A cornerstone concept for ANDE’s work is that entrepreneurship support programs will be most effective if they embrace an ecosystem approach in their design and implementation. This approach recognizes that the environment in which entrepreneurs operate is made up of many different factors, including physical, human and financial assets, government policies, networks, and the underlying business culture. It further recognizes that the entrepreneurial environment can vary widely across geographies, even within a single country or state.
Entrepreneurship has the potential to address gaps in economic growth, stability, and other measures of well-being in nations around the world. Thriving entrepreneurial activity provides more people with access to good jobs and can drive long-term local solutions to economic, social, and environmental challenges.
Entrepreneurs with the ambition to grow their companies might be hurt or helped by the environment or ecosystem in which they operate. Well-developed ecosystems can propel entrepreneurs toward the resources they need at each stage of growth. Ecosystems that are not well-developed may create more barriers to growth.
Approaches to defining entrepreneurial ecosystems vary widely, but ANDE’s synthesis of existing frameworks shows a set of common domains that make up ecosystems, including finance, business support, policy, markets, and human capital. ANDE’s Snapshots explore only the organizations that provide direct support to entrepreneurs, which represent just one element of the complex system.
Many other researchers are exploring entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world.
Like ANDE’s Snapshots, these publications often identify gaps for entrepreneurs, and opportunities to close those gaps.
Africa
- Benin: #CTG Benin (2018) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Abuja, Nigeria: Abuja Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Snapshot (2017) by ANDE
- Guinea: #CTG Guinea (2017) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Ivory Coast: #CTG Ivory Coast (2017) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Kenya: #CTG Kenya (2015) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Kenya: The Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Growth Landscape (2015) by The Argidius Foundation
- Mali: #CTG Mali ( 2017) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Morocco: #CTG Morocco (2020) by Triple Jump as commissioned by the Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Lagos, Nigeria: Lagos Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Snapshot (2017) by ANDE
- Kigali, Rwanda: Connecting the Kigali entrepreneurial ecosystem (2020) by Swisscontact
- Senegal: #CTG Senegal (2017) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- South Africa: South Africa's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (2017) by ANDE
- Tanzania: Mapping Tanzania's entrepreneurship & enterprise growth landscape (2017) by The Argidius Foundation
- Togo: #CTG Togo (2017) by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Tunisia: #CTG Tunisia (2020) by Triple Jump as commissioned by the Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Uganda: Mapping Uganda’s entrepreneurship & enterprise growth landscape (2016) by The Argidius Foundation
- Uganda: Uganda Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative (2017) by ANDE
- Uganda: Understanding entrepreneurial ecosystems through social network analysis (2019) by Swisscontact
Asia
- Cambodia: #CTG Cambodia (2019) by Triple Jump as commissioned by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Laos: #CTG Laos (2019) by Triple Jump as commissioned by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Mekong: #CTG Mekong (2019) by Triple Jump as commissioned by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Myanmar: #CTG Myanmar (2019) by Triple Jump as commissioned by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
- Pakistan: Pakistan Startup Ecosystem Report (2019) by Invest2Innovate. Click here for an interactive map.
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Connecting the Phnom Penh entrepreneurial ecosystem (2021) by SwissContact
- Vietnam: #CTG Vietnam (2019) by Triple Jump as commissioned by The Dutch Good Growth Fund
Latin America
- Brazil: Mapping the Impact Investing Sector (2014) by ANDE
- Guatemala: Mapping Guatemala's entrepreneurship & enterprise growth landscape (2015) by The Argidius Foundation
- Nicaragua: Mapping Nicaragua's entrepreneurship & enterprise growth landscape (2015) by The Argidius Foundation
Global
- The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 (2021) by Startup Genome
- Assessment of the Impact Investment Sector and Opportunities to Engage Mainstream Investors (2013) by the World Economic Forum
If you would like to add your map to the list, please let us know.