IDB, IDB Invest, We-Fi, EBRD and IBSI Research Conference

You are invited to submit a paper to the Research Conference on Accelerating Growth for Women-led SMEs in developing economies, jointly organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Institute for Business and Social Impact (IBSI) at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The conference aims to promote new research and evidence on gender and entrepreneurship, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, and micro-enterprises with growth potential. It will also provide a platform for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to network and discuss how to apply research findings to project design and implementation. Academic sessions will be accompanied by policy-oriented sessions aimed at strengthening links between research and policy. The conference will catalyze efforts to generate new evidence and determine key objectives and milestones for the future. Papers are welcome on the following (non-exhaustive) list of topics:

• Access to finance for WSMEs
• Blended finance, digital finance, and fintech supporting WSMEs
• Growth and job creation at WSMEs
• Business training and bundled services for WSMEs
• Access to markets and technology for WSMEs
• Enabling environment (policies, laws, regulations, norms)
• Systemic change and the importance of sex-disaggregated data on financing for SMEs
• Institutional barriers to women’s entrepreneurship
• WSMEs and finance in conflict zones and natural disasters
• Women’s economic empowerment in the care economy

For additional information on the topics of interest, see the We-Fi research agenda.

The symposium will feature a keynote address by Dr. Pinelopi Goldberg, Elihu Professor of Economics and Professor of Management, Yale University.

Accommodation expenses will be covered for speakers and discussants according to the rules of the Institute for Business and Social Impact at UC Berkeley.

To submit a paper (full papers only), please use this link.