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J.E. Austin Associates (JAA) supported the USAID Nigeria Agribusiness Investment (NAI) Activity as a subcontractor to Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). JAA led a component of the project that improved the business-enabling environment to promote private investments in the agriculture sector. Using a collaborative and evidence-based methodology for policy development and implementation, JAA worked with public and private sector partners to develop 22 policies that were approved and enacted by national and state ministries. Additionally, the JAA team and a group of Nigerian expert consultants helped the ministries develop implementation plans for eight policies.

J.E. Austin Associates (JAA) supported the USAID Nigeria Agribusiness Investment (NAI) Activity as a subcontractor to Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). JAA led a component of the project that improved the business-enabling environment to promote private investments in the agriculture sector. Using a collaborative and evidence-based methodology for policy development and implementation, JAA worked with public and private sector partners to develop 22 policies that were approved and enacted by national and state ministries. Additionally, the JAA team and a group of Nigerian expert consultants helped the ministries develop implementation plans for eight policies.

This case study presents examples of several market information systems within bicycle market systems across Africa. Some of these are highly functional and effective, while others highlight important challenges. Taken together, these offer lessons for market system actors to advance information transmission to improve market outcomes.

With the support of partner project USAID Feed the Future (FTF) Ghana Market Systems and Resilience(MSR) Activity, BFG assessed 53 VSLAs across three regions in the USAID Ghana Zone of Influence (ZOI)in October of 2023. The assessment provided key insights into the operations of the VSLAs, their constitutions, member saving and borrowing behavior, and demand for bicycles.

ACDI/VOCA and our partners are implementing the USAID/Serbia-funded Velika Mala Privreda project, which is supporting Serbian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become better integrated into higher markets and actively participate in more inclusive, sustainable market systems. The objective of the Market Competitiveness Assessment is to analyze the end-markets for Serbian SMEs in the A/F and E/M sectors in terms of supply and demand, market trends, employment opportunities, infrastructure, rules and regulations, constraints, and export growth potential. The difference in document structure between the two sectors is due to the clear segmentation of A/F (fresh, frozen, and specialty) versus E/M’s diverse segments, products, and markets.

This interactive Guide gives development professionals the necessary theoretical background, concepts, approaches and practical tools to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing countries.

This report presents lessons learned from various models that public and private sector programs use to stimulate growth of agro-processing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through linkages to larger firms in developing countries. The study considers the unique barriers that SMEs face and the market driven approaches spurring SME growth by facilitating linkages to lead firms in challenging development contexts which might serve as a reference for policymakers, development practitioners, and private sector actors.

J.E. Austin Associates, Inc. deployed a three-person team to undertake the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first value chain specific political economy analysis (PEA). The PEA assessed the coffee, soybean, and dried bean value chains in South Kivu, with a focus on the Territories of Kabare, Kalehe, and Walungu.

This Sourcebook discusses agro-territorial development policies and programs aimed at: (i) promoting spatially defined agribusiness/agro-industrial investments and (ii) strengthening agribusiness and agro-industrial competitiveness. It analyzes a set of agro-territorial planning and policy instruments: economic corridors, clusters, special economic zones [SEZs], industrial parks and incubators. The Sourcebook highlights what each instrument is designed to achieve and the conditions that will enable it to deliver the expected outcomes.

In this report, a four-part taxonomy of city competitiveness was developed and applied to case studies of 33 cities. The report also identified six global “megatrends” especially relevant to cities (1) urbanization, demographics and the emerging middle class; (2) rising inequality; (3) sustainability; (4) technological change; (5) industrial clusters and global value chains; and (6) governance. Led by urbanization, they condition the greater operating environment for cities around the world.

The Business Growth Initiative’s (BGI) Entrepreneurship Toolkit was developed to help USAID Mission and U.S. Embassy officers in the field in the design, implementation, and monitoring of entrepreneurship development programs. The BGI team examined entrepreneurship by utilizing a six-pillar framework: identify, train, connect and sustain, fund, enable, accelerate. BGI also developed a seventh category titled “Mixed Models” for those organizations that are primarily operating in more than one of the components. This toolkit provides readers with a wealth of useful information that can be easily used to guide strategic decision making. BGI also developed a seventh category titled “Mixed Models” for those organizations that are primarily operating in more than one of the components.

This Guide to value chain approaches provides the user with actionable methods and tools to design programs and investment projects that aim to increase the productivity and performance of sub-Saharan African agriculture. The Guide provides new frameworks for policy professionals to design and evaluate investments in commercial agriculture.

The purpose of this toolkit is to assist World Bank and IFC staff when contemplating export competitiveness. The toolkit provides a framework and key instruments on clusters, outlines key instruments that can be used to initiate a cluster-based analyses and dialogues, and offers case studies on good practices and lessons learned. It has been written from a non-technical perspective to be as practical as possible. This toolkit should be relevant to a broad audience working on the export competitiveness of developing countries: policy makers, business associations and leaders, and international development agencies.