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

This report presents the final results of the impact assessment of the Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Project of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Brazil (USAID/Brazil). The project ran for two years and three months, from October 2004 to December 2006. Its primary objective was to enhance job and income creation by promoting export-led growth among micro-and-small enterprises (MSEs) in Northeast Brazil.

The Project’s activities focus on four regional sub-sectors, of which three were assessed for impact: beachwear in Salvador, Bahia; cashew nuts in Barreira, Ceará; and honey in Simplício Mendes, Piauí. In each of the sub-sectors, four intervention areas were emphasized: (1) brokering commercial linkages; (2) upgrading; (3) facilitating access to financial services; and (4) identifying barriers to sector competitiveness.

The purpose of this report is threefold: (1) evaluate the results obtained from the project’s interventions; (2) validate the design of the project, and (3) test the relevance of the impact methodology for analyzing the results of private sector development projects limited resources and a limited timeframe. The research took place over two data collection rounds: a baseline round in August-October 2006 and a follow-up round in July 2007-October 2007.