The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (Check some past ANDE-related posts here) is all about the “missing middle” – finding and supporting the level of businesses that are often too large for microfinance but still too small for traditional financing from banks and private equity. But the term “missing” conveys in some sense that this sector doesn’t exist at all, when in fact there is a thriving ecosystem of small and growing businesses (SGBs) and organizations that support them.
As the ANDE network grows, we continue to “find” more and more entrepreneurs and intermediaries around the world who are actively working to improve lives through businesses that generate wealth, create jobs, and provide goods and services to local communities around the world.
Over the past year, we had the opportunity to work with Darby Communications to produce our new ANDE Video (watch below), which makes the case for why SGBs are important, and explains how the network works to support them. In addition to the main video, we have worked with the Aspen Institute in-house video team to produce a series of mini-videos to help introduce you to not only the SGBs themselves – but also to the investors and capacity development providers who are working to support them.
In partnership with NextBillion we will be posting this series of videos onNextBillion site over the course of the next year. We hope you will travel with us around the world to see what we’ve “found” in the “missing” middle.
ANDE Global Video from ANDE on Vimeo.
