@HStencil, TechnoServe does seem like an interesting organization. There is definitely some similarity to Village Enterprise, but Village Enterprise is focused on the graduation approach while TechnoServe runs a broader range of programs including support to small and medium enterprises. I was also very interested in small and medium enterprise support, but my review of the evidence on this suggests that it’s inconclusive whether such programs have had success at creating jobs or reducing poverty. Of course, it’s entirely possible that TechnoServe’s programs do indeed do this. If so, that would be great! ImpactMatter’s evaluation does suggest this, but as they point out the evidence is not very strong: it’s based on a pre-post analysis conducted by TechnoServe themselves, response rates post-intervention were low and enterprises that did not experience increased revenues were excluded from the analysis (see excerpt from ImpactMatter’s evaluation below).
“Impulsa Tu Empresa’s beneft/cost ratio is based on data collected by TechnoServe on businesses’ gross revenues before and after participating in the program. We subtract from these figures the growth we assume businesses would have experienced had they not in fact participated in the program. However, only a small number of firms responded to TechnoServe’s surveys conducted two to three years after they completed the program. TechnoServe also did not count businesses that had lower revenues after the intervention than before the intervention, biasing upward the benefit/cost ratio”
Thanks so much for looking into this and posting your read of the research! I’m glad I now have a clearer sense of how these two types of interventions compare to one another. The flaws you noted in TechnoServe’s internal evaluation are certainly quite concerning, and I’m glad someone brought them to my attention.
@HStencil, TechnoServe does seem like an interesting organization. There is definitely some similarity to Village Enterprise, but Village Enterprise is focused on the graduation approach while TechnoServe runs a broader range of programs including support to small and medium enterprises. I was also very interested in small and medium enterprise support, but my review of the evidence on this suggests that it’s inconclusive whether such programs have had success at creating jobs or reducing poverty. Of course, it’s entirely possible that TechnoServe’s programs do indeed do this. If so, that would be great! ImpactMatter’s evaluation does suggest this, but as they point out the evidence is not very strong: it’s based on a pre-post analysis conducted by TechnoServe themselves, response rates post-intervention were low and enterprises that did not experience increased revenues were excluded from the analysis (see excerpt from ImpactMatter’s evaluation below).
Excerpt from ImpactMatter’s evaluation report:
“Impulsa Tu Empresa’s beneft/cost ratio is based on data collected by TechnoServe on businesses’ gross revenues before and after participating in the program. We subtract from these figures the growth we assume businesses would have experienced had they not in fact participated in the program. However, only a small number of firms responded to TechnoServe’s surveys conducted two to three years after they completed the program. TechnoServe also did not count businesses that had lower revenues after the intervention than before the intervention, biasing upward the benefit/cost ratio”
Thanks so much for looking into this and posting your read of the research! I’m glad I now have a clearer sense of how these two types of interventions compare to one another. The flaws you noted in TechnoServe’s internal evaluation are certainly quite concerning, and I’m glad someone brought them to my attention.