Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: What Works

This paper presents findings from a comprehensive literature review focused on women-owned and led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs). Structured around the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative’s Theory of Change, it synthesizes evidence across four key areas—finance, skills and networks, markets and technology, and the enabling environment— highlighting both what we know and where evidence gaps remain. Its main contribution is a conceptual and dynamic mapping of the literature, classifying the strength and direction of evidence across interventions.