Making Markets Work for the Poor: Beyond Business Development Services

Business development services (BDS) is just one among the many interventions that development organizations to make markets work for the poor. The BDS terminology itself is evolving and is increasingly called business service markets, commercially viable solutions, and support markets. The course will focus on approaches that trace the activities from inputs to the delivery of products to end consumers. This includes subsector analysis, market linkages and value chain development. The course will also discuss market development principles; non-financial and financial interventions such as product and technology development; infrastructure; input supply; market access; management and organization; policy advocacy and alternative financing. The highlight of the course is the presentation of two case studies that demonstrate the effective ways on how to design focused, sustainable, demand-driven and cost-effective programs.