Business Services ...
 

CONSTRAINTS FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT d • Poor quality of products and services • Lack of market info, sources of technology and   equipment • Shortage of capital • Lack of market and market linkage • Low levels of education and technical skills • Lack of appropriate GoB policy • Lack of appropriate service delivery mechanisms • MFIs do not have knowledge on what to do for micro-   enterprise development and promotion • BDS linked management/accounting training course

Business development services are designed to help micro, small, and medium enterprises overcome these barriers to increased profitability; increase productivity; and access high value markets so they can realize their potential to help poor people work their way out of poverty, grow local economies, and create jobs. After experimenting for years with small-scale programs having modest impact, ChangeMaker is now advocating and promoting new high-impact enterprise

development strategies that can reach large numbers of businesses in a sustainable manner. The provision of some services on a commercial basis has shown that effective markets for business services offer the opportunity to help many small enterprises develop and compete.

From fair trade marketing to rental of cell phones, from market linkage to the publication of trade magazines, ChangeMaker creates an enabling environment for a wide range of non-financial services used by entrepreneurs to help them efficiently operate and grow their businesses with the broader purpose of contributing to economic growth, employment generation, and poverty alleviation. ChangeMaker also assists in infrastructure development and policy reforms to address external constraints on MSME.

Types of Services
For developing businesses, the various services are generally categories in seven areas: market access, input supply, technology and product development, training and technical assistance, infrastructure/operating environment, policy/advocacy, and alternative financing mechanisms. Examples of services under each category are provided below.

In general, ChangeMaker facilitates the services that contribute directly at increasing MSME sales or reducing costs so that businesses can grow and become more profitable and competitive. This growth and increased productivity leads to increased income for owners, increased employment for people in the community, and economic growth for other businesses in the same market. In addition, this also aims to achieve supplemental development impacts such as environmental preservation, gender equity, empowerment and democratization, livelihood security and stabilization, or improved health and education.