The Promise of Shared Platforms for the Microenterprise Industry
Many organizations are thinking about how to deliver financial and technical support to micro and small businesses more efficiently. How can advancing technology help these organizations increase the impact of their work?
In a series of reports, “The Promise of Shared Platforms for the Microenterprise Industry,” Joyce Klein and Alan Okagaki begin to explore how technology can be leveraged for greater impact in the microenterprise industry. Shared platforms are technology-based structures that provide tools or services to enhance the capacity of players in an industry. In recent years, new technology and business models have led to the creation of many more shared platforms for the microenterprise industry.
The reports in the series provide lessons on shared platforms for three audiences:
- organizations interested in using shared platforms,
- funders looking to support these organizations, and
- creators of shared platforms.
The reports are designed to help organizations, funders, and developers consider how shared platforms can be wielded to increase the impact of the microenterprise field, helping more people connect to economic opportunities through micro and small business ownership.
We are grateful to Sam’s Club Giving Program and Northwest Area Foundation for their support of this important work.
