Role models or individual consulting: The impact of personalizing micro-entrepreneurship training

Using a randomized experiment in Chile, we study the impact role models have in the context of a training program for micro-entrepreneurs. We show that being in a group randomly chosen to be visited by a successful alumnus of the program increases household income one year after, mostly due to increased business participation and business income. We also randomized the provision of personalized "consulting sessions" vis-à-vis group sessions, and observe similar effects on income, with the role model intervention being significantly more cost-effective and better suited for less experienced businesses.