This report depicts the landscape of development organizations that fund and support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries: 1) multilateral development banks, 2) bilateral government donor agencies, and 3) development finance institutions (DFIs).  The report is a new contribution to both the development community, as well as the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).  Advocacy and policy work is a strategic priority for ANDE, and the report's findings will enable the Network to understand the international development community and to be more strategic in its approach as it seeks to influence and shape the international development SME agenda.

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Building on YBI’s policy recommendations to date1, this report compiles a series of case studies that each illustrate how the finance gap can be closed for young and other underserved entrepreneurs through providing non-financial support, such as training and mentoring. This integrated approach reduces the risk of lending
to youth and other underserved demographics, and the value of the non-financial support substitutes for collateral and other types of guarantee.

Six YBI case studies are featured and three from other sector leaders: International Youth Foundation (IYF), TechnoServe and Silatech. 

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This report focuses on the scaling up of SMEs. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in economic development, particularly in emerging countries. Studies indicate that formal SMEs contribute up to 45 percent of employment and up to 33 percent of GDP in developing economies; these numbers are significantly higher when taking into account the estimated contributions of SMEs operating in the informal sector. The informal sector presents one of the greatest challenges in the SME space, with issues that go well beyond finance. In the context of the international development agenda, and given the critical importance of job creation in the recovery cycle following the recent financial crisis, promoting SME development appears to be an impor- tant priority. 

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 "Using Census and NAICS data, we have learned that the Cultural Economy accounts for 12% of New Mexico’s workforce occupations. It is a cornerstone of our economic foundation and far outpaces other states’ involvement in this growing global marketspace. As such, New Mexico is uniquely positioned to leapfrog into the burgeoning global Cultural Economy, building economic opportunities for families and while fostering local culture and traditions.

For New Mexico families to succeed in the shifting global economy, our state must build an innovation-based workforce in which human creativity and capacity are the foremost natural resources. New Mexico’s leadership is challenged to identify targeted strategies that capitalize on our unique assets and core competencies while addressing the disparities in income, health, and social equality that persist in our communities. Across the globe, the Cultural Economy is emerging as a force for creating thriving communities, improving livelihoods, and perpetuating diversity."

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There are moments in history when the needs of an age prompt lasting, positive innovation in finance—from ideas as big as the invention of money, to the creation of new institutions such as banks and insurance firms, to the development of new products and services such as mortgages, pensions, and mutual funds.

Evidence suggests that many thousands of people and institutions around the globe believe our era needs a new type of investing. They are already ex- perimenting with it, and many of them continue even in the midst of a financial and credit crisis. That’s why the idea of using profit-seeking investment to generate social and environmental good is moving from a periphery of activist investors to the core of mainstream financial institutions. 

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