Business Bridge Seminar Report 18th November 2013

Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................3
Part I: Introduction to Business Bridge (Prof Michael Hay, London Business School).........3
Part II: Presentation of Midline Results (Prof Rajesh Chandy, London Business School)....4
Part III: Business Bridge Progress and Plans (John Walker, Business Bridge).................... 13
Part IV: Building on the Research (Stephen Anderson Macdonald, London Business
School).......................................................................................................................................................... 14
Part V: Funding our Growth (Janine Titley, Business Bridge).................................................... 16
References:................................................................................................................................................. 18
Appendix 1: Business Bridge course content................................................................................. 19
Appendix 2: Business Practices .......................................................................................................... 20
Appendix 3: Project Plan and Budget for 2014 Roll-out in Cape Town................................. 26
T h e B u s i n e s s B r i d g e I n i t i a t i v e
3 B l e n h e i m D r i v e , O x f o r d , O X 2 8 D H , U n i t e d K i n g d o m
U K C o m p a n y N u m b e r : 6 9 2 7 6 1 0 U K C h a r i t y N u m b e r : 1 1 3 1 3 1 2
Business Bridge Seminar Summary Report
Business Skills and Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets:
Midline Results
January 2014
This research is being conducted in partnership with:

UK Company Number: 6927610 2 UK Charity Number: 1131312
Executive Summary
The seminar delivered the interim results of the external impact evaluation project conducted by researchers
from London Business School, the World Bank and the Jameel Poverty Action Lab in Africa (J-PAL Africa) on
Business Bridge’s training programme for grassroots entrepreneurs. Business Bridge was founded by
Professor Hay of London Business School, and designed to make high quality, low cost business skills
training accessible to micro and small entrepreneurs in low income communities. Comprising of a unique
screening, training and data collection model, Business Bridge aims to increase the knowledge, skills and
confidence (more broadly, the ‘managerial capital’) of growth-oriented micro-entrepreneurs with the aim of
improving survival rates and promoting growth. The research was conducted to test the effects of this model
on the performance of micro and small enterprises, and determine whether the Business Bridge model offers
a solution for addressing the lack of growth amongst small, emerging market enterprises.
Following an introduction from Professor Hay, Professor Rajesh Chandy of London Business School briefly
outlined the academic importance and policy relevance of this research before presenting on the project
methodology and interim results of the mid-line survey, conducted 6 months after the training intervention.
The project launched in July 2012 with the Business Bridge training programme marketed to over 10,000
grassroots entrepreneurs across the greater Cape Town area, with the aim of identifying businesses with
growth potential. Approximately 2,200 were rigorously assessed through a screening survey, of which 1,080
were selected to receive the Business Bridge training and form part of the study sample. Once baseline data
was collected, participating entrepreneurs were randomly assigned into the treatment group (~700 business
owners given either sales or finance training) and a control group (~350 business owners who will receive
training in March 2014). From October to November, courses were run in five different locations in Cape
Town and facilitated by local volunteer business professionals who were screened and trained by Business
Bridge. The interim results presented focussed on four key areas: attendance, participant satisfaction,
implementation of business practices, and business performance outcomes.
64 per cent of participants (449 out of 702 scheduled) completed the minimum requirement of attending 6
out of 8 classes. This attendance rate is satisfactory, given that no incentives were provided to participants,
as has been the case with comparable research projects. Feedback across the board was extremely
positive, with the overall satisfaction in the Business Bridge experience rated at over 90% by participants.
Participants who received training (either marketing or finance) implemented more ‘business practices’ than
participants in the control group. ‘Business practices’ are core behaviours that we expect entrepreneurs to
exhibit following training; for example, separating business finances from personal finances
Interim data on business performance show that those who received the marketing course improved their
sales by 25% and profitability by 150%, and that those who received the finance course improved their
profitability by 294%. Both treatment groups outperformed the control group in terms of profits. Accurate
employment information will be made available once further analysis has been done of the complete data
set, collected over the 12 months following the courses.
The Business Bridge model is built on researched practices and strong pedagogical foundations. The
ambition is to constantly improve the proposition through analysis of data, feedback and internal reviews.
This process has identified several areas for improvement including updating the courses, adding a
technology component, and further developing the facilitator training and data collection procedures.
Positive results from the RCT have opened the door to further research both in South Africa and other
emerging markets on the continent. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of further business
development services that build on the Business Bridge training, including financing, technology and
consulting. Through this research, the aim is to develop a model for screening and identifying high growth-
oriented grassroots entrepreneurs, building their managerial capital and providing them with appropriate
enterprise development support services to help them scale-up up their firms and create sustainable
employment in their communities.
Business Bridge is currently fundraising to grow the model in Cape Town, including building new
partnerships, recruiting and training more facilitators, and expanding the reach of our courses to make them
accessible to over 1000 grassroots entrepreneurs per year. The vision is to expand in South Africa before
adapting the model to similar emerging markets throughout Africa and beyond.

Introduction
On Monday, 18 November 2013, Business Bridge, in partnership with London Business School staff and
faculty, hosted a lunchtime seminar to present the interim results of the external impact evaluation study
currently being conducted by researchers from London Business School, the World Bank and the Jameel
Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). The study results were presented by Rajesh Chandy, Professor of Marketing at
London Business School and one of the Principle Investigators (PI) on the project. His presentation was
preceded by a brief introduction of Business Bridge by founder Michael Hay, Professor of Management
Practice in Strategic and International Management and Entrepreneurship. Attendees also heard from John
Walker, Business Bridge Trustee, on Business Bridge's progress to date and areas for future growth; from
Stephen Anderson-Macdonald, PhD candidate at London Business School and fellow PI on the project, on
avenues for further research and collaboration with Business Bridge; and from Janine Titley, Business Bridge
Project Manager, on Business Bridge's growth plans and financial needs. This report summarises these
presentations, following the same five-part structure of the event.
Part I: Introduction to Business Bridge (Prof Michael Hay, London Business School)
Business Bridge was founded by Professor Michael Hay in 2009 after he served as Acting Dean of CIDA City
Campus in Johannesburg during his sabbatical in 2007. During his time at CIDA, a HEI that provides virtually
free undergraduate business education to historically disadvantaged youth, Michael came to understand that
the transformative power of business education is as relevant to grassroots entrepreneurs and small
business owners living in poor communities across the world as it is to entrepreneurs and executives of large
firms studying at London Business School. Despite this, high quality business education from institutes like
London Business School, and to some extent even initiatives like CIDA, remains inaccessible to many
grassroots entrepreneurs by virtue of cost or lack of local provision. Business Bridge emerged as a response
to this need, and is built on the premise that business education can be a powerful tool to overcome poverty
by building sustainable, employment-generating businesses. It does this by providing high quality, practical
business education at low cost on a mass scale, made possible through its unique three-part model:
(1) Course content and delivery: Business Bridge currently offers two courses, Making Sales
(sales/marketing) and Managing Money (finance/accounting). The courses are contextualised using
local, in-country examples to ensure the content is relevant to students. There is a strong emphasis
on the practical applicability of the material, which teaches participants to implement new, often
foundational, business practices to improve their business performance. The part-time course
structure (4 hours of in-class tutoring plus 3-4 hours of 'homework' per week over 8 weeks (per
course)) further allows students, all full-time business owners, to implement changes in their
businesses – and see the impact of those changes – as they go along.
(2) Tutors: Business Bridge courses are delivered pro bono by local business professionals who have a
strong desire to ‘give back’ in a way that leverages their expertise in a meaningful way. These
volunteers draw on their entrepreneurial, business school or corporate backgrounds to teach,
encourage and inspire Business Bridge participants, who find trainers’ experience and
understanding of the local business landscape very beneficial. Business Bridge’s tutors contribute to
the quality of the programme and enable Business Bridge to deliver its training at low cost.
(3) Channel Partners: Business Bridge works closely with local organisations to leverage existing
resources and further enhance the work they are doing to support entrepreneurship and small
business growth. Through Business Bridge’s Channel Partners, potential, nascent and established
entrepreneurs have access to advice, mentoring, consulting, workshops, IT resources and
entrepreneurial networking opportunities, for example. Business Bridge advertises its programme to
Channel Partners' clients, and delivers its training at the Channel Partner’s premises. These offices
are often based in underserved communities where grassroots entrepreneurs operate, thus reducing
the time entrepreneurs are away from their businesses and the opportunity cost of partaking in the
training programme. To date, Business Bridge has partnered with a combination of NGO,
governmental and academic institutions, including: The Business Place, TSiBA Education and the
Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in South Africa; Amicus Onlus in Ghana; and Project
Dharma and the Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology in India.

The Business Bridge programme is aimed at high growth-oriented micro and small entrepreneurs operating
in underserved communities in developing countries, where unemployment (and self-employment) is high
and access to business education is limited. By “high growth-oriented entrepreneurs”, we mean those who
not only run a business out of subsistence grounds (as the majority of the self-employed do), but also have
the motivation and potential to grow their businesses and create employment for others.
To date Business Bridge has provided training to over 700 entrepreneurs in South Africa, Ghana and India.
Pilot courses conducted in Ghana (2011) and India (2012) showed that there is a real need for Business
Bridge in these countries. However, since 2012 Business Bridge has decided to consolidate existing
resources and achieve national roll-out of its full programme in South Africa before expanding into other sub-
Saharan African countries, including Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda by mid-2015. Once the Business Bridge
model is fully established in these countries, the long-term plan is to return to India and access the Asian
market from there.
Part II: Presentation of Midline Results (Prof Rajesh Chandy, London Business School)
In 2011, Business Bridge was approached by Professor Rajesh Chandy and Stephen Anderson-Macdonald,
who wanted to find out more about the training model. The discussion centred on the possibility of
conducting a rigorous impact evaluation to examine whether the Business Bridge programme, and business
skills training in general, could improve the performance of micro enterprises and lead to firm growth. In
addition, they were interested in the differential impact of marketing skills versus finance skills on improving
firm outcomes (e.g. by increasing top-line, as opposed to bottom-line, revenue growth). The study would be a
randomised controlled trial (RCT), considered the gold standard of impact assessment evaluations and often
used in medical drug trials. With support from the World Bank, the project launched in June 2012, and in
November over 450 entrepreneurs completed a Business Bridge course in either marketing/sales or
finance/accounting.
Professor Chandy’s presentation started with a brief outline of why research into business skills training
programmes for micro entrepreneurs in emerging markets is of (academic) interest. The first reason has to
do with the sheer number of emerging market micro enterprises, and the potential of these firms to stimulate
economic growth. In developing countries, running a small business is one of the most common income-
generating activities amongst poor households (Collins et al. 2009). Indeed, in Africa, 80 per cent of the
labour force is self-employed (Fox and Sekkel 2007). The vast majority of these are micro entrepreneurs:
owners of small (most often informal) firms with five or fewer employees, often including family members or
seasonal workers. Besides sustaining their own households, these entrepreneurs provide important
products, services and employment in their communities. However, most of these micro enterprises do not
grow and scale up (Schoar 2010). With millions of tiny businesses on the one hand and only a handful of
large firms on the other, emerging markets are therefore experiencing a “Missing Middle” problem: an acute
lack of small and medium-sized enterprises that form the backbone of developed economies (OECD 2000)
(see Figure 1).
Figure 1. The “Missing Middle” problem
?

There is a growing literature on the barriers hindering micro-enterprise growth in emerging markets, and
existing recommendations suggest lifting constraints related to institutions (e.g. property rights, rule of law),
information (e.g. on registration, markets), financial capital (e.g. credit, savings, insurance) and human
capital (e.g. basic literacy, numeracy, health). More recently, academics have found that managerial capital –
the skills associated with the management of customers, money, operations and people within business (cf.
Bruhn, Karlan and Schoar 2010) – is another key constraint facing emerging market entrepreneurs (and
especially micro entrepreneurs). To date, only a handful of field studies have been conducted to measure the
impact of programmes aimed at enhancing the managerial capital of micro entrepreneurs. Though most
studies found that entrepreneurs implement new business practices, few studies could find a significant,
long-term effect on key business outcomes, including sales, profits and employment (see McKenzie and
Woodruff 2012 for a detailed review). Some of the challenges faced by these studies included the intensity of
the intervention, the relevance of the course content, heterogeneity of the study sample, small sample sizes,
low attendance rates and lack of engagement.
The second reason, then, to study business skills training for micro entrepreneurs is that there is still so
much to learn. Despite the lack of conclusive evidence that such programmes lead to long-term
improvements in business performance, business training is becoming an increasingly popular form of
support for small emerging market firms, and governments, NGOs and microfinance organisations are
spending large sums of money investing in these programmes (McKenzie and Woodruff 2012). On the other
hand, if these programmes can be proved to lead to increased productivity and firm growth, such micro-level
policy interventions could represent better value for money than, and should be prioritised above, costly aid
interventions at the macro level.
By addressing the above-mentioned limitations of prior research, this project aims to contribute to the
nascent literature and provide new insights on the role of managerial capital in stimulating enterprise growth
in emerging markets. The content and structure of the Business Bridge programme, as well as the quality of
the trainers, addressed the need for a strong intervention and promised to increase attendance rates through
the reduced opportunity cost to entrepreneurs of attending a part-time, flexible training programme (as
compared to a more condensed, one or two-week full-time training programme). In addition, the screening of
entrepreneurs allowed us to identify a more homogeneous sample of growth-oriented entrepreneurs (as
opposed to subsistence entrepreneurs, or a mix of both), which was expected to increase participant
engagement in the programme.
Between June and August, a local team of 15 Research Assistants approached approximately 10,000 micro
and small businesses in and around the greater Cape Town area in South Africa. Only those entrepreneurs
operating out of a physical structure (e.g. small shop, shipping container or larger retail space) were
approached; the accomplished challenge of securing a more established business location was taken as a
sign of higher motivation and greater growth potential than entrepreneurs operating from a mobile street
stand, cart or no location at all. Of these, 2,200 applied to the Business Bridge programme by completing a
40-minute screening survey, which asked questions about the business (e.g. duration in operation, start-up
capital needed, number of employees) and entrepreneur characteristics (e.g. age, level of education,
motivation for starting/running the business). Using these data, we identified 1,750 entrepreneurs with higher
levels of motivation and potential to grow their businesses. These entrepreneurs were invited to attend a
registration session in September, during which baseline data were collected. The 1,080 entrepreneurs who
attended these registration sessions made up our final sample. Figure 2 illustrates our sampling strategy.
Figure 3 shows the business sectors represented in our sample.
Once all baseline data had been collected, participants in our final sample (n=1,080) were randomly
assigned into one of three groups:
(1) Treatment 1: How to Win Sales
1
(marketing/sales) course (n=357)
(2) Treatment 2: Managing Money (finance/accounting) course (n=345)
(3) Control group: no training for 18 months (n=380)
1
Business Bridge’s sales and marketing course was initially developed by UK-based content developer Imparta,
and titled How to Win Sales. Since 2013, based on feedback collected from course participants, tutors and
Channel Partners, Business Bridge has redeveloped its sales and marketing course and re-named it Making
Sales.

Group sizes varied slightly because of the way that entrepreneurs were classified (e.g. male/female,
completed secondary education or not, etc.); this was necessary to ensure that there were no systemic
differences across groups that could later become confounding variables.
Figure 2. Sampling strategy
Figure 3: Business sectors of final sample
From October to November, participants in the treatment groups received training in one of five locations
across Cape Town (see Figure 4). Over these two months, approximately 30 volunteer tutors facilitated 25
unique classes (each with 20-25 participants) per week (400 classes in total). Appendix 1 shows a summary
of the course content for both How to Win Sales and Managing Money. The midline surveys were conducted
6 months after the training ended, in May and June 2013. Midline data were collected on 775 project
participants – roughly 72 per cent of the final sample. The interim results presented during the seminar
focussed on four key areas:
I. Attendance;
II. Participant satisfaction;
III. Business practices; and
IV. Business performance.

Figure 4. Map of training branches and business locations
I) Attendance
Unlike most other business training programmes evaluated to date, no monetary incentives were offered to
participants to attend classes (e.g. cash payments for each class attended, reimbursement of travel costs). In
fact, Business Bridge requires all of its participants to pay a small commitment fee of ZAR 150
(approximately GBP 10) to partake in the programme. In order to ensure and maintain high attendance rates,
participants were sent weekly SMS messages to remind them of class, and anyone absent was given a call.
Out of 702 entrepreneurs selected and scheduled to receive training, 64 per cent (449 entrepreneurs)
completed the minimum requirement of 6 or more classes. As is clear from Figure 5, attendance rates
between the two courses was more or less the same. Approximately 24 per cent (167 entrepreneurs) of
those scheduled to receive training never showed up; the completion rate among those who attended at
least one class, therefore, was approximately 84 per cent.
Figure 5. Attendance rates
Cape Town
Philippi
Khayelitsha
Pinelands
Bellville

II) Participant satisfaction
During the eighth and final class, participants were asked to complete a feedback form that asked questions
about their satisfaction with the Business Bridge programme (overall) and the content of the material, and
whether they would recommend the training to other entrepreneurs and small business owners. The
distribution of participant responses is illustrated in Figures 6-8. Participants were asked to rank their
satisfaction (or likelihood to recommend) from 1 to 7, with 1 being “not at all satisfied” (or “highly unlikely”)
and 7 being “completely satisfied” (or “highly likely”).
Figure 6. Response distribution for question: “Overall, how satisfied were you with your Business Bridge
experience?”
Figure 7. Response distribution for question: “How satisfied were you with the course content offered in your
Business Bridge programme?”
050100150200
Frequency
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Overall, how satisfied were you with your Business Bridge experience?
050100150200
Frequency
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How satisfied were you with the course content offered in your Business Bridge p

Figure 8. Response distribution for question: “How likely are you to recommend the Business Bridge course
to other entrepreneurs?”
Participants were also asked whether the course represented good value for time and money (the average
response was 6, “very high value”) and what they would be willing to pay for a future Business Bridge
course; on average, participants indicated that they would be willing to pay approximately ZAR1,000 (GBP
67) for another Business Bridge course.
III) Business practices
During the midline survey, participants were asked whether they had implemented, in the last 6 months, any
number of 40 different “business practices”. Half of these business practices were related to financial
management, e.g. separating business and personal finances, creating records to track business finances,
used business records to analyse business performance (e.g. most profitable products/services), etc. The
other half were business practices specific to marketing, e.g. conducted some market research, changed the
pricing of products/services, advertised the businesses, etc. Figure 9 shows the average number of business
practices (out of 40) implemented by each group. On average, those who received the Marketing course
implemented 2.3 more business practices than those who received no training, and those in the Finance
group 1.6 more. This result is statistically significant at the 10 per cent and 5 per cent significance level,
respectively.
The charts in Appendix 2 show the results for a selection of questions on both “finance practices” and
“marketing practices”. For all of the questions presented, a higher percentage of entrepreneurs who received
training responded ‘yes’ to the question than those who did not receive training. Furthermore, for those
questions related to financial management, a higher percentage of those who received the Finance training
responded ‘yes’ than those who received the Marketing training. Conversely, a higher proportion of those
who received the Marketing course responded ‘yes’ to questions specific to marketing practices than those
who received the Finance course. This suggests that there is a direct correlation between the training course
and business practices implemented, and that the training does influence entrepreneurs’ behaviour. These
data provide a better understanding of how changes in business performance (as presented next) are
achieved.
0100200300
Frequency
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How likely are you to recommend Business Bridge to other SMME owners or fellow e

Figure 9. Average number of business practices implemented out of 40
IV) Business performance
The main purpose of this research is to evaluate whether interventions like business skills training that
increase managerial capital can lead to sustained improvements in business performance (i.e., increased
productivity and growth) that in turn lead to higher social outcomes for entrepreneurs (e.g. investment in
food, education and health) and longer-term economic outcomes for poor communities and developing
economies (e.g. higher earnings, increased employment opportunities, economic growth). The key business
performance metrics that this study is therefore interested in measuring are: sales, profits and employment.
Due to the study design (randomised controlled trial), changes in business performance for enterprises in the
treatment groups (those who received training) can be measured in two ways. First, by measuring business
performance before and after the training interventions; that is the first difference. To ensure that changes in
business performance are not due to factors other than the training, however, we are also – if not more –
interested in the difference in business performance between those who received training and those who did
not receive training; this is called the difference-in-difference (see Figure 9). Given that the final sample of
1,080 consisted of a homogeneous group of growth-oriented entrepreneurs, and that groups were stratified
in such a way that entrepreneur and business characteristics were similar in each group, the control group
acts as a reliable benchmark against which changes in business performance brought about by the training
can be measured, as factors exogenous to the training intervention (e.g. macro-economic or policy shocks)
will be the same for both (treatment and control) groups. Consequently, as illustrated in Figure 11, we expect
to see no difference in business performance between the treatment and control groups prior to training.
After the training, we expect to see only modest change in business performance for those firms in the
control group, in line with macro-factors, such as the business cycle. However, we expect to see higher
sales, profits and employment for firms that received training as compared to (1) their own performance
before training and especially (2) the performance of firms in the control group.
Economic outcomes: Sales
Figures 12 and 13 show changes in sales before and after training was provided (first difference) and
between those who received training and those who did not (difference-in-difference), respectively. Sales
figures increased for those who received the Marketing course (25%), but decreased for those who received
no training (-9%) and for those who received the Finance course (-25%). This suggests that the marketing-
related business practices implemented by those who received the Marketing course (as discussed above;
see also figures 4.1 to 6.2 in Appendix 2) led to improved performance in these entrepreneurs’ sales.
Conversely, the decrease in sales for entrepreneurs who received the Finance could be due to participants’
spending more time implementing financial controls in their businesses (and less time making sales) or
because more accurate records of finances are being kept (as compared to those in the Marketing and
Control groups – as per figure 2.1 in Appendix 2).
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Finance Control Sales & Marketing

Figure 10. Measuring impact in randomised controlled trial studies
Economic outcomes: Profits
Figures 14 and 15 show the first difference and the difference-in-difference changes in profits, respectively.
While profits increased for all three groups (150% for the Marketing group, 108% for the Control group and
294% for the Finance group), the increases were higher for those who received training than for those who
did not receive training. For those who received the Marketing course, this is increase in profitability is due to
higher sales achieved during this period. The increase in profits for those in the Finance treatment, despite
an overall drop in sales, are due to improvements in the bottom line, including improvements in stock control,
changing supply chain, better cash flow and optimum staffing levels.
Economic outcomes: Employment
While the effect of new business practices on firm sales and profits can be captured in the short-term (i.e. 6
months), changes in employment are longer-term effects that are most likely to be reflected only after a year,
or perhaps more. In addition, between baseline and midline data collection there were inconsistencies in the
way that full-time and part-time employees were defined/explained; part of the reason for this is explained
below. Consequently, the data on employment are, unfortunately, not very reliable and therefore meaningful
comparisons cannot be made until inconsistencies have been cleared up and/or the endline data becomes
available.
In summary, the midline data presented show that entrepreneurs valued the training, are implementing
taught business practices and are starting to see improvements in their business performance, particularly
their firm profitability. Cautious optimism suggests that the Business Bridge training has been effective at
incurring a number of positive changes; for example, encouraging the adoption of new business behaviours
related to each course, which, in the case of the Marketing group led to higher sales, and in the case of the
Finance group led to increases in profits despite notable decreases in sales. Though it is too early to provide
definitive evidence on the link between business skills and firm growth, a number of conclusions can be
drawn from the patterns already evident in these data. First, solving the “Missing Middle” problem is not only
about macro solutions and money. Business skills (that is, managerial capital) and programmes that increase
business skills, like Business Bridge, can make a difference in the performance of micro enterprises, and
therefore play an important role in tackling poverty and stimulating economic growth. Second, by harnessing
the aspirations of entrepreneurs to achieve self-improvement, programmes like Business Bridge challenge
assumptions about a “culture of poverty” and the belief that it is the mind-set of the poor that keep them from
moving forward. Third, if micro entrepreneurs can be equipped to help themselves, then the economic
inequality and social polarisation that plagues many emerging markets, not least South Africa, may not be
inevitable. However, much like “it takes a village to raise a child”, so, too, it is the responsibility of a
community of people to train and nurture entrepreneurs and create the conditions for their success. Through
its involvement of individual volunteers, partnering NGOs, government agencies, corporate sponsors and
private donors, Business Bridge models this community and creates a ‘global village’ aimed at supporting
entrepreneurs grow.

Figure 11. Changes in sales (first difference)
Figure 13. Changes in profits (first difference)
Figure 12. Changes in sales (difference-in-difference)
Figure 14. Changes in profits (difference-in-difference)
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Part III: Business Bridge Progress and Plans (John Walker, Business Bridge)
In October 2013 John travelled to South Africa to review Business Bridge’s progress over the last 18
months since the research project launched. He visited Johannesburg, where Business Bridge was
facilitating training for 36 entrepreneurs,
2
before meeting with Tom Parry, CEO (South Africa), and
Danielle Geddes, Financial Manager, at Business Bridge South Africa’s headquarters in Cape Town.
During the seminar, John shared his observations on Business Bridge’s current strengths, areas for
improvement and next steps in four main areas: course content, the tutor model, monitoring and
evaluation (M&E), and technology.
Course content
The Business Bridge materials have a clear focus on practical applicability. It uses strong, pragmatic
theory equivalent to the procedures, policies and methods in business, and it attempts to embed
behaviour change through relevant application exercises that entrepreneurs complete both in-class and
in their own time. Currently, however, the application is clunky, and getting entrepreneurs to implement
and adopt new business behaviours, though improving, remains a challenge. To see greater results, the
courses should focus on fewer behavioural changes and better implementation.
The course structure has great potential; the Sales & Marketing course can lead to the development of
a marketing plan, and the Finance & Accounting course to a finance plan. However, entrepreneurs with
a strong growth focus, as those who participate in the Business Bridge training, need the operational
skills to scale their businesses in a way that does not do more harm than good. Business reform can be
difficult and sensitive; HR and project management skills are essential in ensuring that entrepreneurs
make decisions that not only stimulate short-term growth, but also secure longer-term growth through
appropriate management of people, projects and resources. Therefore, in order to contextualise the
course content within the entrepreneur and business journey, elements of HR, project management and
strategy must be incorporated into the existing courses.
Finally, as Business Bridge considers its own growth, another strength appears to be the cross-country
adaptability of the material. This is partly due to the material catering for the majority of Business
Bridge’s participants who run business-to-customer (B2C) firms; there are a few who service supply
chains, and only a small number are in manufacturing. Content aimed at business-to-business (B2B)
firms might be more challenging to adapt from one country to the next, though Business Bridge’s
expansion into another country will prove this. In the meantime, there is merit in including a little bit more
on B2B for those entrepreneurs already working with, or intending to work with, business clients.
In summary, the Business Bridge materials can be greatly improved if refined to focus on embedding
fewer, better implemented business behaviours; if contextualised in a holistic business journey by
including elements of HR, project management and strategy; and somewhat expanded to cater for
those entrepreneurs with a B2B focus.
Tutors
One of the unique features of the Business Bridge model is that it draws highly skilled individuals from
all backgrounds to tutor groups of 15-20 grassroots entrepreneurs. Naturally, some of these volunteers
do better than others. The first ‘next step’ for Business Bridge, therefore, is to define what makes a good
tutor. Over time, it has become clear that the role of a Business Bridge tutor is – or should be – much
more about facilitating than lecturing. Currently, too many tutors pitch to the middle of the group; the
best are not stretched, and the weakest cannot keep up, so they eventually lose interest. Facilitation (or
coaching) gets the entrepreneur to do the heavy lifting, and enables the tutor to create opportunities for
all levels to engage. In order to become good facilitators, however, tutors will need appropriate training
and support. This training and support platform is the second ‘next step’ that Business Bridge will need
to develop to ensure that entrepreneurs are receiving the best training possible.
2
This training was sponsored by LegalWise, a large South African corporation that provides legal services to
members, predominantly based in low-income communities, at an affordable cost. Business Bridge aims to
continue tapping into the resources of large corporations made available through the government’s Broad-
Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) scheme, which requires companies to spend 3% of post-tax
profits on small business development initiatives.

Providing training in facilitation/coaching to tutors further increases the benefit they get out of
volunteering with Business Bridge. Beyond the existing benefits of ‘giving back’, generating ideas,
gaining market insights and potential sales or supply leads, Business Bridge could become a vehicle
through which professionals receive training and experience in facilitation/coaching skills. This could
represent considerable value to individual professionals as well as corporate managers (e.g. through
learning and development), which Business Bridge should examine as a potential source of sustainable
revenue for the future.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Currently, Business Bridge’s M&E activities consist of the data collection conducted by the research
team as part of the external impact evaluation. The surveys are well designed to be iterative and self-
checking, and the process of capturing these data is also a revelation to the entrepreneurs. In many
ways, these data are akin to business management information that can be used by the entrepreneurs
to make strategic business decisions. Once the study is over, Business Bridge’s M&E surveys should be
extended to further understand entrepreneurs’ needs, problems and appetite for further courses, and
the efficiency and functionality for entrepreneurs must be optimised through a technology-based user
interface.
Beside the surveys, the surveyors themselves have a potential role to play in further supporting the
development of these small enterprises. In conducting surveys with a multitude of small business
owners, the M&E team gains valuable insight into the challenges faced by these grassroots
entrepreneurs; they start to understand the opportunities, risks and successes that come with running a
small business in underserved areas of South Africa. This knowledge can be leveraged to mentor and
share information between entrepreneurs. If formalised, such a ‘business support network’ (BSN) can
be used not only to provide additional benefit to existing Business Bridge students or alumni, but also to
recruit more entrepreneurs to take part in the training programme.
Technology
Business Bridge has always considered technology an important tool to engage its entrepreneurs. This
was initially done through online course content in the original marketing course, How to Win Sales.
However, these video tutorials were content-heavy and inconvenient, thus less popular with students
than initially expected. Business Bridge’s technology strategy must enhance its customer relationship
management by engaging with existing and potential students throughout their Business Bridge journey.
And it must do so in a way that suits their technology needs and uses. The How to Win Sales online
content relied on entrepreneurs’ having access to desktop computers or PCs. In South Africa, however,
as in most of Africa, the adoption of mobile phones (and increasingly smartphones) has far overtaken
that of computers. Business Bridge, too, must adopt mobile as an important and powerful way to
provide end user services to its entrepreneurs. In addition, Business Bridge must update its course
content to include the use of mobile and technology in Marketing and Sales.
In the last eighteen months since the launch of the research project, Business Bridge developed
relationships with five local Channel Partner organisations; recruited over 40 volunteer tutors; trained
over 500 entrepreneurs; re-developed one of its courses in response to tutor and participant feedback
and developed relationships with a number of local (South African) donors. In 2014, Business Bridge
looks forward to a year of continued growth and improvement. Together with its partners – including
Channel Partner organisations, volunteer tutors, donors and those involved in the research – Business
Bridge aims to continue refining its course content, strengthen its tutor model, develop a robust in-house
M&E model and build a technology platform that will allow it to deliver more relevant, robust and
effective training to grassroots entrepreneurs across South Africa.
Part IV: Building on the Research (Stephen Anderson Macdonald, London Business
School)
Looking towards the future, Stephen briefly presented his vision for building on the learning, successes
and momentum of the project in South Africa to scale up and conduct further research on small

enterprise growth across Africa. The aim of this research, over the next 3-4 years, is to Stimulate
Inclusive Growth by examining the impact of training, technology and further enterprise development
support for 10,000 transformative entrepreneurs across Africa. Not unlike the Goldman Sachs 10,000
Small Businesses initiative,
3
this project’s ultimate objective is to accelerate economic growth and
employment creation by helping micro and small businesses scale up.
Figure 15 shows a map of those countries targeted for the research. The research will be staggered,
starting with 5,000 entrepreneurs in the first two years (2014-2016) in Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, South
Africa and Ghana (indicated in red on the map). The project will be conducted in two phases, briefly
outlined below.
Phase 1: Screening, Training and Technology
During phase one, the focus of the research will be on providing training and technology to 1,000
growth-oriented entrepreneurs in each country.
i) Screening: in order to identify 1,000 growth-oriented entrepreneurs, 10,000 entrepreneurs in
each country will be screened using the same Growth Orientation survey employed during the
current South Africa project. This will ensure that the 1,000 entrepreneurs selected have the
ambition and the potential to grow their firms (i.e. they are not subsistence entrepreneurs) and
are therefore most likely to benefit from the project.
ii) Training: once the 1,000 growth-oriented entrepreneurs have been identified, they will be
provided with the full Business Bridge training programme, including the updated Marketing and
Sales and Finance and Accounting courses. This training will build their managerial capital and
prepare them for additional enterprise development support, e.g. access to finance, consulting
and markets.
iii) Technology: the technology element of this research is an easy-to-use information
communication technology (ICT) tool that will allow the entrepreneurs to record, track and
analyse performance data about their businesses. This business management information will
allow the entrepreneurs to make strategic decisions based on their monthly business
performance.
Phase 2: Additional enterprise development support
With higher managerial capital and access to management information about their businesses, the
1,000 growth-oriented entrepreneurs identified and trained through phase one will be better placed to
leverage and benefit from further enterprise development support, e.g. business financing or in-depth
consulting. Working with existing research and programme partners, phase two will consist of a
randomised controlled trial in each of the five countries listed above to evaluate the impact of other
programmes aimed at helping micro and small emerging market enterprises grow. In South Africa, for
example, Edge Growth (www.edgegrowth.com) provides customised financing to small and medium-
sized enterprises, including a combination of loans, equity and business development support. In
Ghana, an innovative savings-loan product has been developed that ties entrepreneurs’ investments, ex
ante, to a productive firm asset of their choice. In Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda, Grow Movement
(www.growmovement.org) connects micro and small-sized entrepreneurs with remote volunteer
consultants working in the UK, the USA, India and Israel (amongst others) via Skype, email and
telephone. Over a 3-6 month period, the entrepreneur and consultant identify key objectives to improve
and growth the entrepreneur’s business.
The primary aim of this research is to evaluate whether high-growth potential entrepreneurs can be
identified, and what support services are effective at helping them improve their business performance
3
The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (http://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-
businesses/UK/index.html) is an initiative in the United States and United Kingdom that aims to spur economic growth
and job creation by providing entrepreneurs with better access to training, capital and business support services. A
similar, global initiative, called 10,000 Women, focuses on supporting female entrepreneurs around the world grow the
businesses.

to scale up from micro to small and medium-sized enterprises. Enterprise development is an
increasingly popular policy option to stimulate economic and social development. However, as pointed
out before, there is little evidence to date that any of these programmes, on their own, lead to sustained
improvements in firm performance. Through this research, we aim to develop a functional and effective
model for screening, identifying, training and supporting transformative micro and small emerging
market enterprises to grow their businesses, create jobs and drive economic growth in their
communities, their regions and their countries.
Figure 15. Countries targeted for research
Part V: Funding our Growth (Janine Titley, Business Bridge)
To conclude, Janine spoke briefly about some of Business Bridge’s plans and funding requirements for
2014. Building on the success of the Impact Evaluation, Business Bridge aims to provide training to
1000 entrepreneurs across Cape Town at a cost of GBP 327,325 (£218 per course place). Appendix 3
shows a copy of the one-page project outline that was distributed during the seminar, providing further
details of the logistics behind administering such an ambitious project.
The reverse side of the project proposal in Appendix 3 (page 26 of this document) tells the story of
Sivuyile Bokwe, a Business Bridge participant from early 2012 who spoke about his Business Bridge
experience at his graduation ceremony. Sivuyile’s story illustrates how Business Bridge aims to tackle
poverty through business education: by giving driven entrepreneurs the knowledge, skills and
confidence they need to build their businesses and create jobs in their communities. Through this
project, Business Bridge aims to continue creating opportunities for entrepreneurs like Sivuyile to
develop their skills, equipping them with the tools to grow their firms. In turn, these entrepreneurs can
create new employment opportunities for people in their communities, as well as more secure
employment for existing employees. Finally, this project is an opportunity for Business Bridge’s partners
Ghana
Malawi
Rwanda
Uganda
South
Africa
Nigeria
Zambia
Kenya
Mozambique
Botswana

– including volunteer tutors, Channel Partner organisations and donors – to share their time, their skills,
their facilities and their resources to invest in a long term, sustainable solution to poverty: entrepreneurs.
-Report prepared 7 January 2014
There are a number of ways of getting involved with Business Bridge:
• By becoming a tutor / introducing us to potential tutors
• By becoming a Channel Partner / introducing us to potential Channel Partners
• By donating / introducing us to potential funders
To get in touch, or for more information, contact Tom Parry, CEO, Business Bridge (South
Africa):
Email: tparry@thebusinessbridge.org
Tel: +27 (0) 71 156 3605

References:
Bruhn, Miriam, Dean Karlan, and Antoinette Schoar (2010). “What Capital is Missing in Developing
Countries?” American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 100:2, 629-633.
Collins, Daryl, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, Orlanda Ruthven (2009). Portfolios of the Poor:
How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day, Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ.
Fox, Louise and Melissa Sekkel (2006). “Work in Progress: Job Creation and the Quality of Growth in
Africa.” The World Bank: Washington.
OECD (2000). “Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Local Strength, Global Reach.” Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development Policy Brief, June 2000.

Appendix 1: Business Bridge course content
Table 1. How to Win Sales
Module Topics covered
1 What is value? Buyers' experiences; value; tangible vs. intangible value; price vs.
value; the buying cycle; communicating vs. creating value; core sales
behaviours
2 Finding needs and
solutions
Different buyer roles; sweet spot; needs vs. wants; finding customer
needs; discovering business capabilities
3 Matching solutions
and making contact
Finding other opportunities; prioritising opportunities; setting
objectives and opening a call; rapport; body language
4 Listening deeply and
questioning skilfully
Listening vs. hearing; listening to content vs. context; asking the right
questions (e.g. information-, clarifying-, ‘pain’- or ‘gain’ questions)
5 Helping customers
make the right choice
Understanding customers' buying criteria; the value map; value
winners, killers and sleepers
6 Handling questions
and concerns
Understanding objections; steps for dealing with objections,
questions, queries
7 Delivering on
promises
Customer expectations; after sale responsibilities; customer's post-
purchase experience
8 Bringing it all
together
Consolidation of learning and recap of course
Table 2. Managing Money
Module Topics covered
1 Financial jargon The money flow; introducing financial jargon: liability, equity, revenue
(money FROM) and expenses, assets (money TO)
2 Recording business
transactions
The sales process; transaction flow; the balance of accounts; debits
and credits; depreciation; transaction vs. cash flow
3 Reporting on the
business
Explaining financial statements: income statement and balance
sheet; asset types (current, non-current, owner's equity);
4 Cost structures Explaining costs; cost classifications; costing; opportunity costs
5 Analysing business
and financial
decisions
Making comparisons (against competitors, against historical
performance); interpreting key ratios (profitability, liquidity, solvency)
6 Budgeting Understanding the importance of budget; constructing a budget;
analysing budget vs. actual spend; monitoring variances
7 Cash flow Understanding cash flows; cash vs. profit; predicting cash flows;
working capital; debtors age analysis
8 Funding your growth Setting business goals; understanding different funding options;
assessing financial needs; getting a bank loan

Appendix 2: Business Practices
Figure 1.1 “In the last 6 months, I have kept my business finances separate from my personal
finances.”
Figure 1.2 Percentage results Treatment versus Control groups
55.56%
44.44%
60.66%
39.34%
62.94%
37.06%
Finance Sales & Marketing
Control
No Yes
Graphs by Treatment/Control Assignment
19.91%
6.15%
Finance (Relative to Control) Marketing (Relative to Control)

Figure 2.1 “In the last 6 months, I have created business records (written or electronic) to track my
business finances.”
55.16%
44.84%
69.96%
30.04%
73.43%
26.57%
Control
No Yes
68.76%
13.06%

Figure 3.1 “In the last 6 months, I have used my business records to check which product/service
makes me the most profit per item sold.”
63.1%
36.9%
69.55%
30.45%
76.57%
23.43%
Control
No Yes
57.49%
30.13%

Figure 4.1 “In the last 6 months, I have asked existing customers if there are any other
products/services they would like my business to sell or produce.”
41.27%
58.73%
34.43%
65.57%
41.61%
58.39%
Control
No Yes
0.58%
12.30%

Figure 5.1 “In the last 6 months, I have advertised my business in any form (e.g. flyers, posters,
billboards, street signs, radio ads, online, social media, etc.).”
62.7%
37.3%
59.84%
40.16%
66.43%
33.57%
Control
No Yes
11.11%
19.63%

Figure 6.1 “In the last 6 months, I have changed the pricing of my products/services to increase
sales.”
57.94%
42.06%
54.92%
45.08%
59.44%
40.56%
Control
No Yes
3.70%
11.14%

Appendix 3: Project Plan and Budget for 2014 Roll-out in Cape Town

Business Bridge Seminar Report 18th November 2013

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