Entrepreneurship & Private Sector Development

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In this Image A woman (left) shows an IPA analyst around a factory in Colombia. © 2020 Luz Karime Palacios

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Research Findings

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A photo of a training held for female entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. © Suresh De Mel, David McKenzie, and Christopher Woodruff

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Returns to Capital among Female Micro-Entrepreneurs in Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka

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Despite the prevalence of female entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries, recent research suggests that women do not benefit from loans and grants in the same way that men do, leading to questions about the value of offering financial services to female entrepreneurs. Researchers re-examined data from previous studies in Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka to measure the impact of credit and cash grant variations on micro-enterprise profits in households where women were the only entrepreneurs and in households where other members also had a business. Easing financial constraints for female and male entrepreneurs in households with only one business led to comparable returns, but women attained lower returns when multiple household members had their own business. This suggests that poor financial returns to female entrepreneurs did not indicate lack of ability, but rather that females’ financial resources were often redirected to their husbands’ businesses.

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Photo of children wearing head lamps. © 2018 Nuru Energy

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Increasing Access to Clean Lighting and Promoting Female Entrepreneurship in Rwanda

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Renewable off-grid home lighting systems have the potential to reduce the use of kerosene lanterns and other expensive and dirty forms of light in areas that lack electricity, but adoption of such lighting systems is low. In Rwanda, an IPA research team partnered with the social enterprise Nuru Energy to evaluate optimal pricing structures for lights, ways to enhance gender equity for the micro-entrepreneurs who recharge the lights, and how access to the lights impacts the economic well-being of households throughout the community. According to preliminary results, poor households bought or took home lights when they were offered either at low prices or for free, while almost no one bought them at market prices; households valued lights as much when they were free as when they had to pay for them. Inconvenience and recharging appear to be a major barrier to usage. Business performance and competition was similar across male- and female-owned microenterprise groups.

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Fostering High Growth in Colombian SMEs through Individualized and Group Consulting

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Differences in management quality are an important contributor to productivity differences across countries. A key question is how best to improve poor management in low- and middle-income countries. This evaluation tested two different approaches aimed at improving management in Colombian auto parts firms. The first was intensive and expensive one-on-one consulting, while the second provided consulting to small groups of firms at approximately one-third of the cost of the individual approach. Both approaches led to improvements in management practices of a similar magnitude (8–10 percentage points) and there was some evidence the group-based approach increased firm size. The results suggest group-based consulting may be a scalable way to improve management practices.

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Access to Finance

Subtext

Without access to external finance, individuals and firms cannot realize their full growth potential. IPA's research informs and evaluates programs designed to reduce the risk and cost of lending.

Access to Markets

Subtext

The EPSD Program rigorously evaluates the best ways to integrate LMIC firms into high value-added global and domestic supply chains and investigates the impact of increased market access on firm growth and employment.

Human Capital & Skills

Subtext

The EPSD Program investigates the role that managerial capital plays in firm growth, identifying and promoting the most effective ways to improve the skills of entrepreneurs and managers.

Environmental Sustainability

Subtext

The EPSD Program examines innovative policies with potential to assist firms in adapting to new challenges brought by climate change and enable them to be drivers of green growth and innovation.

Innovation and Technology Adoption

Subtext

Technological progress is key to increasing productivity, accelerating growth, creating employment, and reducing poverty.The EPSD Program rigorously evaluates interventions that foster technology upgrades and innovation through financial support, information dissemination, and technical assistance.

Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment

Subtext

The EPSD Program supports research on interventions that address the gender gap in entrepreneurship and business outcomes. These interventions include flexible financing for women-led SMEs, grants, soft-skills training, role models, mentoring, consulting, digital literacy training, and e-commerce platforms.

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EPSD

Our Team

EPSD

Our Team

Associate Director

Elizabeth Koshy

Elizabeth Koshy is the Associate Director of IPA's Entrepreneurship & Private Sector Development (EPSD) Program. In this role, she leads the development of strategic partnerships, fundraising, policy engagement, and dissemination for the Program.

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Associate Program Manager

Daniela Gianoli

Daniela Gianoli currently works as a Program Coordinator with the Entrepreneurship & Private Sector Development (EPSD) Program and is based in New York City.

Read Full Bio

Associate Director

Elizabeth Koshy

Elizabeth Koshy is the Associate Director of IPA's Entrepreneurship & Private Sector Development (EPSD) Program. In this role, she leads the development of strategic partnerships, fundraising, policy engagement, and dissemination for the Program.

Read Full Bio

Associate Program Manager

Daniela Gianoli

Daniela Gianoli currently works as a Program Coordinator with the Entrepreneurship & Private Sector Development (EPSD) Program and is based in New York City.

Read Full Bio