Blog

To slow the unfolding damage of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, public and private-sector representatives came together (virtually, of course) to chart a new path ahead.

In this article, the Feed the Future Enabling Environment for Food Security project raises the potential impacts of COVID-19 on food systems in developing countries and the need for rapid examination as the crisis unfolds to inform evidence-based decision-making.

Sylvia Natukunda is feeling the effects of COVID-19. As the founder of Farm Reap, a Kampala, Uganda-based company that produces five flavors of yogurt, she is putting together a game plan on how to keep her business profitable.

Since the market for “bottom of the pyramid” consumers was identified nearly 20 years ago, product marketing, sales, and distribution have evolved with the help of technology. Here's how two businesses use mobile and cloud-based tools to reach emerging market customers.

This blog post summarizes the Cracking the Nut conference held in October 2019 and presents the downloadable conference report.

USAID is strengthening the fishing sector in El Salvador to help achieve self-reliance in coastal communities, reducing the need to migrate.

Access to finance is a major pain point in market systems development, but how can we go beyond traditional financing methods to better reach agricultural businesses?

The case of Lebanon mirrors what in the MERS handbook is referred to as a crisis stuck in the relief phase. In crisis environments, short term goals focus on stabilizing households and providing basic needs.

This post is part two in a two-part series about market systems resilience (MSR) and highlights three major learnings on good practice for MSR.

This post is part one in a two-part series about market systems resilience (MSR) and highlights new guidance and tools that provide a foundational understanding of how different programs are approaching the topic.

How PNG delivers power to its populace is important to the nation. The Development Strategic Plan calls for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Given the primacy of seed for agricultural sector resilience and growth, development actors are eager to address seed needs in the wake of conflict. This post explores how to tailor those investments for fragile contexts in a way consistent with long-term seed market development.

The vast majority of food grown in Africa is by smallholder farmers. Implementing these four recommendations will speed up the process of putting improved seed in the hands of Africa’s food growers permanently.

Nine projects are funded by NWO-WOTRO to strengthen the Netherlands-CGIAR research partnership on generating insights that contribute to improving seed systems in focus regions within Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa.

The Feed the Future Malawi Ag Diversification Activity worked with partners to develop an input bundle and a loan package to help farmers increase their soybean and groundnut yields.

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II is a five-year project, now at its halfway point, working to help Cambodia accelerate horticulture sector growth and strengthen the horticulture market system. This case study describes Harvest II’s blended buyer-led and market systems development approach, citing examples of progress to date and posing several learning questions about the project moving forward.

This post is the fourth in a series exploring how a partnership facility can be an interface between donor-funded programs and the private sector. It reflects on how FTF Inova's experience is relevant for other MSD programs.

This post summarizes key themes and takeaways from the 2019 Cracking the Nut conference held in Dakar, Senegal from October 14-15.

Power Africa teamed up with USAID INVEST to increase access to solar home systems and mini-grids across Kenya. Through Azuri Technology's pay-as-you-go-model, they are projected to provide 390,000 new connections and 6,000 upgraded connections across the country.

The ILO Toolkit is a practical resource for organisations and projects to support small and medium enterprises (SME) decide what aspects of SME performance (productivity, working conditions, etc.) to measure, as well as how to measure them.

A partnership with USAID, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, and the Visa Foundation aims to address barriers that women entrepreneurs face by building supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging markets.

This post explores how USAID is mobilizing institutional investors to develop Africa's infrastructure through an initiative called MiDA, which connects American investors to the local partners.

USAID’s Value Chains for Rural Development project uses an inclusive, market systems approach to support smallholder producers, farmer groups, agribusinesses, and community organizations.

This post offers recommendations on managing the shifts in culture, management and partnering needed when a project shifts from providing direct services to a facilitative market systems approach.

In Moldova, the “golden triangle” of collaboration among industry, government, and academia is transforming the technology sector. Here’s the recipe for success from the Moldova Competitiveness Project.