Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs

ANDE Activities

ANDE is the only global organization dedicated to both advocating for the growth of the SGB sector and offering services and programs to support the organizations operating in the space. Operating in over 150 developing world countries, our members offer a diverse set of resources to support SGBs, and through the network, provide an unmatched resource to one another. ANDE develops initiatives to address systemic challenges and opportunities that can only be approached through collective action.

ANDE members have access to six key program areas:

Knowledge Sharing and Networking: ANDE programs connect different organizations within the SGB sector.  Members improve their effectiveness by sharing and collaborating with one another to build this sector.  ANDE currently has five regional chapters in Brazil, Central America/Mexico, East Africa, India and South Africa, and a variety of topic specific working groups.

Training and Talent Development: ANDE’s talent development programs build critical skills within member organizations, reduce training costs, and ultimately help create a pool of talented leaders in the SGB sector. Currently, we offer a two day Orientation Training for new hires and summer associates and an intensive five day Investment Manager Training for investment officers based in emerging markets.

Metrics and Evaluation: ANDE is committed to driving transparent, consistent, and high quality measurement of our members’ economic, environmental, and social impact. Our annual impact report provides the only consistent global report on the impact of SGB investors and technical assistance providers, and highlights the accomplishments of our members. ANDE is also a core partner in the Impact Reporting and Investing Standards (IRIS) initiative to advance a common framework for defining, tracking, and reporting the performance of impact investments.

Research: ANDE acts as a conduit between researchers who are seeking inputs and our members who are generating data and findings that need to be aggregated and analyzed. In addition, we manage a Research Development Fund which we leverage to generate new research projects that examine the effectiveness of supporting SGBs as a tool for poverty alleviation. We expect the research produced through this initiative to inform and influence impact investors, policy-makers, development banks and foundations on the social benefits of supporting small businesses.

Capacity Development Fund: ANDE administers a Capacity Development Fund from which we disburse grants to members in order to strengthen their capacity and encourage innovation and collaboration among our members. To date we have made $1.3 million in grants through three rounds of funding.

Advocacy and Education: ANDE is actively working to increase resources for the SGB sector in order to benefit all of our members and their work.  We have become a trusted resource for key constituencies (investors, governments, multi/bilateral organizations, and the news media) that influence investment and development aid decisions.