Publication: World Bank Group Support for Innovation and Entrepreneurship : An Independent Evaluation
Loading...
Date
2013-09
ISSN
Published
2013-09
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
World Bank Group management welcomes Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review of innovation and entrepreneurship. The global financial crisis required developing economies to actively seek new sources of economic growth. Natural resource-intensive economies are pursuing new ways to diversify their productive capacity to build resilience to commodity cycles. Middle-income countries (MICs) are looking for ways to escape the middle-income trap. A number of developmental challenges, from climate adaptation to food security and health, require new, efficient technological solutions adapted to developing countries' needs. In such context, innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly seen as essential ingredients for economic and social prosperity. The report notes there are limited mechanisms in place to share learning about innovation and entrepreneurship and few formal efforts to improve coordination. However, important initiatives are already under way to foster learning, cross fertilization, and codification of knowledge to support innovation policy. The innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship (ITE) global practice, for example, brings together innovation and entrepreneurship specialists across the Bank Group in knowledge exchange forums and other learning activities. The innovation policy platform (IPP), under advanced development, will provide a repository of knowledge on the "how to" of innovation policy and a collaborative space for users to exchange knowledge. The report recognizes that venture capital investments typically have high rates of failure in which only one or two investments earn high returns for every ten investments made. It states further that market practice assesses a fund's performance on a portfolio basis against its peers of the same vintage, not on a stand-alone basis. The positive effects on private sector development of International Finance Corporation (IFC) investments in venture capital funds confirm that this type of financing can be an important mechanism for fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth of private enterprises. The report states that Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) support helped jump-start private sector foreign direct investment in post conflict situations in Mozambique and Nicaragua. The report concludes that the effectiveness of MIGA's interventions to support innovation and entrepreneurship will be enhanced with improvements in the quality of its front-end work in assessment, underwriting, and monitoring. This report is organized as follows: chapter one presents evaluation context; chapter two gives strategies to support innovation and entrepreneurship; and chapter three deals with supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in World Bank Group projects; chapter four presents portfolio performance of World Bank Group support for innovation and entrepreneurship; chapter five gives learning from World Bank Group interventions; and chapter six gives conclusions and recommendations.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Independent Evaluation Group. 2013. World Bank Group Support for Innovation and Entrepreneurship : An Independent Evaluation. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16665 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Turkey - National Innovation and Technology System : Recent Progress and Ongoing Challenges(Washington, DC, 2009-06)In January 2008, the Turkish Government requested the World Bank to jointly undertake an assessment of its National Innovation System (NIS) in order to help guide its ongoing efforts to deepen the role of innovation in the Turkish economy. This report identifies the recent progress and key ongoing challenges facing Turkey's NIS and draws on international experience to outline potential issues for further analysis. The next section provides an overview of the institutional structure, policy framework and main programs of Turkey's NIS and identifies issues in three main areas that hinder innovation performance: the intellectual property right (IPR) regime, collaboration between the research and enterprise sectors, and innovation finance. The third section uses available information (aggregate and firm-level data and a set of 20 case studies) to provide a review of the innovation and technology performance of the enterprise sector in Turkey and preliminarily address its possible determinants. Areas for further potential study and analysis are identified based on the key findings in each section.Publication Bulgaria - Investment Climate Assessment : Volume 1. Overview(Washington, DC, 2008-10)Sustained improvements in living standards depend on broad-based economic growth. This will only take place when firms improve worker productivity by investing in human and physical capital and increasing their technological capacity. But firms will only invest when the investment climate is favorable. The goal of the Bulgaria Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in all its operational dimensions and to promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The ICA is largely based on results from the World Bank Enterprise Survey. The 1,000-firm survey was conducted in late 2007 and collects detailed information on firm performance, what managers see as the main obstacles that they face, and objective data on various aspects of the investment climate. Additional sources of information are used to supplement the survey data, including the World Bank's Doing Business Report, a study that provides detailed, comparable data on regulation across the world, data from the National Statistical Institute, and reports from the Government of Bulgaria, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, academics, and other sources.Publication Global Good Practice in Incubation Policy Development and Implementation(Washington, DC, 2010-10)This paper was based on a desk review of the literature relating to best practice in public policy supporting business incubation, supplemented by four national case studies covering Brazil, Ma-laysia, New Zealand and South Africa. These country studies were prepared through engage-ment of stakeholders, site visits and other sources of primary and secondary information collection. In the context of the study, we focused on best practice in policy development, meaning that public bodies should identify clear objectives and goals to be achieved within the resources avail-able and take steps to measure and assess what has actually been achieved, allowing changes to overcome unexpected barriers, as well as to identify and disseminate best practices to improve overall performance.Publication Enhancing Access to Finance for Technology Entrepreneurs in Southern Africa(Washington, DC, 2014-04)This report examines the financing gaps for early stage and growth that high-growth technology entrepreneurs are facing in the information and communication technology (ICT), climate technology, and innovative agribusiness sectors in Zambia and Mozambique, with a more regional review of Namibia and Botswana as possible. It analyzes the unmet needs of these entrepreneurs - perceived demand and latent demand - as well as the existing sources of supply of private capital for seed and early-stage investment, and defines the adequacy to meet these needs. The report also explores the challenges that angel investors have experienced in the past when attempting to finance early- and growth-stage start-ups in the region and, if and where appropriate, make recommendations relating to infoDev's possible interventions.Publication Enhancing Access to Finance for Technology Entrepreneurs : Analysis of Highly Innovative, High Growth Start-Ups in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Nepal(Washington, DC, 2014)The first part of the study provides contextual background to the financing gaps and associated barriers, which restrict access to finance for HI start-ups. These barriers are driven by both supply and demand sides of the financing equation. Supply side barriers include: high transaction costs associated with financing; high levels of credit risk associated with HI start-ups; high collateral required by financial institutions; non-conducive legal and regulatory environments for investment in HI start-ups; lack of start-up expertise and dedicated resources by financiers; and finance products that are not tailored to HI start-ups needs and circumstances. Demand side barriers include: reliance by HI start-ups on informal financing sources; lack of awareness on the process to apply for funding from formal financing sources; low levels of financial literacy by HI start-ups; and the fear of losing control by involving external investors. This section also contains a broad overview of the country frameworks governing the start-up sector, together with some of the initiatives relating to access to finance. The second part of the study covers the fieldwork undertaken in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Nepal. The fieldwork gathered views from investee firms (irrespective of whether they were successful in raising finance or not), investors, and other stakeholders. The fieldwork was aimed at understanding the severity of the financing gap for HI start-ups, the stage(s) of financing impacted by lack of access to finance, and the sources of financing for HI start-ups. Lastly, financing catalyst recommendations address non-financing impediments, which if overcome will have a positive impact on access to finance.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Remarks to the Annual Meetings 2020 Development Committee(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-16)David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, announced that the Board approved a fast track approach to emergency health support programs that now covers 111 countries. Most projects are well advanced, with average disbursement upward of 40 percent. The goal is to take broad, fast action early. The operational framework presented back in June has positioned the Bank to help countries address immediate health threats and social and economic impacts and maintain our focus on long-term development. The Bank is making good progress toward the 15-month target of 160 billion dollars in surge financing. Much of it is for the poorest countries and will take the form of grants or low-rate, long-maturity loans. IFC, through the Global Health Platform, will be providing financing to vaccine manufacturers to foster expanded production of COVID-19 vaccines in both part 1 and 2 countries, providing production is reserved for emerging markets. The Development Committee holds a unique place in the international architecture. It is the only global forum in which the Governments of developed countries and the Governments of developing countries, creditor countries and borrower countries, come together to discuss development and the ‘net transfer of resources to developing countries.’ The current International Financial Architecture system is skewed in favor of the rich and creditor countries. It is important that all voices are heard, so Malpass urged the Ministers of developing countries to use their voice and speak their minds today. Malpass urged consideration of how we can build a new approach to debt restructuring that allows for a fair relationship and balance between creditors and debtors. This will be critical in restoring growth in developing countries; and helping reverse the inequality.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28)Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.Publication World Development Report 2011(World Bank, 2011)The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.