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Reflections of a gung-ho marketeer – highlights of the Turin BDS Seminar 2003
01.12.2003
This article was largely inspired by the presentations and discussions at the fourth annual BDS seminar, organized by the ILO (International Labour Organization) in Turin, in September 2003. The author considers a number of variations on the distinct roles of facilitator and BDS provider that are proving to be successful in promoting BDS market development. She also discusses the challenges of working with 'embedded services', new ways of providing BDS to poorer microenterprises, the importance of seeing BDS within larger agenda, such as trade capacity building, and the challenge of getting governments to co-operate in BDS market-building. -
Light bulbs, icebergs and pyramids – reflections on the Chiang Mai BDS Seminar
01.06.2005
The fifth annual BDS seminar took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 27 September–1 October 2004, organized by ILO. As well as reflecting on how far the BDS field has come since 2000, the author considers what can be done to foster BDS in weaker markets and rural areas, and how the ideas of market development are being brought into the mainstream for other development areas. -
Ten forces affecting the future of enterprise development and pro-poor growth initiatives
01.06.2007
What are the major forces - demographic, economic and political - on the horizon that will shape the context for enterprise development in low-income countries over the next decade? What challenges will they pose to current theory and practice aimed at stimulating broad-based growth and pro-poor market development? And what doors will these big-picture trends open for new approaches that dramatically increase the effectiveness and scale of market-oriented development interventions?