Finding talented managers is a critical challenge for entrepreneurs everywhere, but it is especially difficult in emerging economies. To help overcome this hurdle, the Argidius Foundation and the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) launched a talent challenge to help identify, attract and retain middle- and senior-level managers prepared to guide these dynamic firms.
Five organisations were selected to test their prototype solutions to help in either the recruitment, development or retention of management talent (or a combination of all three).
These organisations are: Amani Institute, Creative Metier, Open Capital Advisors, Shortlist and Village Capital. Each organisation received 200K euro against an agreed set of KPIs that were monitored and then evaluated over a 30-month period.
Key findings
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Outsourcing talent solutions to high-quality organisations saves time and delivers results.
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Charging for services from the very start of a program helps identify the right Small and Growing Business (SGB) segment, focuses attention on creating customer value, and creates a path to sustainability.
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Established businesses and business leaders may get stuck in their ways. Evolving contexts, competitors threaten their businesses. They may need succession planning or have a desire to grow but don’t know how. Established businesses need to change, but they need help to do so.
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Can addressing talent as a solution stand on its own? Or does it become sidelined as an issue when strategy and finance seem to be the pressing issues? Linking talent to strategy and finance is the way to convince SGBs of the importance and value of investing in talent solutions.
Each of these four findings is the subject of a one-page case study which can be downloaded below. We also invite you to read the article Talent Challenges Can Inhibit Growth But Solutions Are Possible (Caren Holzman/Inclusive Business, 2019).
