TOOLS/PLATFORMS

Title: Innovation Scouts
Organizations: Root Change
Outcomes:

• Developed a collaborative platform and field network for identifying high-impact SGB investment opportunities focused around Innovation Scouts, who are trained to lead Investment Opportunity Screening Workshops and create a local network of business development services (BDS) providers
• Partnered with Grassroots Business Fund (in Tanzania) and SNV Netherlands Organization (in Vietnam) to perform detailed analysis of the Tanzanian and Vietnam SGB and BDS communities (analysis will be available on Member Portal)
• Trained 98 Innovation Scouts and signed 70+ agreements with BDS providers targeting services to local SGBs and social enterprises
• 16 SGBs currently listed on the Innovation Scouts platform; 1550 visits to platform from 39 countries

Title: Corporate Governance Toolkit for SGBs in East Africa
Organizations: African Agricultural Capital and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
Outcomes:

• Developed a guide for business management and governance for SGBs in East Africa - Strengthening SMEs: A Guide to Business Management and Governance for SMEs in East Africa - after sampling 111 existing companies in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania

Title: Capacity Building in the Financial Marketplace
Organizations: Financial Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST)
Outcomes:

• Reduced application-related transactions between sustainable SGBs and financial service providers on the FAST Financial Marketplace by: developing a contact center, creating a supporting documentation tool to facilitate streamlined financial reporting, and improving accessibility

• In the first month after relaunch of the Marketplace, there was a 71.5% increase in visits with 265 new visitors

Title: Developing a Global Mentoring Program for SGBs
Organizations: Mercy Corps, Agora Partnerships
Outcomes:

• Adapted Mercy Corps' MicroMentor service for the international SGB market, offering ANDE members and the SGB-sector at large with a scalable mechanism for efficiently providing mentoring services to their clients and more effectively engaging volunteer business professionals in their work
• Micromentor International Platform

Title: SME Business Plan Competition System
Organizations: AIDG
Outcomes: In progress

Title: Building a Knowledge Market Through a Time Credit Facility
Organizations: Oxfam GB, Yo Emprendedor, New Ventures Mexico, IGNIA, Oxfam America, Root Cahnge, RTI Consulting
Outcomes: 

• Developed the prototype of a Time Credit Facility and Logistics Fund to enable the exchange of human capital (individual knowledge and expertise) between ANDE members where it would add value to existing and planned initiatives aimed at improving support and investment in SGBs in Central America

• Conducted a survey with all Central America/Mexico Chapter members to capture existing knowledge and skill available, to match demand and supply of knowledge and skills, and to identify gaps in available support

Title: Developing and Assessing an Impact Measurement Curriculum for SGBs
Organizations: B Lab/GIIRS 
Outcomes: In progress

• The goal of this project is to develop an innovative, easy-to-use Impact Measurement Curriculum (“the Curriculum”) for SGBs which seeks to:

(a) Educate and raise the self-awareness of companies regarding social and environmental best practices and standards;
(b) Help companies identify and implement specific policies and practices in order to maximize impact across their business structure;
(c) Measure the effectiveness of the Curriculum in assisting companies by working with 5 ANDE Member Companies using an ex-ante/ex-post methodology to measure the extent of the Curriculum’s effectiveness;
(d) Report on the usefulness of the Curriculum, make improvements to the Curriculum as recommended by companies, and present this information the ANDE community.

• Completed development of the Curriculum on Governance, Workers, Community, and Environment - provides resources, tools, and templates on best practices that a company can implement through its operational policies and practices to magnify its intended positive impact  

• Finished 17 Best Practice Guides, bringing the total to 29 that comprise the Curriculum and cover 95% of the topics and standards in the GIIRS company assessment.

Title: GII-MAP: A global resource for mapping the SGB ecosystem
Organizations: Root Change
Outcomes: In progress

• Developing the Global Impact investment Network Mapping Platform in collaboration with the ANDE Central America/Mexico Chapter

• The GII-MAP will include a free-to-use resource that provides both individuals and organizations the ability to create visual maps of their social, professional, and business networks, backed by network analysis-derived statistical metrics

Title: Direct Beneficiary Social Metrics Capture Using Mobile Technology
Organizations: Grassroots Business Fund, Acumen Fund
Outcomes: In progress

• Acumen Fund, Grassroots Business Fund, and partners are supporting mSwali.org in the development and piloting of a metrics tool that collects demographic and social metrics directly from beneficiaries at the household level in Kenya
• Launched mSwali survey pilots with d.light, Olivado, and Juhudi Kilimo – portfolio companies of Acumen and GBF – to learn how different enterprise/client relationships influence accuracy and response rates of Progress out of Poverty surveys

Title: Knowledge and Human Capital Platform
Organizations: IGNIA
Outcomes: In Progress