The Value Chain Framework and Rural Finance (Presentation)

On September 15, 2005, Dr. Anicca Jansen, Senior Microfinance Advisor at USAID/Washington, and Robert Fries, President of ACDI/VOCA’s Program Services Division, presented, “The Value Chain Framework and Rural Finance." The seminar was the fourth installment of the Linking Small Firms to Competitiveness Strategies Breakfast Seminar Series sponsored by the USAID Microenterprise Development office. Dr. Jansen began the seminar with a brief overview of the convergence of value chains and rural finance work. Mr. Fries highlighted the value chain framework, emphasizing that it is useful not only for enterprise development, but also for expanding financial services. Dr. Jansen and Mr. Fries also pointed out that Value Chain Finance is not a new phenomenon. Finally, the speakers commented on the potential complementary roles of value chains and finance, specifically emphasizing that financial institutions can learn from and engage more with value chain actors in order to develop new products and reach new markets.