From Experience to Evidence: How We’re Learning What Works
From Experience to Evidence: How We’re Learning What Works
May 12, 2025 | Allison Anderson and Elizabeth Brown
Why a Learning Agenda
For twenty years, Building Markets has been working alongside small businesses, helping them grow and building resilient supply chains. Along the way, we’ve learned a lot about how to maximize impact through data, research, and building local teams with deep market expertise. We also rely on the work of others and the existing evidence base that highlights the critical role improving access to markets plays in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
But there is still so much that we do not know. What are the most effective interventions to help small businesses grow? What interventions create lasting impact? How does small business success impact social equity, cohesion, and wellbeing? How can we make sure that our support leads to real, long-term success for the entrepreneurs and the communities we serve?
That’s why we’ve created a Learning Agenda, a roadmap to help us explore these critical questions. And it’s not just a plan; it’s our commitment to curiosity, continuous learning, and challenging our assumptions. By focusing on the biggest gaps in knowledge, we aim to inform our decision-making, share what we learn, and help create even more meaningful opportunities for small businesses to grow.
How We Built It
We started by identifying the biggest knowledge gaps based on our years of working directly with SMEs. What is working? What is not? Where do we still have unanswered questions? We then consulted with researchers and experts to refine our priorities. Next, we reviewed the latest evidence on SME growth in low- and middle-income countries, pulling from sources like the World Bank and leading academic research. This helped us clarify our key questions and guide our research moving forward. Creating the Learning Agenda, however, is not a one-time exercise. It will evolve as we uncover new insights and adapt to changing realities.
What We Are Focusing On
We have identified five key areas that will guide our learning:
Improving skills through training and mentorship – Exploring what kinds of training and mentorship make the biggest impact on SME growth and who benefits the most.
Expanding SME access to finance – Investigating innovative financing mechanisms to help small businesses access and effectively use capital.
Supporting SME technology transitions – Understanding how SMEs can better leverage digital tools, online training, e-commerce, and AI-driven matchmaking.
Creating enabling environments for SME growth – Examining how advocacy and partnerships can lead to policy reforms that support small businesses.
Advancing social equity, cohesion, and well-being – Measuring the broader economic, social, and environmental impacts of entrepreneurship.
You can read more about what we’ve learned about these topics from the existing evidence and what questions require further investigation in the Learning Agenda.
Partner With Us
We know that we can’t answer these questions alone. We are eager to partner with researchers, implementing organizations, and funders who are passionate about SME growth. If you’re interested in collaborating, sharing insights, or contributing to this learning agenda, reach out at partnerships@buildingmarkets.org. And be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on our findings, progress, and opportunities to get involved.
Small businesses are the backbone of inclusive economic growth. The more we learn, the better we can help them thrive.
