming to boost entrepreneurship as a means of economic and social development. However, while the concept of decent work may seem straightforward, clearly defining a “quality job” has proven to be a complex endeavor. The report by ANDE first summarizes how job quality is defined and measured, then provides an overview of the current evidence on the quality of jobs within SMEs, and finally examines the effectiveness of interventions to improve job quality.

Con el lanzamiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, el "ODS 8: Trabajo Decente y Crecimiento Económico" se ha convertido en una consigna para las y los profesionales que buscan impulsar el emprendimiento como un medio para el desarrollo económico y social. Sin embargo, mientras que el concepto de trabajo decente puede parecer sencillo, definir claramente un “trabajo de calidad” ha probado ser una tarea compleja. El reporte primero resume cómo se define y se mide la calidad del empleo; después provee un panorama de la evidencia actual sobre la calidad del empleo en las PyMEs y, por último, examina la efectividad de las intervenciones para mejorar la calidad del empleo.

The term talent management can be defined in various ways, but in general refers to a business’ processes to recruit, develop, and retain employees whose roles have the greatest potential to contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage. SMEs face certain constraints given their size and fragility and therefore need different approaches to find and retain a high-functioning workforce. This report summarizes the existing literature on talent management within SMEs, with a focus on developing economies where possible, and points to specific research gaps that should be prioritized moving forward.