Matching grants are one of the most common types of private sector development programs used in developing countries. Matching grants consist of partial subsidies, typically 50 percent, provided by government programs to try to spur firms to undertake innovative activities.
This study is a randomized experiment testing the impact of matching grants for business development services in the Republic of Yemen. The program provided firms with a matching grant of up to $10,000 as a 50 percent subsidy towards the cost of business services like finance and accounting systems, website creation, training, marketing, participation in exhibitions, and some associated goods such as office and IT equipment. The program was intended to run in two annual rounds, aimed to provide grants for business development services to 400 enterprises, 200 in each of two years.
The program was launched in August 2013 and widely advertised through a 45-day campaign. Firms applied between October 1, 2013 and December 26, 2013. The first year of the program took place in 2014, but due to civil conflict outbreak in late March and early April 2015, the second year of the program was cancelled. The dataset documented here is based on the first round.