Publication: Training Microentrepreneurs over Zoom: Experimental Evidence from Mexico
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Date
2023-09-27
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2023-09-27
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Standard in-person business training programs are costly and difficult to scale to the millions of microenterprises in the developing world. The authors conducted an experiment to test the feasibility, cost-savings, and impact of delivering live training sessions over Zoom to microentrepreneurs in Mexico and Guatemala. This paper demonstrates that it is now feasible to recruit and train self-employed women online, covering a wide geographic area, with few technology issues. However, the cost savings over in-person classes are less than expected. Training improved business practices and performance over two months, but the impacts had dissipated within six months.
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“Deffebach, Peter; Davies, Elwyn; Iacovone, Leonardo; McKenzie, David J.. 2023. Training Microentrepreneurs over Zoom: Experimental Evidence from Mexico. Policy Research Working Paper; 10574. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40409 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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