Recognizing that there has been relatively recent shift towards “ecosystem” approaches to entrepreneurship promotion, GIZ (the main German development agency) commissioned JAA to develop a guide and training program for GIZ staff and consultants on entrepreneurial ecosystems and approaches to strengthening them. The guide and training address the differences between ecosystem and traditional entrepreneurship approaches, best practices in ecosystem strengthening, the role of development partners in this, and the types of entrepreneurs who benefit from ecosystem programming.

Entrepreneurship has historically been an important area for Germany’s international assistance in support of private sector development, which has continued through more than 50 active projects with entrepreneurship elements.

To develop this guide, JAA conducted an extensive desk review of 50 studies and reports from think tanks, ecosystem thought leaders, donor-funded programs, and other sources. JAA then conducted interviews with 12 GIZ projects and 13 non-GIZ programs providing support to entrepreneurs. From this, JAA produced a lessons-learned document which was disseminated to GIZ staff for review and feedback. JAA implemented a series of pilot trainings for GIZ based on the guide. The final interactive guide and an accompanying overview video were released in early 2021.

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Duration: 2020-2021