A woman in a handicraft shop

Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Development

Ms SUNITA SHRESTHA owner of a handicraft production and shop, Kathmandu, Nepal © Marcel Crozet / ILO

The success and ability of entrepreneurs to thrive and create jobs are influenced by a complex network of interrelated factors – including the overall business and policy environment, the availability of finance and required business development services (BDS), the level of human capital, the prevailing entrepreneurial culture, and the accessibility and functioning of markets.

The ILO's approach to Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Development (IEED) shifts away from a reliance on pre-prepared tools such as trainings and financial assistance. Instead, it places specific groups of entrepreneurs, including vulnerable groups like women, youth, and refugees, at the forefront and carefully analyses how the overall ‘entrepreneurship ecosystems’ is allowing, or not, these entrepreneurs to access all the goods and services they need to succeed and move towards decent work. The approach seeks to design tailor-made strategies grounded in a thorough understanding of incentives and capacities of local actors.

Pathways to Decent Work: Policy, Finance, Culture, Support, Human Capital, Market, leading to inclusiveness.
© ILO
© ILO
The ILO's approach to Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Development (IEED)


Key resources

A Rough Guide to Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development
Two male workers and a male customer at a laundry shop.

A Rough Guide to Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development

New frontier or the latest buzzword? Evidence and best practice in entrepreneurship ecosystem development
Two female workers at a pastry shop, holding a tray of doughnuts.

New frontier or the latest buzzword? Evidence and best practice in entrepreneurship ecosystem development

Latest news and publications

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