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Our Mission

To advance urban value chain development and help millions of people work their way out of poverty.

Our Work

By 2008, for the first time in history, over half of the world’s population will live in cities. One in three urban residents currently lives in a slum—a billion people, a sixth of the world’s population. How can the resources of today’s cities be harnessed to reduce poverty?

How can you get involved?

Learning grants have already been awarded, but we hope you will join our network and learn with us about critical issues in enterprise development.

• Join the Global Enterprise Development Network
• Sign up for the Enterprise Development Exchange Online Community
• Access and post key publications, learning tools, and announcements; network through our profiles, learn and contribute to global learning by engaging in ad hoc discussions and on-line conferences with expert facilitators.
• Extra benefit for SEEP Network Members: help steer global directions in enterprise development through the Enterprise Development Strategy Team.
• Participate in learning groups with leading global practitioners – pick a theme!

The Value Initiative facilitates:

• A Global Enterprise Development Network
• A practitioner learning program (PLP) on Urban Value Chain Development

Voluntary members are invited to participate.

Global Enterprise Development Network
The SEEP Network provides a forum and voice for practitioners to strengthen a global enterprise development movement. The Value Initiative is expanding the SEEP network’s role in helping practitioners to contribute to global directions in enterprise development. Here’s how:

• Facilitating an open, on-line platform bringing different communities of practice together to advance sustainable enterprise development, the Enterprise Development Exchange.
• Expanding SEEP Network membership to include more leading practitioners based around the globe.
• Engaging with and supporting emerging enterprise development networks and associations based in developing countries to link more practitioners through a global network.
• Establishing a “strategy team” as a forum for practitioners to assess the state of enterprise development, and develop and advance a common vision for the field, and for the SEEP Network.

To explore this network further, contact Mary McVay, Director of the Value Initiative

Urban Value Chain Development Practitioner Learning Program
The Value Initiative is supporting four consortia of practitioners with 3-year $400,000-$700,000 grants to:

• Conduct demonstration urban value chain development programs
• Build their capacity for urban value chain development
• Document and disseminate practitioner learning, and form a regionally based learning hub and/or enterprise development association
• Learning around business planning for sustainability and scale-up

Learning Initiatives
The Value Initiative brings practitioners together to explore experiences and tools that help us all conduct more effective enterprise development. SEEP members and other practitioners are invited to participate on a voluntary basis in Value Initiative learning groups. Contribute based on your level of expertise, interest and availability. Learning themes include:

Improving Value Chain Development

• Scaling up to reach millions, sustainably
• Mobilizing investment to expand local industries and support programs
• Measuring and improving impact

Developing Urban Value Chains

• Urban Value Chain Development, our over-arching theme
• Urban value chain finance
• Enhancing microenterprise benefits from large, informal sector value chains
• Improving working conditions in large, informal sector value chains
• Rural-Urban Linkages
• Effective government involvement in value chain development

Reaching and Serving Urban Populations

• Reaching and serving the very poor (poverty outreach)
• Residents of large cities, and small towns – people living in large and small economies
• HIV impacted communities
• Youth, women, children – and young men
• Violence affected and crisis prone communities
• People connected through complex social networks, and people isolated from social networks

To express your interest in a topic and explore how you can be involved, contact Mary McVay,Director of the Value Initiative

Build your capacity through trainings and workshops

• The SEEP Network Annual Conference 2009 – Washington, DC Nov. 2-6, 2009
• On-line conferences held on theEnterprise Development Exchange Calendar
• Sign-up to the Enterprise Development Exchange to receive announcements about future partner workshops and other relevant training opportunities.

Our Partners and Their Programs

1. Access Development Services - India
Partners: Jaipur Jewelers Association and 3 community based NGOs
Sector: Jewelry in Jaipur, India: traditional, large, informal sector industry
Targets: 20,000 ME owners, family-based manufacturers and workers
Strategy: Link to markets that value design and clean/fair supply chains and designs
Social Challenges:Poor returns, poor working conditions, access to education for artisan families, improved worker migration practices
Social solutions: Identity cards, access to health insurance, education
Business challenges: Production focused on raw material, market focused on design
Business solutions: IT market exchange platform, finance, group organizing, technology & design services

2. Mercy Corps - Indonesia
Partners: Swisscontact Indonesia, MICRO (an MFI capacity building NGO), PUPUK (An NGO business development organization)
Sector: Tofu and Tempeh in Jakarta: traditional, large, informal sector industry
Strategy: market linkages to support markets, product upgrading to target middle class, general quality and efficiency improvements
Targets: 40,000 ME owners, family-based producers, vendors and workers
Social Challenges: Poor returns, insecure tenure, access to water/electricity, pollution
Social solutions: advocacy around tenure, identity cards, improved environment, empowerment
Business challenges: Poor health practices, traditional packaging, high competition
Business solutions: Advocacy/organizing, finance, technology/training, market linkage

3. Jamaica Exporters’ Association
Partner: Area Youth Foundation (an arts-based, community youth movement)
Sector: Ornamental fish in Kingston: emerging export sector, common hobby
Strategy: Target domestic and US market, undercut Asian competition
Targeting: 6,500 ME owners and workers, violence affected communities, young men
Social Challenges: Violence, gangs, drugs, poor education, family breakdown, economic exclusion
Social Services: Life skills, peace and reconciliation, empowerment
Business challenges: Low volume, few varieties, weak market linkages
Business Services: Market linkages, consolidator function, finance, technology/training

4. AMPATH (Academic Model to Promote Access to Health) – Rift Valley and Western Province, Kenya
Partners: FINTRAC (an agribusiness consulting firm) and the Kenya Export Promotion Council (a para-statal)
Sector: Horticultural, passion fruit and juice
Strategy: Target domestic and juice processing markets
Targeting: 7,000 ME owners and workers, HIV impacted communities, range of vulnerability levels
Social Challenges: HIV, political/ethnic violence, low education, gender barriers
Social Services: health awareness, treatment and care, gender equity
Business challenges: low volume, limited input, technology, and market linkages, low capital
Business Services: Input/technology/market linkages (farmer package), capital/technology/training (processor package), capital/training (trader package)

Business Planning for Sustainability and Scale-up
A key challenge in enterprise development is sustainability on a large scale, and attracting significant long-term investment for enterprise development work. The microfinance sector and other social enterprises present a strong financial and social offering to social investors. Can enterprise development practitioners present a similarly enticing package, and thus gain access to flexible sources of long-term funding for sustainable and larger-scale work?

To explore this opportunity, the Value Initiative is challenging leading practitioners in value chain development, social enterprise and fair trade to innovate “next generation” models for sustainable, larger scale enterprise development. We provided planning grants, peer networking, and links to funders for 5 advanced practitioners. Partners are seeking funding - social investments and/or grants - to reach unprecedented scale in their sustainable poverty eradication work. Exports in value chain development and social enterprise are facilitating public dialogue, documenting experiences, and sharing lessons around sustainability and scale-up throughout the process.

Partners

1. SELCO (Solar Electric Lighting Company), India: a social enterprise providing sustainable energy solutions and services to under-served households and businesses. Reaching over 50,000 households.

2.Labournet, India: a social enterprise (e-) insuring health care, enabling livelihoods, linking informal sector workers with good jobs in urban households,

3.SDCAsia, Philippines: an NGO launching a microfranchise social enterprise to strengthen the edible fish sector, Past value chain programs have served over 9,000 microenterprises, many in very remote rural areas.

4. ECDI, Pakistan: an NGO expanding value chain development work linking isolated, low-income embroiderers with growing middle class markets. 9,000 rural women already engaged in profitable market activity through a sustainable network of over 250 women sales agents.

5. Fair Trade Forum, India: an association of fair trade NGOs and businesses representing 90,000 artisans, seeking to increase market linkages and profitability for its members and itself. 50% of members are profitable fair trade organizations.

For more information, please contact Linda Jones, Facilitator

Resources

Please see "Urban Value Chain Development" - a literature review and synthesis of an on-line discussion. This paper lays out key issues, lessons to date and potential future strategies.