Agenda & Session Blurbs | Original Call for Papers | We-Fi Research Agenda
CALL FOR PAPERS
You are invited to submit a paper to the Research Conference on Accelerating Growth for Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Economies, jointly organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Group, World Bank Group, American University, Imperial College London, and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
The conference aims to promote new research and evidence on entrepreneurship, with a focus on women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs), start-ups, and micro-enterprises with growth potential. Papers using sex-disaggregated data are particularly encouraged.
In addition to academic sessions, the conference will feature a keynote address by Seema Jayachandran, Kenneth J. Boudreaux ’65 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Policy-oriented sessions will provide a platform for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to network and discuss the application of research findings to project design and implementation. These discussions will strengthen the connection between research and policy, helping to generate new evidence and define key objectives and milestones for the future.
Papers are welcome on the following (non-exhaustive) list of topics:
- Firm entry, growth, and job creation
- Access to finance
- Blended finance, digital finance, and fintech
- Business training and bundled services
- Access to markets and technology
- Enabling environment (policies, laws, regulations, norms)
- Systemic change and the importance of sex-disaggregated data on financing for SMEs
- Finance and entrepreneurship in conflict zones and natural disasters
- Entrepreneurship and time use in the care economy
The conference will be held at EBRD Headquarters, 5 Bank St, London, E14 4BG, United Kingdom. Accommodation expenses will be covered for speakers and discussants according to the rules of the CEPR. The conference will begin at 9:00 am on February 1, 2027 and conclude by 5:00 pm on February 2, 2027. An invitation-only conference dinner will be held on February 1. Accommodation expenses will be covered for speakers and discussants according to the rules of the CEPR.
Organizing and Scientific Committee
J. Michelle Brock (EBRD & Imperial College of London)
Ralph De Haas (EBRD & KU Leuven)
Francesco Loiacono (EBRD & Imperial College London)
Felicia Siegrist (We-Fi)
Miriam Bruhn (World Bank)
Sonia Plaza (World Bank)
Diego Ubfal (World Bank)
Patricia Yañez-Pagans (IDB Invest)
Simon Quinn (Imperial College London, CEPR)
Maddalena Ronchi (Kellogg School of Management)
Pedro Rosa Dias (Imperial College London)
Selim Gulesci (Trinity College Dublin)
Agustin Hurtado (University of Maryland)
Camille Hebert (University of Toronto)
Lakshmi Naaraayanan (London Business School)
Ramana Nanda (Imperial College London)
Jennifer Poole (American University)
Silvia Prina (Northeastern University)
Karmini Sharma (Imperial College London)
Andreas Madestam (Stockholm University)
