USAID/Brazil Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Program Impact Assessment: Baseline Research Report

This report presents the impact assessment methodology and baseline data of the Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Project of USAID/Brazil).  The Project’s primary objective is to promote export-led growth among micro-and-small enterprises (MSEs) in Northeast Brazil in the beachwear, honey, cashew nuts, and açaí sectors resulting in increased incomes and employment in each sector. Because of the Project’s reduced scope and short timeframe, the use of quantitative questionnaires at a large scale was deemed inappropriate. Small-sample qualitative research methods (interviews with lead firms and key informants and focus group discussions) were adopted to identify and understand the nature of benefits to lead firms and microenterprise participants in the value chains. The Project will test this methodology as an option for analyzing the impact of projects with focused activities and limited resources.