Field
Trial Title
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Before
Supporting Female Entrepreneurs During COVID 19
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After
Business Collaborations and Female Entrepreneurship
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Field
Abstract
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Before
The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has potentially large negative impacts on SMEs in developing countries. Female entrepreneurs of SMEs are especially vulnerable compared to their male counterparts as they are more likely to have smaller professional networks and limited regulatory knowledge that can hinder business growth, access to capital and take-up of government assistance.
In collaboration with the Women's Empowerment & Investment Group (WEIG), Annan Capital Partners (ACP), and GUBA Foundation, we conduct a field experiment in Ghana to investigate the effect of female professional networks and legal support on the business performance of women-owned small and medium enterprises. The study sample will consist of female entrepreneurs who have applied to the COVID-19 Stimulus Fund offered by our partners for business grants of $2,000-$5,000 between June 1st and August 31st 2020. The support programs will begin in October. Data will be collected by phone surveys beginning in September 2020, in six months and in one year. Additional novel real-time data on businesses will be collected through a mobile application.
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After
We conduct an RCT in Ghana on a sample of 2000 female entrepreneurs of SMEs to investigate the effects of an online matching service combined with access to legal information and advisory services on collaborations, firm innovation and performance. The study sample will consist of female entrepreneurs who have applied to the COVID-19 Stimulus Fund offered by our our NGO partners, Women's Empowerment & Investment Group (WEIG), Annan Capital Partners (ACP), and GUBA Foundation, for business grants of $2,000-$5,000 between June 1st and August 31st 2020. The support programs will begin in February. Data will be collected by phone surveys in November 2020, June 2021 and in December 2021.
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Field
Trial End Date
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Before
October 31, 2021
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After
December 31, 2021
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Field
Last Published
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Before
September 11, 2020 12:00 PM
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After
January 31, 2021 07:24 PM
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Field
Intervention Start Date
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Before
October 12, 2020
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After
February 01, 2021
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Field
Intervention End Date
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Before
April 12, 2021
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After
May 31, 2021
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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
Business performance
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After
Inter-firm collaboration
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
We randomize the networking and legal support to 2400 female entrepreneurs who applied to the COVID 19 Stimulus Fund offered by our partner NGOs. This sample will be surveyed at baseline, after six months and in one year after the end of the intervention.
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After
We randomize the matching and legal support to 1772 female entrepreneurs who applied to the COVID 19 Stimulus Fund offered by our partner NGOs. This sample will be surveyed at baseline, after six months and in one year after the end of the intervention.
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Field
Randomization Unit
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Before
Randomize at individual level into network groups, legal support, and control
Randomize at the group level whether the network group is networking only or mixed groups
Randomize at individual level which 50% will receive networking and legal support within each mixed group
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After
Randomize at individual level into matching groups, matching+legal support, and control
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Field
Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
200 Networking groups of 6 individuals (100 networking only groups, 100 mixed groups)
1200 individuals not in groups
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After
167 groups of 8 individuals
436 individuals not in groups
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Field
Planned Number of Observations
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Before
2400 individuals
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After
1772 individuals
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
600 individuals control, 600 individuals legal support, 600 individuals in networking only groups of 6, 600 individuals in mixed networking groups of 6 (300 of these will receive legal support as well)
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After
436 individuals control, 704 individuals matching support, 632 individuals in matching+legal support
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Field
Additional Keyword(s)
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Before
Networking, Legal Support, Female Entrepreneurs, SMEs
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After
Collaboration, Matching, Legal Support, Female Entrepreneurs, SMEs
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