Blog

This blog was written by Carolyn Barker-Villena, Corus International’s Senior Regional Director of Latin America. She reflects on the importance of private sector engagement after a recent trip to El Salvador. 

Demand for meat has been growing in Rwanda and is likely to rise further as the country becomes increasingly urbanized and more affluent. However, meat safety remains a challenge. A 2021 quality inspection of 44 slaughterhouses and 152 meat retail shops by the Rwandan government revealed that only 27 percent of medium and large businesses met the “gold” standard, whereas none of the smaller operators were able to meet this standard.

This post is authored by Ramakrishnan Ganesan and Md. Ashraful Islam of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity and is part of the Marketlinks and Agrilinks co-hosted month of October exploring the role that private sector engagement can play in advancing nutrition outcomes. It is also published on Agrilinks.

This post was written by Keith Dokho, USAID RFS PSE Secretariat, Team Lead and was originally posted on Agrilinks.org. During this month on Agrilinks and Marketlinks, USAID looks forward to sharing with readers highlights of our private sector engagement (PSE) strategy, our progress over the last decade, and our vision and goals for the future.

In Northern Kenya, county governments have a unique responsibility to support local development, as much of their population struggles with poor access to economic markets, frequent drought, and other challenges that perpetuate poverty and food insecurity in the country’s arid and semi-arid lands. Their efforts cannot succeed without the involvement of the community and often partners like USAID.

Amakelech Lulu is no stranger to winning. Founder of Gishen Pharmacy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she won the 2019 Invest2Impact East Africa competition, which included 100 women-led businesses selected based on their potential to achieve growth and contribute to women’s economic empowerment. In July 2022, she also was awarded a certificate of merit in recognition of her exemplary professional service for best Community Pharmacy Practices by the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Association. Despite her success, even her business was not immune to the economic impact of COVID-19.

Inclusion contributes to greater market connectivity, one of the key determinants of market system resilience. People—including those traditionally excluded from or marginalized by market systems, such as women, youth, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, and indigenous or other identity groups—are human resources. They are critical for enabling a system to better absorb, adapt, or transform when faced with shocks and stresses.

USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance provides life-saving support to vulnerable and hard-to-reach people. the USAID ADVANCE project supports the mandate of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Authority.

The pandemic and following economic shocks have underlined the importance of resilience at all levels of the economy, from national and local governments to your neighborhood business. Access to appropriate financial services is a key component of a resilient economy. Access to the right financial services at the right time can strengthen economic opportunities and support business growth.

This post was written by Keilah Niyomutabazi, Communications Specialist with Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships Activity led by DAI. The Feed the Future Orora Wihaze (Raise Animals for Self-Sufficiency) Activity is working with local partners and private sector actors in Rwanda to strengthen the animal-sourced foods market system.

The case of Honduran tourism provides insights into the needed factors and different roles stakeholders can play in building sector resilience.

We tested different business models and found ways to increase the resilience of both large and small agricultural businesses. Our world is entrenched in systemic challenges, from a pandemic to global warming and supply chain issues. So, how do we respond to these challenges effectively and sustainably? Market-based approaches offer one solution, but not all approaches are created equal. And many questions remain regarding how market systems development programs can support communities facing these shocks.   

Necessity Breeds Entrepreneurship  “I needed to provide for my children.” It’s a simple reason that motivates millions of parents to earn money every day.

This blog was written by Carolyn Barker-Villena, Corus International's Senior Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The next three years are expected to be “characterized by either consistent volatility and multiple surprises or fractured trajectories that will separate relative winners and losers,” according to most respondents of a recent World Economic Forum survey. The development industry is seeing this volatility play out through rising fertilizer, fuel, and food prices and worsening impacts of climate change.

By Digital Frontiers Project Staff

On August 4, 2022, the USAID Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Hub held "Platform Work and Financial Inclusion: How Can the Development Community Extend Finance for Gig Workers?"

This blog is written by CV Viverito, ​Director, Global Impact Programs, ​Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.

This blog is written by Anila Behramaj.

This post was written by George Khisa, William Nielsen, and Moussa Traoré.

This blog was authored by the Feed the Future Rwanda Nguriza Nshore team and was originally published on NgurizaNshore.rw

This post was written by Jonah Belser for USAID’s Trade and Competitiveness Activity (TCA). Communities located in border regions are economically significant across the developing world. Border businesses provide vital products and services to people in transit—from international traders to migrant families—especially where cross-border trade and travel procedures are slow-moving and inefficient. These businesses range from customs brokerage and currency exchange services to local restaurants, hotels, markets, and more.

This blog was originally posted on refileweb.

This post was authored by Jay Gilliam, Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator, USAID.

Digitizing microbusinesses and informal work can help low-income workers and businesses access more and cheaper financial services, but only if the data created by digitization can improve risk evaluation by lenders.