Investor & Technical Assistance Database

This database targets companies looking for financial and/or technical support. The database lists organisations and initiatives providing different kinds of support, such as capital in the form of grants, loans and equity, or technical support in the form of advice, partnership brokering or networking support. To learn more about the database, click the info button on the right. 

For current training opportunities, networking events, and calls for application, access our opportunities page

Use the search filters below to narrow down your search for financial and/or technical support providers.

ABOUT THE DATABASE

Who is this database for?

This database aims to serve inclusive businesses that are looking for sources of support to help them grow, ranging from capital to technical support.

 

What does the database cover?

This database lists organizations that provide technical and financial support to inclusive businesses. The database will continue growing as support organizations are registered. Inclusive businesses are diverse, and so too are the range of organizations that provide support and the types of support they offer. The resources listed cover a continuum of financing solutions, from grants and concessional financing to commercial finance and private equity. They also include organizations and initiatives providing technical assistance (TA), advice, partnership brokering, information, advocacy, and networking. The database is easy to navigate and provides useful filters such as the range of financial support provided and the stage of enterprise supported (if such information is available). 

More organizations will be added over time and suggestions are welcome. Other database that we recommend include:

► GET.invest: focused on renewable energy in Africa
► Nexus for Development: focused on Southeast Asia
 The Mix: Database on microfinance services

Why and how was the database developed?

Inclusive business entrepreneurs often face difficulties identifying partners that could provide crucial financial and technical support. Even though such support is available, information about it is often fragmented and hard to find. The database addresses this challenge, making information on financial and technical support easy to identify and navigate by providing easily searchable categories and filters.

The entries and information provided in the database are compiled by the research team using information publicly available on organization websites or provided directly by the organizations themselves. 

 

Who developed the database?

The Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business (now inclusivebusiness.net) and the Asian Development Bank set up this database to help overcome this challenge. The Connect to Grow programme supported further development of this database in 2016, specifically to include intermediaries in its target countries. In late 2017 and 2018, the DFID Impact Programme funded the most comprehensive review and update of the database yet, which was implemented by Endeva. The Endeva team reviewed the categories and all existing entries, and also added hundreds of entries with the support of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and other partners.

ANDE has just launched a new site of their own that provides data about financial and non-financial support available for small and growing businesses in a specific city or country. ANDE’s Ecosystem Snapshots aim to help those supporting entrepreneurs to foster conditions in which businesses can thrive. 

 

USING THE DATABASE

What can users search for on the database?

You can keep your search for organizations broad by just selecting the finance and/or technical support offering you are looking for or you can narrow down your search by selecting further filters such as type of organization, sector, region/country etc. If you are looking for a specific topic that is not included in the current category list, use the keywords search bar to search the entire database. This will return results on that topic from the whole database.

 

If users want all entries from Asia, does one need to select all Asian countries, too (or ditto for other continents)?

No. If you would like to see all the material for one continent, for example South Asia, select ‘South Asia’ under the ‘Region/Country’ filter and click on the ‘Apply’ button. This will bring up all intermediaries that provide support in South Asia.

 

Amount of financial support

Intermediary Database

Displaying 1 - 10 of 21
Aqua for All
South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

Aqua for All is a Netherlands based NGO, focussing on innovative and transformative solutions for drinking water and sanitation, targeting underserved areas in developing countries. Aqua for All acts as a connector and facilitator, through smart granting, and co-creates partnerships for transformative, sustainable and scalable solutions that unlock private investments opportunities. With its business-like, efficient, and result-oriented approach, we inspire and support our stakeholders to help the world’s Base of the Pyramid gain sustainable access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

Type of OrganisationAccelerator/Incubator, Challenge Fund/Programme/Facility, Foundation
Region/CountrySouth Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
Finance OfferingGrants and awards, Guarantees
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingAdvocacy, Partnership brokering, investment facilitation, networking
Focus TypeStart-ups, NGOs/Non-profits
Focus StageEarly Stage, Growth Companies
Biruwa
South Asia

Biruwa provides consultancy, trainings and investment facilitation services to Nepali entrepreneurs. Biruwa's services include strategic and financial planning, market research, business diagnostics, private sector engagement support, investment facilitation, and business model development.

Type of OrganisationConsultancy
Region/CountrySouth Asia
Nepal
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingInformation sharing, resources and publications, Mentoring, Talent Placement, Network-based support, One-to-one advisory support, Consulting Services, Partnership brokering, investment facilitation, networking
Focus TypeStart-ups
Focus StageEarly Stage
BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt
Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt promotes responsible leadership and inspires leaders from around the world to work for a peaceful, fair, sustainable future. Guided by the key concepts of governance, innovation, and intersectoral associations, they focus on Sustainable Development Goals 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 10 (Reducing Inequality), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda constitute the reference framework of their venture philanthropy and impact investments.

Type of OrganisationFoundation
Region/CountryLatin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia
Finance OfferingNot specified
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingFellowship, Mentoring, Talent Placement, Network-based support
Focus TypeNot specified
IB TopicsSDGs
BoP Innovation Center
South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

The BoP Innovation Center is an independent foundation aiming to develop commercially and socially viable business models and activities by providing assistance in areas of marketing and distribution, inclusive innovations and inclusive business empowerment.

Type of OrganisationConsultancy, Foundation
Region/CountrySouth Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingAdvocacy, One-to-one advisory support, Consulting Services, Partnership brokering, investment facilitation, networking, Training, and other classroom based support (online/offline)
Focus TypeLarge companies, Start-ups
IB TopicsGender, Innovation
Center for Development and Competitive Strategies (CDCS)
South Asia

The Center for Development and Competitive Strategies (CDCS) is a research and consulting firm offering solutions in research and strategy, human and organisational capacity building, and intervention design and management.

Type of OrganisationConsultancy
Region/CountrySouth Asia
Bangladesh
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingOne-to-one advisory support, Consulting Services, Training, and other classroom based support (online/offline)
Central Square Foundation
South Asia

The Central Square Foundation is a grant-making organisation and policy think tank focused on improving school education in India. The foundation offers grants to social entrepreneurs, provides research and innovation sharing that aims to influence public policy.

Type of OrganisationFoundation, Impact investment fund/ impact investment fund manager/ impact focused venture capital fund
Region/CountrySouth Asia
India
Finance OfferingGrants and awards
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingAdvocacy, Information sharing, resources and publications, Mentoring, Talent Placement, Network-based support, One-to-one advisory support, Consulting Services
Focus TypeNGOs/Non-profits
SectorEducation
IB TopicsYouth

CropIn is a leading full-stack agri-tech​ organization that provides SaaS solutions to agribusinesses globally. CropIn’s unique suite of products enable various stakeholders in the agri-ecosystem to adopt and drive digital strategy across their operations.
Using cutting-edge technology like big data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and remote sensing, CropIn creates an interconnected network of all these stakeholders at different levels of the agriculture ecosystem, enabling clients to analyze and interpret data to derive real-time actionable insights on standing crop. Businesses can thus leverage technology to effectively drive their initiatives around Digitization, Predictability, Compliance, Sustainability and Traceability. With the vision to ‘maximize per acre value’ and the mission to ‘make every farm traceable’, CropIn adds value to agri-businesses by increasing efficiency, scaling productivity, and strengthening sustainability across the board. Thus far, CropIn has digitized over 5 million acres of farmland and enriched the lives of nearly 2.1 million farmers, while gathering data on 265 crops and 3,500 crop varieties in 30 countries. The SaaS solutions offered by CropIn are crop and location agnostic, and are available on web and mobile devices.

About SmartRisk:
SmartRisk is a predictive and prescriptive solution for risk monitoring, mitigation and forecasting intelligence. The AI and machine learning based platform uses satellite imagery and other data sets to detects cropping patterns and predicts the future of the crop, thus highlighting the associated risk and opportunity for agri-stakeholders.

Type of OrganisationConsultancy
Region/CountrySouth Asia
India
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingInformation sharing, resources and publications
Focus TypeNot specified
IB TopicsInnovation
DOEN Foundation
South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

The DOEN Foundation provides grants, equity investments and loans to support enterprising approaches for a more green and inclusive society in East Africa and India. Investments are made primarily in start-ups.

Type of OrganisationFoundation, Impact investment fund/ impact investment fund manager/ impact focused venture capital fund
Region/CountrySouth Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
India
Finance OfferingEquity, Debt finance, Grants and awards
Exact Amount
Focus TypeStart-ups, NGOs/Non-profits
Focus StageEarly Stage
SectorEnergy
Field Service Management App for Social Enterprises and Nonprofits
East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

TaroWorks LLC is a social enterprise that sells an advanced mobile data platform to help organizations enhance data collection, monitoring, sales and inventory management in the field.  Our mission is to improve product and service delivery to the poor by bringing real-time data to any organization, anywhere.

Launched by the Grameen Foundation in 2013, TaroWorks has now reached more than 90 social enterprises and nonprofit organizations across 30+ countries, supporting over 200,000 micro-entrepreneurs and improving the lives of over 3 million of the world’s poor.

TaroWorks LLC is a wholly-owned company of Grameen Foundation, a global nonprofit that empowers the poor, especially women, with breakthroughs to end poverty and hunger. TaroWorks is a nimble software as a service (SaaS) company with access to Grameen Foundation’s expertise in agriculture and health.

Type of OrganisationConsultancy, Foundation
Region/CountryEast Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
Finance OfferingNot specified
Exact Amount
Technical Support OfferingInformation sharing, resources and publications, One-to-one advisory support, Consulting Services
Focus TypeSmall and growing businesses, NGOs/Non-profits
Focus StageGrowth Companies