Building Businesses with Small Producers : Successful Business Development Services in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Our mission is to build the skills and capacity of people in developing countries through the dissemination of information in all forms, enabling them to improve the quality of their lives and that of future generations. [...] Representatives of IDRC, the partner NGOs and a resource person formed the project steering committee that guided the work of the researchers and engaged in the analy- sis presented in this book. [...] The cases looked at the strategies and principal practices employed by the five NGOs in providing the BDS through a set of indicators to assess 'good practice' in terms of impact, cost effectiveness and sustainability. [...] Donor agencies have been considering the possibility of standardizing and commercializing the provision of non-finan- cial BDS to existing and potential micro- and small entrepreneurs and businesses. [...] We hope the case studies that follow and the discourse on each will throw light on issues such as the development and implementation of BDS per- formance assessment; alternatives in BDS design and delivery; BDS and credit relationships; and subsidized and commercial provision of BDS.