Growing Women-led Enterprises in the Mekong : Testing a Methodology for Accelerating Growth

Abstract

According to a recent global entrepreneurship monitor, 48 percent of entrepreneurs globally are women. Growth-oriented women entrepreneurs face challenges such as lack of access to support services and relevant knowledge as well as regulatory and legal barriers. Recognizing the barriers that often prevent women from growing their businesses, infoDev embarked on a small pilot project designed to test a new methodology for increasing the capacity, confidence, and networks of growth-oriented women leading small businesses. The objective was to test whether this methodology will indeed lead to business expansion. infoDevapos;s pilot - the Mekong womenapos;s entrepreneurship challenge (MWEC) - set out to test a methodology based primarily on structured facilitation of peer-to-peer learning among growth-oriented women entrepreneurs. This report discusses the design, outcomes, and lessons of MWEC in further detail and provides a few preliminary recommendations for the design of future programs targeting the growth of women-owned enterprises.