"Existe, na comunidade empresarial, um reconhecimento crescente dos benefícios proporcionados pela diversidade e, mais especificamente, pelo investimento em mulheres e na igualdade de gênero. Apesar deste interesse crescente, a maioria dos investidores e intermediários que trabalham com empresas sociais e pequenas e médias empresas em crescimento (SGBs), ainda estão dando os primeiros passos na compreensão da melhor forma de incorporar uma lente de gênero. Este estudo visa compartilhar lições e inovações do ecossistema brasileiro sobre como trazer essa lente para apoiar as SGBs brasileiras. O estudo se concentra em quatro tópicos-chave, que surgiram através de uma série de encontros, convocados pela Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) e apoiados pelo IDS, para catalisar a liderança do pensamento sobre inclusão de gênero e investimentos no Brasil."

"In India, women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises struggle to obtain the financing they need. In early 2015, Swadhaar FinServe and RBL Bank launched an innovative business correspondent partnership to reduce the financing gap for MSMEs in India through a customized approach for MSME clients, with a particular focus on women-owned businesses. This Accion Insights paper examines lessons learned from the pilot program and can serve as a point of reference for financial institutions looking to reach the MSME market and female entrepreneurs, particularly through partnership."

"There are many ways in which investments can be made to address gender disparities and promote gender equity. Investors, managers, and businesses have various motivations and incentives when considering GLI. For this paper, we consider DAI’s work through the six “Gender Smart” lenses described below and discuss other frameworks and tools developed by GLI experts and investors."

"We assess the potential impact that closing this credit gap for women-owned SMEs can have on economic development, estimating the link between credit to SMEs and growth in income per capita. Our results suggest that closing the credit gap for women-owned SMEs in the BRICs and N-11 countries over the next few years could boost real income per capita growth rates in those countries by around 85bp on average. If the credit gap is closed by
2020, incomes per capita could be on average around 12% higher by 2030 across the BRICs and N-11, relative to our baseline scenario. Closing the credit gap for women-owned SMEs across the developing world as a whole could boost income per capita growth rates by over 110bp on average. While eliminating the whole gap is a tall order, the impact on growth could be dramatic.

"While the rise of the internet and online hiring practices can increase access to job opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups, an upsurge in the number of applications can lead managers to intentionally or unintentionally rely more heavily on demographic-based stereotypes. This type of discrimination is a challenge globally, and to counter these tendencies new and innovative tools are needed to reduce bias. We look specifically at the challenge of reducing gender bias in Indian hiring. Using data on hiring for full-time professional jobs in India from Shortlist, a hiring firm that is a leader in using bias-mitigating tools, we consider the validity of the global literature on gender discrimination in the Indian context.rm that is a leader in using bias-mitigating tools, we consider the validity of the global literature on gender discrimination in the Indian context."

"Part of IFC’s Women on Boards and in Business Leadership Program, the publication features the inspirational personal stories of 20 female business leaders and their advice to other female professionals aspiring to top positions. It highlights the positive impact of their leadership on private sector development in emerging and frontier markets. It also provides key gender facts and data on the status of women on boards and in business leadership around the world."

"This interactive Guide gives development professionals the necessary theoretical background, concepts, approaches and practical tools to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing countries. It is intended to be used as a reference after the professionals have completed their analytical ‘mapping’ of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Guide is supported by examples from GIZ and other programmes, all of which are intended to provide an in-depth understanding of how professionals approach various challenges in different regions and contexts – and since numerous sources of information on how to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems exist, each section of the document provides links to many of these useful sources and to opportunities for personal involvement."

"Aid agencies and governments spend more than a billion US$ on entrepreneurship training annually. What have we learned about the effectiveness of training? We review research on entrepreneurship training. Classroom-based training remains the most popular method of training owners and managers of small firms. A meta-analysis shows that the standard training model has modestly positive effects, on average, though the effects imply reasonably high returns on investments in training, given low costs per participant. Innovation on this basic training model has increased in recent years, particularly with regard to content. Both personal initiative and rule-of-thumb training show promise for subsistencelevel enterprises. Individual consulting has shown significant positive effects for larger enterprises, but the model is expensive and markets for consulting do not appear to work well. Selection is important, particularly in matching the type of training with the type of enterprise. There are several seemingly promising approaches to training where definitive evidence is lacking. For example, Kaizen approaches and Incubators and accelerators both appear to have positive effects, though the evidence is limited and, in the case of accelerators, it is unclear as yet whether the effects come primarily from selection or from the content of the programmes themselves."

"Entrepreneurs in developing economies are vital to addressing climate change and promoting sustainable and resilient development. Developing countries will experience some of the worst climate impacts. and they also hold enormous potential for encouraging mitigation and adaptation on local and regional levels. Yet, entrepreneurs in developing economies face distinct challenges and barriers when it comes to addressing climate change. This report is intended to serve as an overview of the current literature on the intersection of entrepreneurs and climate action, as well as a call to action."

"This issue brief is a part of a series formulated by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) India chapter. It aims to contextualise the findings and strategy regarding our key urgent issues and the small and growing business (SGB) sector outlined in ANDE’s globally focussed issue brief, Climate and Environmental Action in the SGB Sector, at a regional level. This brief is a starting point for conversations on environmental action and is meant to help shape ANDE India’s strategy for the region. This is not meant to serve as an exhaustive collection of the research/literature on the topic, and proxy data points have been used to best represent the state of the SGB sector."