State of the Small and Growing Business Sector Report
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The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) recently published its annual State of the Small and Growing Business Sector report. This marks the first year that ANDE has launched a fully digital, interactive report, where you can filter data by region, support type, and more.
Amid political climates that are focusing inward, ANDE members are doing amazing work around the globe. Our data shows that, through 2017, ANDE members have directly invested more than $14.8 billion into small and growing businesses (SGBs). In the past ten years, over 400 investment vehicles have launched that invest in SGBs in emerging markets. ANDE members have supported more than 415,000 entrepreneurs with business development services alone. And there’s so much more.
In this sector, women matter (finally). The SGB sector is moving beyond talk to action in supporting women entrepreneurs. A majority of ANDE members (65 percent) are making women and gender inclusion a priority. Major development agencies and governments have come together under a World Bank Group initiative to develop a billion-dollar collaborative partnership to finance women entrepreneurs. In India, national development agencies are driving gender lens programming, focusing on everything from supply and demand to strengthening the business environment for women.
Investments in emerging markets are on the rise, but not uniformly. As average emerging market deal sizes have increased, the number of deals under $2 million has decreased overall. Meanwhile, international official donor support for entrepreneurship continues to stagnate. However, there are some bright spots in certain sectors and geographies. In the past five years, SME-related investments into the agro-industry have increased significantly, as have investment flows into Asia. Learn more about how funding is flowing into each region.
Whether you’re interested in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or a global picture, this report has something for you.