Blog

Several terms have gained prominence in recent times. The SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19, pandemic caused much thinking on localisation and heightened questions surrounding shifting the power. As we moved forward from the worst of the pandemic, lessons have been drawn in different ways by those seeking to make changes happen. Regularly, this is within the specific organisational agenda noting one of the rules of a bureaucracy is to perpetuate itself. Shifting the power is great – as long as my job is ok?

The LEO project is speeding towards the finish line! LEO’s broad goals of increasing the capacity of donors and implementers to design, implement and evaluate market systems projects have led to some landmark publications.

Let's rethink how projects should be evaluated in the context of systems thinking.

When a market system isn’t humming along as it should, something must be missing. Read on for examples from Cambodia and Guinea.

Underdevelopment and missed market opportunities come with real costs, especially for women.

Why does wage work matter? ACDI/VOCA's Anna Garloch highlights some of her key takeaways from a recent stocktaking report on wage labor. Join the conversation by commenting or tweeting #wageworkmatters.

Ruth Campbell of ACDI/VOCA unpacks some of the characteristics of resilient market systems.

How does one make sense of a messy and chaotic agricultural small and medium enterprise landscape? Check out these insights from Malawi.

In this wrap-up post, the IRC concludes with key points from their mini-series on orphans and vulnerable children.

Christine Faveri of MEDA introduces a new training course on integrating gender equality and women’s economic empowerment into value chain and market systems development.

In this post, Dr. Samson Radeny reviews where we are today with caregiver community-based microfinance.

How can markets be an empowering force for marginalized and exploited women in economies around the world? ACDI/VOCA's Lindsey Jones explains LEO's Women's Economic Empowerment framework.

What evidence is there to prove that economic strengthening models work? This post explores a few areas that have seen promising practices for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

Jessie presents Freedom from Hunger's AIM Youth initiative, which tested different models of integrated financial services to help young people successfully transition into financially literate adults.

The multiplier concept is an important part of the development of inclusive market systems.

IPA outlines several studies that test the impact of financial programs on youth.

For me, one of the big attractions of the value chain framework is the boxes: crisp blue boxes neatly lined up in rows. It makes economic development look so orderly and clearly defined.

Community-based, savings-led microfinance for children and youth is a promising new approach toward addressing the needs of the most vulnerable kids in poor countries. What could it mean?

Jason Wolfe, Senior Technical Advisor for the PEPFAR program, interviews Andrew Meaux and Barri Shorey from the IRC.

The International Rescue Committee launches "Financial Inclusion: A Case for Orphans and Vulnerable Children" as a mini-series on Microlinks.

On April 30, USAID’s Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) project stopped to take stock of advances made in its first seven months.

LEO seeks to support missions and implementers in improving the performance of market systems to generate growth, and to structure that growth in such a way that it is inclusive of women and the extreme poor.