In the News

Can Management Consulting Help Small Firms Grow?

May 17, 2012, Annie Duflo and Dean Karlan, Stanford Social Innovation Review

"Economic development efforts are best served by testing and refining assumptions about what works."

The Demand for, and Consequences of, Formalization among Informal Firms in Sri Lanka

May 1, 2012, Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff, World Bank

“The authors of this paper conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka that provided incentives for informal firms to formalize…Their focus is largely on the private costs and benefits of existing firms formalizing.”

A New Collaboration at IFC to Enhance Access to Financial Services for Small Businesses

April 27, 2012, Small & Medium Enterprises Finance Forum

"IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, launched the SME Finance Forum [on April 19, 2012], a G-20 initiative designed to improve access to financial resources for small and medium enterprises and catalyze effective SME-financing tools...The forum is a knowledge-sharing platform for data, research, and experiences for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Access to finance remains one of the most significant challenges for the survival and advancement of small enterprises, which are important drivers of economic growth in developing countries. The forum will promote tools and approaches tailored to policy makers and funders of the SME industry to share knowledge and build networks to improve good practices." To visit the online platform, click here.

Report on Support to SMEs in Developing Countries Through Financial Intermediaries

April 20, 2012, Dalberg

"This report outlines the need to provide capital to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. It shows the impact of this capital on economic development, and the role  for International Finance Institutions (IFIs) in the provision of this capital. Finally, it outlines recommendations for additional interventions and further research."

Taxes–Necessary Evil or Blessing in Disguise?

April 13, 2012, Mildred Callear, Center for Financial Inclusion Blog

"When we think of financial inclusion, being included in the ranks of taxpayers is usually not the first item on the list. But for those who operate primarily in the informal economy, NOT paying taxes can be the very thing that keeps them out of the formal sector and denies them a fair shot at real growth. Formal financial services are critical to breaking out of a subsistence level of business, yet even when informal firms have the choice to access such financial services, they may choose to stay out of the formal economy to avoid paying taxes and incurring other costs…For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), [the] negative incentives can be even more daunting."

Capital ways to survive the worst

April 3, 2012, Tim Harford, Financial Times Magazine

"The results of an experiment in Sri Lanka [by Christopher Woodruff and David McKenzie] show the impact of financing on small businesses in communities shattered by natural disasters."

Effects of Licensing Reform on Firm Innovation

April 3, 2012, Murat Seker, All About Finance blog

"A country’s regulatory environment and investment climate also play important roles in the success of [firms'] technology adoption strategies and innovation efforts."

Constraints to growth in Sri Lanka and private enterprise development in low-income countries

March 23, 2012, Christopher Woodruff, VOX

"Christopher Woodruff talks to Viv Davies about his recent research in Sri Lanka that looks at the constraints to growth of micro-enterprises and how to generate job creation; he highlights the effects of wage subsidies, savings programmes, entrepreneurship training, firm registration and the transition from small informal firms to more dynamic enterprises."

Learning from Microfinance’s Woes

March 22, 2012, Randall Kempner, Harvard Business Review Blog

“After a comprehensive review of existing studies, with particular focus on recent randomized control trials,” David Roodman released a new book arguing that “the average impact of microcredit on poverty reduction of clients is zero.” How should the SME movement learn from the research on microfinance? 

SME Initiative Announces New RFP

January 5, 2012

The SME Initiative is pleased to announce a THIRD ROUND of funding for the SME Initiative’s Competition on Entrepreneurship and SME Growth. The goal of the grants is to fund innovative research that “build a systemic body of evidence on the contribution of SMEs and entrepreneurship to poverty alleviation and economic development.” We hope this competition will have a catalyzing effect to stimulate high quality research on the role of access to finance and human capital for SME growth and their contribution to development. 

Complete proposals should be emailed to sme@poverty-action.org by 5:00pm EST on Friday, March 16, 2012.  If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Craig (scraig@poverty-action.org).

See: SME Request for Proposal, Proposal Template, Budgeting Guidlines

Should Development Organizations be Hunting Gazelles?

December 14, 2011  David McKenzie, World Bank

"Should development institutions and policymakers be directing fewer resources at microfirms and more at high-growth-potential enterprises or gazelles?"  

The SME Initiative and What We Don't Know

December 8, 2011 Jonathan Bauchet, Financial Access Initiative Blog

"Last week, Innovations for Poverty Action’s SME Initiative brought together researchers and   practitioners to discuss recent research on SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises), mostly in the developing world." A brief summary of the conference.

Spotlight: Innovations for Poverty Action SME Initiative Conference

December 8, 2011 Multilateral Investment Fund

On November 30, 2011, MIF General Manager Nancy Lee delivered opening remarks at the Innovations for Poverty Action SME Initiative Conference, co-hosted by IPA and the MIF and held at the IDB Headquarters in Washington, D.C. This annual event brings together a broad stakeholder group of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the latest research on entrepreneurship and SME development in emerging markets.

SME Initiative Hosts First Annual Conference

December 8, 2011

The SME Initiative hosted its First Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship and SME Development  on November 30, 2011.  Co-hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund, this event brought together over 130 researchers, practitioners and policymakers focused on entrepreneurship and SMEs in emerging markets.  Presentations on past and ongoing research studies covered a range of topics related to access to managerial human capital, access to finance, and job creation with evidence from a number of countries, including Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru and Sri Lanka.  Practitioner perspectives on each of these topical areas were also presented, to facilitate a dialogue between the worlds of research and policy.  The event concluded with a panel discussion on “Why should we care about the ‘Missing Middle’?”  Presentations from the event are available here.

SME Initiative Annual Conference

November 8, 2011

The SME Initiative is hosting its Annual Conference on Wednesday, November 30 at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC.  The conference provides an opportunity to present results from some of the most current research on Entrepreneurship and SME Development in emerging markets to a broad stakeholder group of researchers, practitioners and policymakers.  The conference will begin with a brief presentation on “What we know about SMEs and Development.”  Three sessions will follow focusing on Access to Managerial Human Capital, Access to Finance, and Job Creation.  The conference will conclude with a panel discussion entitled:  Why should we care about the “Missing Middle”? 

Confirmed Presenters include:

• Nick Bloom, Stanford University
• Dean Karlan, Yale University
• David McKenzie, World Bank
• Philipp Schnabl, NYU-Stern School of Business
• Antoinette Schoar, MIT-Sloan School of Management
• Chris Woodruff, Warwick University

The conference agenda is available here. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to sme@poverty-action.org by Wednesday, November 23.*  Please Note:  Space is limited.

*Include full name and organization in RSVP.

SME Initiative Convenes First Working Group

October 5, 2011

IPA’s SME Initiative held its first Working Group on September 16, 2011 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This full-day event brought together 41 researchers, practitioners and donors to discuss early-stage research and potential new projects pertaining to SME policy and entrepreneurship.  The Working Group provided an opportunity for affiliates of the SME Initiative to share their work, discuss potential areas for collaboration, and network with others active in the SME space. 

A diverse array of presentations covered topics including: the G20 Financial Inclusion agenda for SME finance; the impact of SME growth on poverty reduction; innovative risk-based pricing for SMEs; secured transactions reform in Colombia and its impact on increasing access to finance for SMEs; network spillovers in Uganda and technology spillovers in Pakistan; entrepreneurial career trajectories in Indonesia; and procurement value chains in post-conflict states.  Summaries and copies of these presentations can be viewed here.

The next Working Group meeting for SME Initiative affiliates will be held at the beginning of 2012.

Indonesian entrepreneur invests with Dutch NGO in an exclusive SMEs platform

June 29, 2011 Bid Network

An initiative to create thousands of jobs and provide US$ 25 million each year to small and medium sized companies in emerging markets has won strong backing from Dutch and Indonesian supporters. BiDx, a new platform, will be launched by the end of this year, the Netherlands-based development organisation BiD Network announced today.

Arab Spring, Start-Up Summer?

July 16, 2011 Hannah Seligson, New York Times

"Egypt’s Entrepreneurs Look Beyond the Revolution."

 

SME Initiative Announces New RFP

June 16, 2011

The Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Initiative at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is pleased to announce a SECOND ROUND of funding for the SME Initiative’s Competition on Entrepreneurship and SME Growth for Young Scholars. The goal of the grants is to support innovative research by Young Scholars that help to “build a systemic body of evidence on the contribution of SMEs and entrepreneurship to poverty alleviation and economic development.” We hope this competition will have a catalyzing effect to stimulate high quality research on the role of access to finance and human capital for SME growth and their contribution to development. 

Complete proposals should be emailed to Mike Ingram (mingram@poverty-action.org) by 5:00pm EST on August 22, 2011.  If you have any questions, please contact Mike.

See: SME Request for Proposal. Proposal Template. Budgeting Guidelines.

New SME Financial Access Initiatives: Private Foundations' Path to Donor Partnerships

June 3, 2011 Ben Leo, Center for Global Development

"In recent years, a number of private foundations and organizations have launched ambitious initiatives to support promising entrepreneurs in developing countries, on both a for-profit and not-for-profit basis."

Uncorking Enterprise

February 24, 2011 The Economist

"Policymakers are desperate to promote enterprise." The new Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index could help.

In Defense of Middle Management

October 13, 2010 Ray Fisman, Slate

"A new study demonstrates just how important bureaucracy and paperwork really are."

Small & Medium Enterprise and Pathways for the Future

September 21, 2010 Brian Trelstad, Acumen Fund

"On September 17 and 18, several leading academics in the field of international development convened to better understand the role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have in stimulating economic development."

Making Small Enterprises Big

September 16, 2010 From the Blog

"Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up an estimated 90 percent of businesses and over 50 percent of employment worldwide"