About

In this closed session, Endeavor Insight will share findings from their new report, “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Agriculture: The Impact of Successful Founders and How Decision Makers Can Support Them”, which was supported by Small Foundation and the Lemelson Foundation. The study draws on the experiences of successful founders to understand how entrepreneurial agriculture companies can maximize their impact in developing countries.

It presents a data-backed assessment of the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs, based on original data from more than 250 agriculture companies operating in sub-Saharan Africa and India. The analysis includes an examination of the dynamics within certain agricultural value chains and their impact on farmers, and it provides actionable recommendations to decision makers. The presentation will be followed by comments from Small Foundation and a Q&A session.

Speakers

Hamza Shad is a Research Manager at Endeavor Insight, where he studies high-impact entrepreneurship. His background is in international development and economics, with a focus on emerging markets.

Leah D. Barto is the Head of Endeavor Insight, the research division of Endeavor that provides data-driven analysis and visualizations showing what makes entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive. She leads a team of economists and data scientists to provide insights to other decision makers on selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders.

Elizabeth Wilson is a Senior Executive at Small Foundation, an Irish philanthropic foundation with a mission to catalyse income-generating opportunities for extremely poor people in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Her role focuses on developing the foundation’s expertise and practice around impact networks, systems, and communications. Prior to this, Liz has held positions as a Program Officer at Open Society Foundations, as the Deputy Director and Co-Founder at Agriculture for Impact, Imperial College London and as a Project Officer at DFID China. She also worked for the humanitarian health NGO Merlin in the DRC and the UK, and served as a diplomat in the UK Embassy in China. Liz is a Trustee of the Nigeria-based Visiola Foundation and UK charity Enterprise for Development.