Co-creation is an approach to achieving stronger alignment and a clearer view of the 'right' private sector partner for specific impact objectives and to develop pertinent solutions through PSE initiatives. The development of new cross-sector solutions for impact requires innovative and collaborative approaches. Co-creation is the creation of shared value through interaction among a number of stakeholders in an open environment. By bringing different stakeholders together, including private sector actors, new ideas and mutually valued outcomes are created, based on a vast variety of perspectives, insights and experiences. 

In order to promote co-creation, the SDC, together with the Competence Center for Social Innovation of the University of St Gallen (CSI-HSG), is adapting and customising to the SDC's needs the Lab of Tomorrow (LoT), an approach developed by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ). The LoT is a comprehensive process to co-create impact-driven business models to address specific development challenges. Target group centricity, rapid prototyping and iteration are the distinctive features of this approach, providing great potential for transformation. At the core lies a multi-stakeholder innovation workshop bringing together people with different backgrounds and expertise (from civil society, public sector, social enterprises, corporates, etc.). The LoT facilitates the development of novel and effective solutions and fosters shared ownership. To ensure targeted application and maximise the chances of new solutions gaining traction, the innovation workshop leverages the ecosystem around the LoT. In this sense, the LoT allows the SDC and its operational units to jointly develop solutions with its partners that are of mutual interest and which may result in PSE collaborations. 

NextBillion launched a resource page gathering information on emerging opportunity trends, and events that can help impact-focused businesses and initiatives weather the crisis.

This is a guidance on designing and implementing agricultural programmes that follow the MSD approach, whilst achieving environmental objectives. It is meant for implementers, consultants and donors, guiding the readers through a structured process of incorporating the critical thinking needed to 'green' a programme.

Agriculture is one of the sectors that contributes the most to - and is most affected by - the climate, biodiversity and pollution planetary crises. Whilst the sector in low and middle-income countries contributes less than high-income countries’ to climate change, small-scale producers in low-income countries sometimes follow practices that degrade their natural environment and increase their exposure to climate risks such as natural disasters, changing weather patterns and rising temperatures.

Here you can find the recording of the "Grab the Mic"-Webinar on Greening the MSD Approach in Agriculture 

Overview of Green Growth Approaches for Private Sector Development

In recent years, it’s been increasingly recognised that current economic growth is environmentally unsustainable. Green Growth, which means promoting economic development that ensures preservation of natural capital and maintenance of ecosystem services, has therefore emerged as a topic of growing interest and support in PSD programmes.

A multitude of initiatives, networks and organisations have adopted the concept of Green Growth in recent years, in particular following the 2012 Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. Different approaches and tools have been designed and tested in the field by implementation agencies worldwide. However, the large diversity of approaches, partly explained by the variety in aspirations of donors and interventions, calls for a mapping and classification that makes it easier to share and compare lessons learnt, select suitable approaches and tools for Green PSD programmes, and to prevent duplication of efforts.

The Green PSD Navigator seeks to fill this current gap with regard to existing resources. It’s based on the DCED Green Growth Working Group’s initiative of creating an overview of green growth approaches and tools, and builds on the extensive collection of previous DCED publications, including the report Green Growth and Private Sector Development: Stocktaking of DCED Experiences (2014).

Synthesis Note
Interest in the circular economy is growing as a strategy for green growth. ‘Building back better’ after the Covid-19 pandemic could accelerate interest even further (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2020). This synthesis note is an introduction to the topic of circular economy (CE) for private sector development (PSD) practitioners. CE is particularly relevant to those working towards green growth objectives. The note takes a policy view, outlining CE principles and discussing opportunities and challenges for encouraging CE in developing countries. Practical suggestions are included, while the annex provides examples of circular business models.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of most economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

When it comes to the digitalisation of businesses, both economic development programmes and the IT and tech industries have often ignored this important business segment. Yet digitalisation is a key driver to strengthening the competitiveness of  MSMEs, and their ability to create jobs.

It is not only the most cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT), that offer promising prospects. For most micro and small businesses the adoption of 'basic' technologies - emails, websites and office software packages - can already bring far-reaching and transformative changes.

This guide looks at the benefits that the application of digital solutions can unlock for MSMEs - digitalisation can offer a path towards formality and financial inclusion for businesses operating in the informal economy; provides case studies of programmes that have worked with MSMEs and Business Development Service (BDS) providers to digitalise their operations using the MSD approach; and, reflects on how to refine and adapt fundamental MSD principles for the digitalisation of MSMEs

This is a free-standing document that is made to collate practioners' experience in doing remote or partly remote monitoring. It was triggered in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and is also useful to practitioners with other limitations on monitoring such as security or distance. However, it also aims to assist practitioners with improving monitoring efficiency, bearing in mind the trade-offs between remote and in-person monitoring.

This slide deck shows which changes around FoW can be anticipated for low and middle income countries and which possible implications these changes have for topics relevant to VSD / PSD / FSD projects.

It was developed by labour market economist Michael Morlok for an SDC internal webinar in December 2020 and is based on 6 international flagship reports (see "Relevant Documents" below), selected studies and interviews with development actors. 

The Innovations for Agribusiness (InovAgro) project has worked to support relationships between market actors in Northern Mozambique since 2011. The project leads initiatives to develop stronger, more inclusive, commercially driven and competitive market systems for agricultural input supply, output marketing, agri-services and financial services. Covid-19 restrictions changed the ways businesses and farmers in Mozambique must operate. Learn more about how Inovagro and the related Farmers Resilience and Rebuilding Initiative have responded to these new challenges under Covid-19.

The Opportunities through Technologies and Innovation (OPTIM) Project aims to stimulate Moldova’s market systems and to generate better economic opportunities for women and men, particularly among excluded groups. OPTIM has selected two sectors, namely the information and communication technology (ICT) and the agri-food sector. In the full project description you will find out how the project has turned Covid-19 challenges into opportunities by supporting innovative solutions in the ICT and agri-food sectors and what initial experiences and lessons were learnt.  

This research brief looks at characteristics of labour markets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and draws on lessons from programmes that use a market systems approach to make these markets work better for young people. The brief provides a synthesis of key findings for those looking to take a systemic approach to working with youth and labour markets in SSA or those more broadly engaged with the challenge of decent work for young people. It draws on learnings from six market systems programmes. In doing so, it builds on existing research and compares multiple projects across countries and continents to help development practitioners understand how they can more effectively use a market systems approach to create more and better jobs for Africa’s youth.The brief provides a synthesis of key findings for those looking to take a systemic approach to working with youth and labour markets in sub-Saharan Africa or those more broadly engaged with the challenge of decent work for young people. 

It draws on lessons learnt from six market systems programmes. It builds on existing research and compares multiple projects across countries and continents to help development practitioners understand how they can more effectively use a market systems approach to create more and better jobs for Africa’s youth.

This note summarises key trends in short-term adjustments made by Private Sector Development (PSD) programmes in response to COVID-19.  It focuses on PSD themes and approaches covered by the DCED’s Working Groups, which all have COVID-related work in progress. This note is complemented by a separate summary of donor and development agencies’ emerging economic recovery and resilience strategies. 

For more detailed information on short-term adjustments to PSD programmes in response to COVID-19, visit the dedicated knowledge page here.  

Read the summary of the lively exchange by e+i network members from the West Balkan region which took place on 09.06.2020. 

Participants informed about the situation in their countries, how COVID-19 affects the tourism sector in the West Balkans and how the SDC funded projects are supporting key actors in the region. 

This Newsletter Brief highlights first experiences how iDE Mozambique responded to the humanitarian and development needs of the post-Idai cyclone context and the Covid-19 pandemic with the Farmer Resilience and Rebuilding Initiative (FRRI). A short version can be found here. 

The Markets in Crises community of practice has released a Covid-19 statement, reiterating core principles of market systems work in crisis settings, and laying out short, medium and long-term actions to consider in a market-based response to Covid-19.

Guidance Paper
The DCED believes that Green Growth, far from being a hindrance to recovery, represents a cost-effective and responsible way to promote post-crisis stabilization and recovery consistent with the transformational changes needed to reduce environmental harm. DCED members are committed to helping countries address these challenges following COVID-19 and to working together towards coordinated and effective action.

In this guidance paper, the DCED (through its Green Growth Working Group) sets out how Green Growth approaches in Private Sector Development (PSD) programmes can contribute to this commitment. It complements work of other organisations, such as by the Partners for Inclusive Green Economy.

This brief will help practitioners to understand how to select and use common business frameworks and metrics. It is based on practical experience coming from the AWEF programme and the wider market systems development (MSD) and private sector development (PSD) practitioner community.

La versión VIII del estándar CDDE para la medición de resultados (de abril 2017) ha sido traducido al español. Esa guía presenta un resumen del Estándar CDDE, expone los puntos de control y  provee mayor detalle respecto  de los criterios de conformidad para cada uno de los puntos de contro

In December 2018 BEAM’s Evidence Map held over 150 such evidence documents – meeting BEAM’s inclusion criteria to assure their quality. By interrogating this database, this Evidence Review examines what results MSD programmes have delivered, whether they deliver value for money, and how they achieve systemic change.

This document provides a brief and handy introduction on MSD, based on a practical example. 

People tend to associate the cost of a job with the salaries and benefits paid to a worker. But for that worker to be able to do something useful, he needs to have the equipment and presumably a place where to operate. The business hiring the worker most likely will have to buy insurance and pay for different types of permits, plus basic services such as water and ... [more]

The Report on Effectiveness 2017 presents the achieved results of the international cooperation of SDC and SECO in the field of employment between 2005-2014. Independent experts have assessed the effectiveness of more 72 projects and programs. The report also shows which factors have influenced the effectiveness. The SDC and SECO regularly produce reports on effectiveness in order to analyze the achieved results of their interventions in certain thematic fields.

The guidance aims to help the projects to successfully design and manage MRM systems that are both solid and realistic. Unlike other MRM manuals, the focus is not on what project should do, but on what projects can do when facing certain challenges during the design or implementation of the MRM system. We have tried to use many practical examples to illustrate the various MRM challenges our projects are experiencing and to describe the solutions or strategies that are being used to overcome these problems. Download a summary version here. You might also enjoy a blog post on the "learning expedition" that has let to this publication. 

Over the past two years, we have developed a new approach to social performance measurement, collecting data from more than 13,000 customers across 32 of our portfolio companies. We call it Lean Data.

Our aim with Lean Data is to set the standard for consumer based data collection in the impact investing sector, enabling investors to take measurement to the next level and provide real value to customers, companies, and those that support them. By leveraging technology and more efficient data collection methods, Lean Data allows growing enterprises to quickly and affordably collect high quality data on social performance, customer feedback, and customer behaviour. New technologies allow for a high level of iteration when it comes to measurement. We believe this is critical for a growing enterprise as knowledge on social performance is most effectively collected in a step-wise manner, rather than all at once. One of the specific goals of Lean Data is to support the repeated collection of meaningful metrics that add value to multiple stakeholders and enable data-driven decisions.

En 2012, la Suisse a lancé un programme pour la promotion de la production de matériaux de construction favorables à la préservation de l’environnement. A travers ce programme, la DDC veut contribuer à minimiser l'impact de la fabrication de briques sur l'environnement et le climat, tout en améliorant les moyens d'existence et les conditions de travail des fabricants de briques au Rwanda, au Burundi et autour de Bukavu. Ceci passe par de nouvelles techniques de production et la production de matériaux de qualité à des prix abordables.

Economic development is essential for tackling unemployment and poverty. Small and micro enterprises are the backbone of most developing economies. An enabling business environment as well as properly functioning markets and institutions are needed to ensure that these firms can realise their potential and thus contribute to job creation and higher incomes.

A review of insights gained by Samriddhi in its support to livestock-related and medicinal plant value chains in rural Bangladesh

Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

A Synthesis for Policy Makers

This publication report focuses on 10 key economic sectors because we see these sectors as driving the defining trends of the transition to a green economy, including increasing human well-being and social equity, and reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Across many of these sectors, it finds that greening the economy can generate consistent and positive outcomes for increased wealth, growth in economic output, decent employment, and reduced poverty.

This is the web platform of PAGE. PAGE is a prominent alliance of five UN agencies, funding partners, and 22 partner countries that work together to transform economies into drivers of sustainability by supporting nations and regions in reframing economic policies and practices around sustainability.

Thanks to its integrated vision and strategy and the support of its board and a wide range of partners, PAGE is increasingly recognized as a model to deliver coordinated support of UN to countries for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets of the Paris Agreement.

Report: How to integrate impact throughout the investment journey

This report summarises the main elements to be taken into account to measure and manage impact throughout the investment strategy and the investment process, linking each phase to the relevant steps of the EVPA five-step framework.

To clarify how the EVPA five-step process and other IMM initiatives are linked and complement each other, this publication also refers to different principles or standards throughout the investment journey, such as the Dimensions of impact of the Impact Management Project, the Operating Principles of Impact Management, the Principles of Social Value and the SDG Impact Standards.

Click here for more information.