This paper reports on the microfinance program of Hatton National Bank Limited (HNB), the largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka. It reviews the experience of HNB, which has initiated a program offering financial services to the poor while continuing its traditional business operations.

This paper uses international cross-sectional and time-series infrastructure bond risk premium and credit rating history data from the past decade to examine the factors that influence investor risk perceptions and that inflate the cost of borrowing for essential infrastructure. The information...

This report provides a systematic assessment of business angel activities, and the ecosystem surrounding innovation finance, in the Czech Republic. Based on literature reviews, published data sources and local stakeholder interviews, the report distills findings related to the demand for and...

This report presents the results of various experimental studies that try to address, from different perspectives, the challenges of supporting the growth and profitability of women entrepreneurs. In Mexico, women tend to be overrepresented in the category of microentrepreneurs, who often have...

The report focuses on sectoral choice as one of the contributors to the gender gap in firm performance. It explores the difference in profits among female entrepreneurs who cross over into male-dominated sectors (MDS) compared to those who remain in traditionally female-concentrated sectors...

This report is one of four analytical pieces on Ukraine's innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem developed by the World Bank's Ukraine Technical Assistance on Innovation, supported by the Swedish Ukraine Financial and Enterprise Sector Recovery and Growth Trust Fund. This report assesses the...

Technology is one of the main drivers of productivity and economic growth. Developing countries have traditionally had difficulties in both developing technology and absorbing foreign technology. However, the recent emergence of tech startups present an opportunity. Tech start-ups are an...

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world, with approximately 42 percent of the non-agricultural labor force classified as self-employed or employers. Yet most entrepreneurs are unable to grow their businesses beyond small-scale subsistence operations, impeding...