Building better SME support through data and evidence use

By Edoardo Trimarchi on Wednesday, 27 November 2024.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engines of economic growth, driving innovation, job creation, and employment in countries across the world. Business development support (BDS) programmes are an essential tool for governments to foster a vibrant SME ecosystem offering resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities to help these enterprises innovate, scale, and compete. But the question - one that is core to our work - remains: How can governments ensure their support programs truly make a difference?

This question is particularly important for iNNpulsa, the Colombian National Government's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Agency and the leading organisation promoting business development support services nationwide. Across the varied portfolio of programmes to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, iNNpulsa recently launched their new flagship programme, ZASCA - a business development support scheme that will provide tailored support to over 16,000 SMEs across 89 centres nationwide. But as with any large-scale support program, understanding what works, and improving it based on evidence, is crucial. 

We are excited to announce that, for the next 18 months, the Innovation Growth Lab (IGL) will be working closely with iNNpulsa to answer questions related to the effectiveness and impact of the ZASCA programme through the use and generation of data and evidence. Our partnership with iNNpulsa will be focused on supporting the agency to become more experimental by building the necessary culture, capabilities and practical examples of how to design and implement more impactful policies leveraging existing and new evidence. A key element of this project is that we are not starting from scratch. On one hand, thanks to the Argidius Foundation - the founder of the project and a long standing partner of IGL - SCALE tool, we have a wealth of evidence-based insights to draw from. SCALE offers business development services providers and funders a roadmap to boost SME growth and job creation through proven strategies. The toolkit outlines five key dimensions, acronymised as SCALE, that can drive effectiveness in SME support programs. On the other hand, our expertise and experience in supporting governments in becoming more experimental, combined with iNNpulsa commitment to using evidence and data to learn, this partnership is well-positioned to make meaningful improvements.

Over the next 18 months, IGL and INNPULSA will work closely to identify opportunities where data and evidence can improve the effectiveness of ZASCA. Key activities include:

  • We will run three rounds of ideation throughout the project, through which we will collaborate with INNPULSA to pinpoint areas in ZASCA that present opportunities for improvement. Using the SCALE framework and existing research, we will jointly select case studies to experiment with new approaches, focusing on recruitment, program delivery, and outcomes. These agendas will prioritise interventions that are technically feasible and policy-relevant, ensuring that iNNpulsa can apply findings directly to their program.
  • Following each ideation round, we will conduct evidence and data sprints. These will be designed to implement small and larger scale experiments based on the identified questions and areas of opportunity for improvement of ZASCA’s effectiveness. We will also work together with iNNpulsa to translate newly generated and existing evidence into actionable insights, policy recommendations, and programme improvements.
  • To ensure the sustainability of this project, we will provide extensive training to iNNpulsa staff on experimental design, data analysis, and the application of the SCALE toolkit. Through workshops and ongoing support, the goal is to empower iNNpulsa to run these processes independently in the future, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision-making within the organisation.

This collaboration presents a unique opportunity for IGL and INNPULSA to make a tangible difference in the lives of Colombian entrepreneurs. By strengthening INNPULSA's M&E systems and promoting a culture of evidence-based decision-making, the partnership aims to enhance the impact of the ZASCA programme, leading to improved outcomes for SMEs, including increased income and productivity. While the project is focused on Colombia and the ZASCA programme, challenges related to the effectiveness of business development support schemes are shared globally. Ensuring SMEs are supported effectively and receive the tools and resources they need the most to thrive is a stepping stone in increasing growth and ensuring good and stable livelihoods for the countless small and medium entrepreneurs around the world. Through this new collaboration,  IGL’s ambition is to contribute with relevant insights and practical examples of how business development support programmes can have a greater impact, and more broadly, set another valuable example of how data-driven approaches can shape more effective policies worldwide.