Over the past several years, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), donors, and development practitioners have been grappling with methods to develop sustainable business service markets that will help small enterprises increase their profits and integrate on beneficial terms into local, regional, and global markets. Although it remains clear that microenterprises need services beyond training and access to credit, practitioners often struggle to develop sustainable service markets that include microenterprises, particularly in environments where product and business service markets are weak. In June 2002, The SEEP Network’s Practitioner Learning Program (PLP) provided 10 organizations with grants to undertake market research in weak markets, and then pilot interventions to develop commercial and sustainable business service markets that would help microenterprises increase their profits.
Publications
An Inventory of BDS Market Assessment for Programs Targeting Microenterprises
Assessing BDS Demand and Supply in Weak or Limited Markets
The Role of the Facilitator
Le Role Du Facilitateur: Une Approche Systemique
Etude de L’Offre et de la Demande de BDS sur les Marches pue Developpes
Monter Une Equipe Pour Etudier le Marche des BDS
Making Retail Markets Work for the Poor
Integrating Microenterprises Into Markets: The Case of EDA’s Leather Subsector Project in India
The What-If Services Concept Test: Triple Trust Organization’s Market Research Tool
Information to Action: Tips for Using Market Information When Piloting BDS Market Development Interventions
Building a Team for Market Assessment and Key Issues to Consider When Starting a Market Assessment
All Paths Lead to Learning: Common Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
How To Use Market Assessment Information To Design and Implement a BDS Market Development Program
More Information
Facilitator: Alexandra Miehlbradt
With input from: Marshall Bear and Melissa Nussbaum
Participating Organizations:
- EDA Rural Systems Pvt Ltd (India)
- Entrepreneurship and Career Development Institute—ECDI (Pakistan)
- Intermediate Technology Development Group—ITDG (Kenya and the United Kingdom)
- International Development Enterprises—IDE (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the United States)
- Jigiyaso Ba Credit Union Federation (Mali)
- Mennonite Economic Development Associates—MEDA (Canada)
- PKPEK—Association for Community Economic Development and Study of Microenterprises (Indonesia)
- Swisscontact (East Africa)
- Triple Trust Organisation—TTO (South Africa)
- World Education (South Africa and the United States)
