EcoSystem Forum on Building Social Capital

High growth entrepreneurs are the primary job creators in any economy*, helping to create a more diversified and resilient economy that improves economic governance, donor organizations and entrepreneurial ecosystem actors still face challenges when trying to have a positive impact on growth entrepreneurs.  One assumption has been that we can leverage the positive role of social capital built by the ecosystem community of mentors, investors, advisors, experts, entrepreneurs, and others.  However, research by GALI and others has shown that it’s difficult to identify effective mentorship practices among business support programs.

On April 3rd, 2019, Marketlinks and J.E. Austin Associates examined the importance of social capital and how to ensure its positive impact on entrepreneurs. The Ecosystem Forum hosted a joint webinar featuring a panel of entrepreneurship support organizations. The panel included Kathleen Bury, CEO of Mowgli Mentoring, Rob Tashima, VP of Innovation and Mike Ducker, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs for J.E. Austin Associates, and was moderated by Abigayle Davidson, Senior Research Analyst for ANDE. Panellists shared experiences on how they leverage social capital to improve the success of entrepreneurs. 

*OECE, Kauffman Foundation, Babson College, World Bank, and other organizations have published research on this fact