May 23, 2008

ACDI/VOCA Publishes Four New Value Chain Briefing Papers

ACDI/VOCA has produced four new briefing papers under the $2.5 million USAID-funded Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project Business Development Services (AMAP BDS) Knowledge and Practice II Task Order. They are part of a series of brief papers that are easily accessible, practical guides for designing, implementing and evaluating effective programs that promote economic growth with attendant poverty alleviation.

The Value Chain Framework provides an overview of the framework, describes the structural and dynamic elements affecting the performance of firms and industries, and presents lessons learned from research and field experience.

Groups, Associations, and Other Horizontal Linkages discusses the linkages that MSEs form to address constraints in the value chain and take advantage of business opportunities.

Using the Value Chain Approach to Design a Competitiveness Strategy offers guidelines for working with the private sector to design programs that extend impact beyond individual firms to industrywide competitiveness.

MSE Upgrading in Value Chains presents observations and suggestions for promoting firm-level upgrading, particularly in MSEs.

The first three papers are also available in Spanish and French on the microLINKS website here.

ACDI/VOCA is a leader in value chain approaches to development, which increase incomes in poor communities and promote targeted economic growth through enhanced performance, and thereby competitiveness, of micro and small enterprises.

To learn more about the value chain approach, click here.