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"This guide aims to educate social enterprises, incubators, accelerators, capacity developers, and investors on impact investing. It includes relevant laws and potential structures to access impact investing funds and can be used as a resource when entering investment negotiations. This guide unpacks the underlying causes behind less-than-efficient impact investment markets and was written with two goals. First, by setting out basic guidelines, we wish to help those already in the investing space and interested in getting involved in impact investing determine the right approach from the investors' and the social entrepreneurs' perspectives. Secondly, we wish to offer practical advice based on our experience, where we have witnessed critical impact investment discussions. In this paper, we will attempt to bridge the gap between theory and real-world implications, particularly in the Indian context."

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"This whitepaper gathers the collective wisdom of the industry to formulate a first set of milestones and metrics. We strongly advocate that, in the near term, the framework illustrated in this document be used to evolve and institute a nationally accepted set of metrics and milestones for incubators in India. We also advocate that the funding organizations implement these metrics and milestones, not only to select the host partner but also to track, measure progress and to reward success. Some recommendations in this document may require policy review and modifications."

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"Small businesses significantly contribute to the economic development of a country. From purchasing groceries on an app to enabling new modes of learning, small businesses, especially start-ups, are transforming India into a technology-driven nation. This handbook is an endeavour to provide insight on several models that could be explored to set up a fund to promote start-ups, contributions to which would qualify as CSR spend under the Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013."

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"This paper examines the relative importance of the caste system in explaining the resource misallocation in India and quantifies its impact on aggregate productivity. I document that the historically disadvantaged castes (LC) are less likely to enter entrepreneurship even though they are more productive on average. At the intensive margin, the LC entrepreneurs are less capital-intensive but have higher marginal revenue product of capital relative to high castes. In a quantitative model of entrepreneurship, I find that the LC face higher entry cost and stricter financial constraints and that such asymmetries reduce aggregate TFP by 2.54% and output by 6%."

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"Building on Nesta's 2014 Good Incubation report, this research draws on case studies to highlight strategies for good incubation in challenging environments. It focuses on weaker entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers advice to incubation managers and other ecosystem players, from policymakers to funders alike. Our report aims to support the UK's Department for International Development (DfID) in implementing Innovative Ventures and Technologies for Development (INVENT) by exploring how to do social incubation effectively in India’s low-income states. It draws on empirical evidence from around the world, over 30 interviews with incubator managers and experts in India, and UK best practice."

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"This issue brief is a part of the series formulated by Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ (ANDE) India chapter. It aims to contextualize the findings and strategy outlined in ANDE’s global gender issue brief, for India, and to create a knowledge base connecting our urgent issues and the Small and Growing Business (SGB) sector at a regional level. This brief is a starting point for conversations on gender equality and is meant to help shape ANDE India’s strategy for the region."

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"From investments in publicly listed corporations based on environmental, social, and governance factors, to bonds issued to fund climate and environmental improvements; from micro-credit to small retailers through innovative credit assessments, to parametric insurance products improving the disaster resilience of countries, the world of sustainable finance is growing and becoming increasingly diverse.

In this report, we take a closer look at these innovations and more, highlighting how they are working to mobilize private-sector capital at scale to address social and environmental challenges. We also explore recent developments and potential opportunities in Asia's four largest economies: China, India, Japan, and Indonesia."

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"Does the lack of peers contribute to the observed gender gap in entrepreneurial success? A random sample of customers of India's largest women's bank was offered two days of business counseling, and a random subsample was invited to attend with a friend. The intervention significantly increased participants' business activity, but only if they were trained with a friend. Those trained with a friend were more likely to have taken out business loans, were less likely to be housewives, and reported increased business activity and higher household income, with stronger impacts among women subject to social norms that restrict female mobility."

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"With the growing recognition of women entrepreneurs’ contribution to economic growth, there is need to understand the state of their operations in India. A country-level diagnostic of the demand and supply of finance for women-owned Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is essential to drawing up country specific strategies to improve their access to finance. This report aims to assess the financing gap through a hybrid approach, including both secondary estimation and primary data collection, and identify the key characteristics of women-owned businesses, their need for financial and non-financial services, their uptake of financial products and the barriers to their access. Subsequently, key areas of focus have been identified that will help improve women entrepreneurs' access to finance."

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"Asia is facing simultaneously huge growth potential and increasing inequalities, with often weak national solutions to the social issues at hand. Social purpose organisations (SPOs) – which includes but are not limited to non-profit organisations, charities and social enterprises - are seen to solve these issues sustainably. Social incubation is seen as a tool to help SPOs grow and potentially build a pipeline for social investors. Yet, how does social incubation in Asia work? The insights presented here are the first insights from surveying 15 social incubators in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore which have existed for at least two years."

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