Business Development Services

With the success of the provision of credit among the poor, the utilization of credit for adequate income and employment generation is a cause of concern for most of microfinance stakeholders. It has been observed that microenterprises need an enormous range of services, not just financial. This course is designed for microfinance institutions who are exploring the possibility of providing business development services (BDS) to their clients. BDS is for MFIs who wish to assist their clients in improving the performance of their enterprises, their access to markets, and their ability to compete. The course discusses the situation of microenterprises in the Philippines and the core principles of microenterprise development. Existing business development services in the market will be presented, along with current market needs based on research results. The training also assesses the institutional readiness of MFIs for business development services. Participants are expected to learn the different types of business services they can provide, and the different ways of identifying commercially viable solutions and designing appropriate BDS interventions.