Earlier this week I joined our fellow ANDE (Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs) members at their annual conference here in the Washington, DC area.  ANDE is an increasingly impressive convener in the “small fast growth” enterprise space some interesting ideas came out of the discussions happening there that made me reflect on GBSN and our role in this sector.

Scaling Up

Paul Polak, author of Out of Poverty put his finger on what to me is the main missing factor in much of the work in the developing world: scalability.  It reminded me of how critical networks like GBSN are to creating sustainable and widespread change to emerging markets at a modest cost.  Without being able to scale, great ideas fall flat.  Our network, on the other hand, provides a framework that facilitates the dissemination and implementation of great ideas in education and in business.

I moderated the small group breakout on "Nurturing and Retaining Talent at the SGB Level."  I invited the discussants to focus on scalability (or absence thereof), notably whether IT provides a way to scale up.  One of the panelists runs a wonderful one-on-one online mentoring organization for women (Cherie Blair Foundation for Women).  The difficulty with scaling their effort is that they reach only a small number of mentees and they don't see how they can maintain quality if they step up.  We have a real opportunity to develop platforms for people to use to develop management talent.  Bringing together educators and organizations like the Cherie Blair Foundation is a great way to start the conversation about what works and how to make it available more widely.  I look forward to addressing this issue at our own conference in June.

Poaching, A Sign of Scarcity

I attended a panel of SGB representatives at the conference before my own session. Patricia Ojora, a Nigerian who participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women project that GBSN partners with, was very impressive; she is in the printing business for T-shirts and such. The others were a Brazilian, head of Akoa; a Chinese manufacturer of fuel cells; and a Mexican doctor who runs private clinics focused on diabetes treatment. When I asked the panel whether they were encountering challenges in finding local management talent, Ojora said that as soon as she trained middle-managers (whom she needs desperately) they tend to be "poached."  Her experience is not surprising.  I have heard from CEOs and small business leaders alike that skilled local managers are very scarce in emerging markets.  There are  few opportunities for management education at home, and those that do receive it abroad often stay there.  That is why it is so important we continue to build the capacity of institutions located in these markets.