"The past decade has witnessed a surge of research interest in social entrepreneurship (SE). This has resulted in important insights concerning the role of SE in fostering inclusive growth and institutional change. However, the rapid growth of SE research, the emerging nature of the literature, and the fact that SE builds on different disciplines and fields (e.g., entrepreneurship, sociology, economics, ethics) have led to a rather fragmented literature without dominant frameworks. This situation risks leading to a duplication of efforts and hampers cumulative knowledge growth. Drawing on 395 peer-reviewed articles on SE, we (1) identify gaps in SE research on three levels of analysis (i.e., individual, organizational, institutional), (2) proffer an integrative multistage, multilevel framework, and (3) discuss promising avenues for further research on SE."

"The necessity to mobilize capital on a localized or regionalized basis has been labeled Place-Based Impact Investing. This article will review the research and conclusions that have fueled the need for Place-Based Impact Investing, identify the current thought leaders, and describe some of the early efforts at mobilizing "legacy capital" into communities to support the growing but underfunded innovative companies. We also will explore some of the new methods, vehicles, and overlooked tax laws that can accelerate the mobilization of capital on a more geographic and meritocratic manner."

"La inversión de impacto es un fenómeno emergente que se ha posicionado dentro de la agenda de la innovación social de los países desarrollados y en vías de desarrollo. Surgió, como concepto, en 2007 cuando la fundación Rockefeller acuña el término impact investing, dando un cambio en la definición de algunos aspectos de la inversión socialmente responsable. Las inversiones de impacto pueden ser definidas como aquellas que: “...intencionalmente se dirigen a resolver problemas sociales o ambientales optimizando el riesgo y el rendimiento financiero, así como el impacto, a través de la medición de resultados de objetivos sociales, ambientales y financieros específicos”. (GSG, 2018).

Uno de los primeros esfuerzos globales que se realizaron fue el Social Impact Investment Task-force (SIIT), un grupo de colaboración internacional creado en 2013 bajo la presidencia del Reino Unido del G8. En 2014. Este grupo, después de una consulta a expertos del gobierno, sector privado y social de los países del G8, Australia y la Comisión Europea, generaron ocho recomendaciones, de alto nivel, mismas que se plasmaron en el reporte “Impact Investment: The Invisible Heart of Markets”, que involucra a todos los actores clave de la inversión de impacto.

Las recomendaciones reflejan las mejores prácticas a nivel global y establecen la agenda para que cualquier país logre un ecosistema de inversión de impacto próspero."

"Este relatório apresenta a segunda edição do estudo “Fintech: inovações que você não sabia que eram da América Latina e do Caribe” que forneceu, pela primeira vez, uma visão consolidada sobre a atividade e o desenvolvimento do setor fintech na região. Ele descreve a evolução e o progresso com relação à medição e análise realizadas em 2017, além de analisar as novas dimensões relevantes para o ecossistema. O primeiro capítulo apresenta uma visão geral do setor na região, destacando a evolução dos diferentes segmentos de negócios e a distribuição geográfica das startups, bem como a situação de desenvolvimento e maturidade do ecossistema. É importante notar que este capítulo inclui novas dimensões, como a situação na América Central, Panamá e República Dominicana, além da abordagem de tópicos como segurança cibernética e mortalidade das empresas. No segundo capítulo, as questões de gênero e fintech são abordadas em três dimensões: mulheres como fundadoras de startups de fintech, mulheres como trabalhadoras do setor de fintech e, finalmente, mulheres como usuárias de serviços de fintech. O terceiro capítulo aborda a colaboração dos diversos atores, como estão organizados e seus principais programas e iniciativas, com ênfase especial nas associações de fintech nos vários países da região. O quarto capítulo discute o potencial do setor de fintech para melhorar a inclusão financeira e o financiamento do setor produtivo na América Latina. O quinto capítulo analisa a evolução da regulamentação e da supervisão, além de apresentar exemplos e avanços nessas áreas. Finalmente, no sexto capítulo são apresentadas algumas conclusões sobre como o crescimento e a consolidação progressiva do ecossistema na região foram evidenciados.

"Este informe representa la segunda edición del estudio “Fintech: Innovaciones que no sabías que eran de América Latina y el Cari - be” que brindó, por primera vez, una visión consolidada sobre la actividad y el desarrollo de la industria Fintech en la región. El presente informe describe la evolución y el avance ocurridos con respecto a la medición y el análisis realizados en 2017, ade - más de examinar nuevas dimensiones relevantes para el ecosiste - ma. En el primer capítulo se ofrece una panorámica del sector en la región, destacando la evolución de los distintos segmentos de negocio y la distribución geográfica de los emprendimientos, así como el estado de desarrollo y madurez del ecosistema. Es impor - tante notar que este capítulo incluye nuevas dimensiones, tales como la situación en América Central, Panamá y República Domini - cana, y una aproximación a temas como ciberseguridad y la mor - talidad de las empresas. En el segundo capítulo se abordan temas de género y Fintech en tres dimensiones: la mujer como fundadora de empresas Fintech, la mujer como trabajadora en la industria Fintech y, por último, la mujer como usuaria de servicios Fintech. El tercer capítulo aborda el tema de colaboración de los distin - tos actores, cómo están organizados, sus principales programas e iniciativas, con especial énfasis en las asociaciones Fintech en distintos países de la región. En el cuarto capítulo se discute el potencial del sector Fintech para mejorar la inclusión finan - ciera y el financiamiento al sector productivo en América Latina. En el quinto capítulo se examina la evolución en materia de regu - lación y supervisión, y se presentan ejemplos y avances en este tema. Finalmente, en el sexto capítulo se ofrecen algunas conclu - siones sobre cómo se ha evidenciado el crecimiento y la progre - siva consolidación del ecosistema en la región."

"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."

This paper investigates to what extent and how micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are adapting to climate risks. We use a questionnaire survey to collect data from 325 SMEs in the semi-arid regions of Kenya and Senegal and analyze this information to estimate the quality of current adaptation measures, distinguishing between sustainable and unsustainable adaptation. We then study the link between these current adaptation practices and adaptation planning for future climate change. We find that financial barriers are a key reason why firms resort to unsustainable adaptation, while general business support, access to information technology and adaptation assistance encourages sustainable adaptation responses. Engaging in adaptation today also increases the likelihood that a firm is preparing for future climate change. The finding lends support to the strategy of many development agencies who use adaptation to current climate variability as a way of building resilience to future climate change. There is a clear role for public policy in facilitating good adaptation. The ability of firms to respond to climate risks depends in no small measure on factors such as business environment that can be shaped through policy intervention.

Based on a review of existing literature, this paper discusses to what extent and how SMEs can
deliver green and inclusive growth. The OECD defines green growth as aligning economic growth and environmental objectives. Specifically, it involves transitioning to a resource-efficient, low carbon economy and preserving environmental resources while seizing the economic opportunities that this transition generates (OECD, 2015[9]). Similarly, the World Bank defines green growth as “economic growth that is environmental sustainable.” Put it more concretely, it means “enabling developing countries to achieve robust growth without locking themselves into unsustainable patterns” (World Bank, 2012[10]). Meanwhile, inclusive growth involves raising “societies’ welfare or living standards broadly defined.” It is a multidimensional measure of growth and includes both income-related measures of well-being and non-income elements such as health and education. Inclusive growth also emphasizes the question of distribution; that is, how are aggregate changes in measures of growth distributed across households and individuals (Boarini, Murtin and Schreyer, 2015[11])? Simply, green and inclusive growth involves a transition to an eco-friendly, low-carbon economy and simultaneously, broad improvements in societal welfare. Thus, the paper is concerned with discussing to what extent greening SMEs delivers widespread societal welfare gains."

"The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of the incubator and accelerator approaches towards climate technology entrepreneurship in developing countries. Because an accelerator is a specific type of new venture incubator, this paper will also more broadly consider the suitability of incubators and note the recent emergence of hybrid forms of incubator-accelerators."

"From the backstreets of Addis Ababa to the offices of Silicon Valley, people are transforming ideas into products that are used by society. Entrepreneurs, as such people are known, are vital to the growth and prosperity of communities. But what role can entrepreneurs play in tackling climate change? How can we help entrepreneurs to rise to this challenge? This policy brief seeks to answer these questions. It highlights the role of entrepreneurs in developing technologies, business models and services that society can use to achieve low-emission and climate-resilient sustainable development. It also suggests ways of encouraging, guiding and supporting entrepreneurs in their efforts to innovate climate technologies. This TEC Brief is part of a long-running series of policy briefs on innovation produced by the Technology Executive Committee. It focuses on the central actor in the innovation process: the entrepreneur."