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Sinharaja Forest Reserve is Sri Lanka’s only remaining primary tropical rainforest and home to the country’s highest concentration of endemic species of plants and animals, several of which are rare or endangered. Designated both a UNESCO Biosphere and World Heritage Site, the forest reserve’s health is critical to the country’s ecotourism industry. Sustainable ecotourism can accelerate economic growth through increased foreign exchange, employment, and business opportunities, and help countries reach development objectives while protecting their natural resources.

Even though USAID MBIOs have identified the value of engaging the private sector in the development sector (even consulted USAID’s PSE policy and the PSE Opportunities Tool), the problem of ‘where to begin’ and ‘how to operationalize private sector engagement’ remains a challenge for both U

This post was authored by the Feed the Future Advancing Women's Empowerment program and was originally published on Agrilinks.

Across Central America, the number and size of renewable energy power plants has grown exponentially in recent decades. In Honduras particularly, hydroelectric power plants have sprung up as the government looks for sustainable ways to generate energy and economic stability for communities across the country.

This post was authored by the Feed the Future Advancing Women's Empowerment activity and originally appeared on Agrilinks.

The fourth iteration of the ‘Enduring Results Study’ (ERS) explores what drives enduring results in USAID’s partnerships with the private sector.

This article first appeared in NCBA CLUSA's Co-op Weekly Newsletter.  Peruvian market Thika Thani is revolutionizing grocery shopping in Lima and uplifting co-ops in the process. What started in 2015 as a singular boutique grocery store in Lima specializing in locally produced natural, organic, and artisanal products has expanded to four stores in Peru’s capital city and includes a thriving online marketplace. Thika Thani recently opened a store inside a large shopping center that became profitable in just one month.

A nation’s ability to mobilize resources to combat and cope with climate change is primarily constrained by its resources and financial capacity, which vary dramatically across developing contexts.  While external sources of funding like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are critical to meeting a nation’s Paris Agreement goals, they are often out of reach without domestic financial systems and processes to absorb such funds and use them productively.

This blog was authored by Tess Bayombong, Maria Adelma Montejo, Emily Janoch, Caitlin Shannon, and Tzusuan Peng. Women entrepreneurs who talk about success in their businesses in the Philippines have fascinating contributions to what success means. Cecile Corio describes an arc of resilience and equality: “I think of ways to recover (my business). Don’t lose trust in yourself. I started from nothing; I can prove that I can lead a better life. … My husband and I have a good give-and-take relationship.”

USAID CATALYZE Partners with Private Equity Fund to Ready SMEs for Private Investors Increasingly, global private investors are eyeing the Western Balkans as the potential for diversifying their portfolios. While private equity financing can raise working capital for a company through restructuring ownership and/or management, few small- and medium-sized business owners in the region are aware of, understand, or desire such a private equity model. In fact, many SME owners resist giving up power and ownership to outsiders.

By the USAID CATALYZE WEE team

Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic situation continues to worsen with rising costs and increased challenges in imports and exports due to ongoing supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s traditional artisans and the handloom industry have been hit hard.

This blog was authored by Rhea Dhar and Rachel Levine while interning at Chemonics International.

This post was written by Gillian Caldwell and was originally published on Climatelinks.

By Natalie Alm, Communications Advisor, and Nicole Garcia, Senior Activity Manager, INVEST

By Kendahl Tyburski, Senior Gender Program Associate, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)

USAID’s Amazon Vision is focused on fostering an environmentally friendly economy so that forest-dependent communities can develop their local economies in a sustainable way. Fishing is an important livelihood for Indigenous and other communities living along the Juruá River in Brazil. Both women and men in these riverine fishing communities play essential roles in the fishing industry: while men fish for pirarucu—the world’s largest-scaled freshwater fish—women process, clean, and sanitize the fish. 

Community-based savings groups are impactful mechanisms to build opportunities for entrepreneurship and market development.

CARE and MARS’s Women for Change program works with women and their families in cocoa-growing communities to improve livelihoods so communities can thrive. The program started in Côte d’Ivoire in 2016, founded on CARE’s Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) approach. Between 2016 and 2022, more than 77,000 VSLA members (58,000 women) were supported through CARE’s partnership with Mars.

This blog, written by Vivekan Jeyagaran, Carolina Pimentel Corrêa, Meghan Bolden, and David Byiringiro, was originally published on Agrilinks

For two decades, Abt has spearheaded private sector engagement for better development outcomes, including the recent USAID Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project. Lessons from this—captured in several briefs on private sector engagement—continue to guide our work across sectors, including in agriculture and energy.

Since 2014, hyperinflation, corruption, supply shortages, and violence in Venezuela forced over 6 million people to leave their homes in search of safety and opportunity. Migrants face barriers to finance, have limited collateral and have informal businesses and jobs. This blog summarizes four key lessons learned through the USAID Colombia Rural Finance Initiative.

This brief, based on sustainability research led by Tashfiq Ahsan and Mehrul Islam, was written by Emily Janoch and originally posted on Agrilinks.

This blog was written by Carolyn Barker-Villena, Corus International’s Senior Regional Director of Latin America. She reflects on the importance of private sector engagement after a recent trip to El Salvador. 

Demand for meat has been growing in Rwanda and is likely to rise further as the country becomes increasingly urbanized and more affluent. However, meat safety remains a challenge. A 2021 quality inspection of 44 slaughterhouses and 152 meat retail shops by the Rwandan government revealed that only 27 percent of medium and large businesses met the “gold” standard, whereas none of the smaller operators were able to meet this standard.