"We conduct a randomized experiment that generates exogenous variation in the access to foreign markets for rug producers in Egypt. Combined with detailed survey data, we causally identify the impact of exporting on firm performance. Treatment firms report 16-26% higher profits and exhibit large improvements in quality alongside reductions in output per hour relative to control firms. These findings do not simply reflect firms being offered higher margins to manufacture high-quality products that take longer to produce. Instead, we find evidence of learning-by-exporting whereby exporting improves technical efficiency.

First, treatment firms have higher productivity and quality after controlling for rug specifications. Second, when asked to produce an identical domestic rug using the same inputs and same capital equipment, treatment firms produce higher quality rugs despite no difference in production time. Third, treatment firms exhibit learning curves over time. Finally, we document knowledge transfers with quality increasing most along the specific dimensions that the knowledge pertained to."

"In this series, we’ll be getting back to the basics and highlighting what it means to “close the loop.” Whether you’re well versed in the jargon or new to the feedback community, this series will introduce you to ideas, frameworks, tools and approaches that we believe are essential for a strong feedback practice. Feedback Fundamentals is all about building a strong foundation and realizing a vision of listening to the people you seek to serve."

"As part of a series of ecosystem maps, with the support of the Citi Foundation, our West Africa Regional Chapter recently released a snapshot providing insight into the Lagos entrepreneurial ecosystem. This snapshot was produced through a review of existing literature, a series of surveys and interviews, as well as stakeholder meetings."

"A survey of the support available for entrepreneurs in South Africa was undertaken by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) South Africa chapter in 2015. This infographic below highlights the updated 2017 version of the key fi ndings with interactive buttons to provide a more detailed overview of the support available."

"The GALI team consistently hears questions from accelerators and others in the field about financial sustainability. In this brief, we ask: How do accelerators fund their programs, and how do different funding profiles relate to different accelerator offerings?"

"In this data brief, we explore financing for ventures working in different regions and sectors around the world using data from the Entrepreneurship Database Program. In this report, we respond to a question from the Global Innovation Fund about startup financing by sector and geography: At the Global Innovation Fund, we are focused on supporting entrepreneurs and innovators in markets where individuals earn less than $5 per day. What sectors/verticals and what geographies are typically getting funding in the data that you're seeing?"

"In this brief, we respond to a question from VentureWell about intellectual property:

"In our work, we see that science and technology-based startups face different challenges and need different resources than other ventures. In your data, how do teams with intellectual property differ from those without? We are specifically interested in the roles of geography, education, team size and gender composition.""

"As part of a series of ecosystem maps, with the support of the Citi Foundation, our West Africa Regional Chapter released a snapshot providing insight into the Abuja entrepreneurial ecosystems. This snapshot was produced through a review of existing literature, a series of surveys and interviews, as well as stakeholder meetings."

"As part of a series of ecosystem maps, with the support of the Citi Foundation, our West Africa Regional Chapter recently released a snapshot providing insight into the Lagos entrepreneurial ecosystem. This snapshot was produced through a review of existing literature, a series of surveys and interviews, as well as stakeholder meetings."

"This report begins with an overview of Enclude's research methodology and the survey respondents, which included Echoing Green Fellows. The first half is dedicated to exploring respondents' current and anticipated funding by Capital Readiness Segment. The second half provides a look into the entrepreneurs' top barriers to accessing capital, as well as their desired support needs, and includes case studies of enterprises in each Segment. Finally, Echoing Green and Enclude suggest a framework for thinking through how to provide capital readiness support for a portfolio of social entrepreneurs, in addition to identifying three specific interventions and next steps."