Innovation meets evidence: Emerging insights on inclusive MSME growth

As innovation-focused projects across Africa and Asia near completion, new findings are shedding light on how inclusive, evidence-based strategies can better support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).  

Funded by IDRC and carried out by researchers based in Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal, Bangladesh and Nepal, the set of seven projects sought to understand the effectiveness of government-supported innovation programs and what could be done to strengthen their impact. 

A recurring theme for the teams is the structural and systemic barriers that hinder equitable participation in innovation ecosystems. These include limited access to early-stage financing and enabling technologies, which are challenges that disproportionately affect women, youth and persons with disabilities. 

Gender equity emerged as a particularly urgent area, with findings pointing to persistent gaps in technology adoption and readiness. These disparities are often rooted in deeper social norms related to women’s role in science, technology and manufacturing, as well as a lack of targeted training opportunities. 

Building stronger institutions through evidence 

Another major insight from the projects is the critical role of data and monitoring in shaping responsive innovation policies. Researchers emphasized that many innovation agencies and program managers lack the capacity to conduct robust monitoring and evaluation, which limits their ability to adapt and improve programs. 

To address this, several project teams are working to strengthen gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation systems and build institutional capacity — not just for MSMEs but also for the public bodies that support them.  

The work of the newly launched Innovation Agencies in Africa (IAA) Network has been of interest to researchers working on innovation within MSMEs. Spanning across 14 countries, the IAA Network speaks to the pivotal role of innovation agencies in bridging public policy with private sector and academic capacities. Rapid technological advancements and pressing issues like climate change demand homegrown, globally competitive solutions, which innovation agencies could be well-positioned to tackle.  

Such cross-border efforts are helping to position innovation agencies as central players in inclusive development. And collaboration across research initiatives is helping connect different stakeholders with relevant evidence to inform and continue to shape local innovation ecosystems.  

The Evidence for Innovation Workshop 

These insights were recently brought into focus at the Evidence for Innovation (E4I) Workshop, held in May 2025 in Accra, Ghana. 

Hosted by the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-STEPRI) in collaboration with IDRC, the workshop served as a key milestone for researchers and policymakers from the 14 countries to reflect on progress and share lessons from ongoing IDRC-funded projects. 

The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to turning inclusive innovation from a policy aspiration into a practical reality. This means embedding equity into every stage of innovation policy and program design, strengthening institutional frameworks and ensuring that support reaches those who need it most. 

As these projects wrap up, they are laying the foundation for innovation ecosystems that are not only competitive, but also inclusive, sustainable and transformative. 

Learn more about the E4I research projects. 

Contributor: Matilda Dipieri, knowledge sharing officer, IDRC.