How we work
Delivering on our shared mission.
We partner with more than 75 organisations delivering high-quality business support programmes in one or more of four focus countries – Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya and Uganda.
The size and reach of our partner organisations varies. Some partners work in one country only. Some work in many. Some are larger and more established. Some are smaller and newer.
Our shared mission - and global ambition - is to support entrepreneurs to sustain and grow their businesses, create jobs and contribute to their communities. We deliver this, between us, through the provision of business support programmes locally and regionally and by sharing the learning about ‘what works?’ from our partner programmes, globally.
Our working relationship
We work hard to build and sustain close working relationships with our partners, with regular contact through catch-up calls, formal reporting and physical and virtual site visits. Our hope is for close and fruitful partnerships.
All Argidius team members are involved in supporting our partnerships in some way. We really value our strong relationships and open and regular lines of communication with partners. Our official working languages are English and Spanish.
Monitoring and reporting
During the course of our partnership, we will work with you to collect and study the evidence and data – both quantitative and qualitative – that your programme generates. Our robust reporting and evaluation process is crucial to generate credible and authoritative learning about what works in enterprise development support.
Partners generally report once or twice per year, in February and/or August, although some report more frequently.
All partners can expect to participate in a formal, independent evaluation at least once during our partnership. The findings and learnings help to improve impact across our entire network, around the world.
Grantee perceptions
We welcome partners to share their feedback about working with us, to better understand your challenges and needs.
In 2024, we commissioned a Grantee Perception Report in collaboration with Porticus, conducted by the Centre for Effective Philanthropy. The survey collected feedback from 40 existing partners about our partnership and support.
Co-funding and collaboration
How we work with other funders and learning networks.
Achieving more together
Bringing together donors offers the opportunity to share funding, networks and lessons, leading to larger-scale change and longer-lasting impact. For this reason, we regularly take part in funding and learning collaborations with a broad mix of partners and with global reach. We really feel that our network is our strength.
We are an active member of the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), a participant in the ANDE funders group, and an active member of the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA). We also participate in informal networks, communities of practice, and on the advisory boards of collaborative initiatives.
Our shared research question
What helps – or prevents – small business growth in emerging economies?
When conditions are right, ambitious, entrepreneur-led small and medium-sized businesses grow, with the potential to create new, meaningful jobs. Many factors influence their success from the business climate, access to finance and investment opportunities, leadership and commercial skills to the training and retention of managerial talent as businesses grow.
We work jointly with other funders and learning partners, sponsoring new research, as well as funding and evaluating innovations in practice, to find out more about which support best helps entrepreneurs scale their businesses.
New areas for collaborative research
We take part in learning collaborations where we believe we can improve the sectoral evidence base, generate useful findings and support BSOs to apply new knowledge in actual business environments. We are proud to be part of the ANDE-hosted Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI), The SGB Evidence Fund, Small Firm Diaries, the Innovation Growth Lab and the Collaboration for Frontier Finance (CFF).
Our research agenda, and that of our partners, is driven by questions including:
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How can the cost-effectiveness of support be improved?
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Where relevant, how can online training be delivered effectively?
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Which services are most effective for specific accelerator participants?
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Which services could entrepreneurs pay for, and where is subsidy required?
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What is the impact of small business growth on household and community level poverty and how does the cost-effectiveness compare to alternative poverty alleviation approaches?
Working collaboratively with other funders
An important learning from recent joint projects is that collaborative approaches do not always need to be grand or complicated to have an impact.
One very simple but effective tool we have successfully used is to share reporting between co-funders of a programme. This meant that participating business support organisations only had to report once, allowing them to dedicate more time and energy to support entrepreneurs.
We are always open to discussing opportunities to work jointly with other funders on projects and initiatives which speak to our mutual aims and goals. We welcome you to get in touch with your ideas.
For Argidius, partnerships take different forms: through our work with partners and co-funding and collaboration. They are fundamental to achieving our aims. We take great care in identifying the right partnerships to help get the best outcomes for entrepreneurs and their small and medium-sized businesses.
