Browsing by Subject "business partnership programmes"

This thesis discusses the general theory and logics behind private sector development (PSD). Private sector development is a current theme in development policy. It is increasingly emphasized by donor countries and multilateral development agencies. In addition, solutions offered by the business sector for poverty reduction are popular topics for a growing amount of publications and discussion. This thesis also discusses how private sector development is emphasized in Nordic development policy by going through the private sector development strategies, related publications and discussion in the Nordic countries: in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. All Nordic countries emphasize the importance of private sector development in their development policy. However, due to different backgrounds some countries are ahead others in formulating their views and developing new private sector development initiatives. Among the Nordic countries Denmark and Sweden have incorporated some of the most recent ideas to their private sector development approach. As a specific example of private sector development initiatives this thesis looks at one of the business instruments for private sector development more in detail, the business partnership programmes. The intention is to look at the history, composition and results of Swedens Swedpartnership programme, Denmarks Business-to-Business Programme (B2B), Norways Business Matchmaking Programme (BMMP) and Finlands Finnpartnership programme. The business partnership programmes are a particularly interesting example of private sector development initiatives due to their aims to reduce poverty, enhance economic growth and strengthen the private sector in developing countries. At the same time they include a considerable amount of donor country business involvement. Materia! on the business partnership programmes is limited to general guiding material and evaluations mostly done on the programmes preceding the current programmes. Therefore it is difficult to draw precise conclusions on the current business partnership programmes. However, some general trends and comparative analysis can be presented. The Nordic business partnership programmes share a considerable amount of similarities. They have functioned for a long time, often in different forms. Their dual goal of drawing in domestic companies to invest in developing countries and to reduce poverty can be a challenging combination. The geographical focus area of the programmes is often extensive and only the Danish and Norwegian programmes have a clearly defined set of target countries. If the choice of programme countries is extensive, most programme support can naturally direct towards countries which are already popular destinations of foreign direct investment. Ultimately the share of the business partnership programmes is small when compared to the overall development cooperation budgets of the Nordic countries. Evaluations done on the programmes preceding the current business partnership programmes suggest that the programmes tend to have a narrow scope regarding private sector development and weak ability to spread further development effects. The evaluations often highlight the importance of support towards the enabling environment for private sector development. Other key issues arising from the Nordic programmes are for example the importance of partnerships, their sustainability and the importance of a thorough assessment and evaluation of the development effects of the programmes. It is concluded that despite the current emphasis on private sector development in development cooperation all development cooperation is important. Private sector development has an important role in this, with some of the most significant work being done at the international and macro levels. The work being done in the micro level, such as the business partnership programmes, can perhaps only have limited impact when viewed from the larger context of overall private sector development and economic growth. However, they can be viewed as part of a larger variety of private sector development activities.