Grant v.s. matching grant on small business

Last registered on May 27, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Grant v.s. matching grant on small business
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018609
Initial registration date
May 11, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 27, 2026, 9:36 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Yuki Higuchi
Affiliation
Sophia University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-04-01
End date
2028-03-31
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
grant, matching grant
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a randomized control trial to provide grant or matching grant to potential entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs in Tajikistan. Among the applicants for the program, consisting of a training and a chance to receive full or matching grant, the individuals after the light screening are invited for a basic business training for a three full days. The individuals who complete the training become eligible to submit an in-kind grant proposal to start or expand their business. The amount is up to 2,000 USD. The appraisal committee ranks the grant applicants into three groups. The first (best) group receives the full-grant for sure. The second group (second best) is then randomized into those who receive the full-grant and those receive the matching-grant. The last group is not eligible for any grant. Our main focus is the comparison of the two groups originated from the secondly ranked group. The follow-up surveys are conducted half a year and one year after the training for all the training participants including those become ineligible for grant.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Higuchi, Yuki. 2026. "Grant v.s. matching grant on small business." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18609-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Partner

Name
JICA
Type
government
URL
https://www.jica.go.jp/english/
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-05-01
Intervention End Date
2027-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
grant use, business survival, effort in business, business performance
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct a randomized control trial to provide grant or matching grant to potential entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs in Tajikistan. Among the applicants for the program, consisting of a training and a chance to receive full or matching grant, the individuals after the light screening are invited for a basic business training for a three full days. The individuals who complete the training become eligible to submit an in-kind grant proposal to start or expand their business. The amount is up to 2,000 USD. The appraisal committee ranks the grant applicants into three groups. The first (best) group receives the full-grant for sure. The second group (second best) is then randomized into those who receive the full-grant and those receive the matching-grant. The last group is not eligible for any grant. Our main focus is the comparison of the two groups originated from the secondly ranked group. The follow-up surveys are conducted half a year and one year after the training for all the training participants including those become ineligible for grant.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer,
Randomization Unit
potential and existing entrepreneur
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
300-400 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
300-400 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
It depends of the appraisal committee's evaluation. The secondly-ranked group is split into 50% full-grant arm and 50% matching-grant arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Sophia University Ethics Committee for Research on Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2025-11-05
IRB Approval Number
Ethics Committee for Research on Human Subjects
Analysis Plan