NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, June 14, 2013

There’s plenty of interest in supporting entrepreneurs in the developing world these days, from the elite hobnobbing at Davos, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the G-8 summit. Last year, financial institutions devoted to development, foundations, and other entities formed 30 new investment funds to channel money to small, growing companies overseas. They invest in businesses that have 5 to 250 employees and need $20,000 to $2 million to expand.

What’s missing is money from big institutional sources. “It’s still … more of a challenge to actually see the investment flows,” says Randall Kempner, executive director of the four-year-old Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, which tracks the sector in a new report released today. “We haven’t had liftoff yet in a significant way.”