Knowledge products

The peer exchange explored what makes early-stage businesses genuinely ready to access finance, drawing on the perspectives of a commercial bank, an investor, and participating ESOs.

Discover our latest study, carried out by the IYBA SEED team in Kenya in partnership with Intellecap, a comprehensive assessment of the Kenyan financial services landscape, spotlighting the gaps that keep early-stage businesses, youth, and women entrepreneurs from accessing the capital they need to grow.

The Kisumu policies, now consolidated into a document, provide a roadmap to ecosystem actors and entrepreneurs for supporting local producers, enhancing market access, promoting local procurement, and building stronger, more resilient enterprises across Kisumu County.

This toolkit is designed as a practical companion for women entrepreneurs who want to understand, explore, and apply AI and automation in their business operations. It provides step-by-step guidance to help you translate ideas into measurable impact

This guide supports practitioners in designing and implementing inclusive, gender-responsive programmes using a Theory of Change (ToC).

This report and its related practical guide aim to support DFIs, FIs, and donors in designing bundled financial products and
technical assistance to close resilience gaps for W-MSMEs.

This playbook is designed as a practical guide for BDS providers and founders of Green Industries, startups and SMEs in Africa, aiming to equip them with essential information and tools for navigating the fundraising journey and successfully scaling their ventures into other African countries. 

The webinar brought together practitioners engaged in implementing innovative financing mechanisms in Benin, Togo, and Senegal.

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic landscape of Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) and Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) and Business Development Services Providers (BDS) in the counties of Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, and Kisumu. It is a call to action for policymakers, investors, and development partners to collaborate in building a more inclusive, resilient, and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kenya. 

This study, available in English and in French, explores how green industries can become a driver of inclusive growth and identifies pathways for African green businesses to scale, particularly through regional expansion.

This session brought together emerging ESO networks in Francophone Africa and more established networks to foster dialogue, mutual learning, and the sharing of concrete experiences. 

This two-part study provides in Part 1 a comprehensive overview of alternative finance mechanisms that serve small and micro businesses, while part 2 delves into the regulatory and policy frameworks that either hinder or facilitate access to finance through such mechanisms.

The report aims to evaluate S-BAN’s specialized angel investment training on Tanzania’s early-stage investment ecosystem, with the support of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) “Investing in Young Businesses in Africa” (IYBA). This training is part of the Tanzania Business Angel Investors Accelerator Programme (TAA) which is a larger initiative fostering the Enterprise Support system (ESO), other angel networks and a range of other programmes. 

This report share insights into Kenya's entrepreneurship landscape per sector where women are under-represented, exploring the current state of play and areas of challenge and opportunity.

The Women Entrepreneur Financing & Investment (We-FIT) Toolkit provides practical guidance for designing and implementing programmes that improve access to finance and investment for growth-oriented women entrepreneurs (WEs), particularly in developing economies.

Entrepreneurship Month in Benin (MEB) is a flagship annual event designed to give a major boost to the national private sector and promote local synergies. This report summarizes the main findings and recommendations from the five workshops/panels supported by the IYBA-SEED project as part of MEB 2025.

Designed to raise awareness, inspire and break down stereotypes, this series gives a voice to those who dare to take risks despite social, economic or cultural constraints.

A regional study tour and knowledge exchange session took place alongside the Africa Food Systems Forum 2025. The event brought together youth-led Ecosystem Support Organisations (ESOs) and young entrepreneurs from Benin, Kenya, and Senegal to exchange experiences, share lessons, and advocate for policies that foster inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems.

The report "Building the capacity of Weavers to foster Innovative Entrepreneurial Ecosystems" and its annexes provide an overview of the design and implementation process, as well as tools and training materials developed to identify and support Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Weavers in South Africa.