Market Development in Challenging Environments - American Refugee Committee's Experience

This presentation looks at the American Refugee Committee's experience in leading market development approaches in the Tsunami affected Thailand and the post-conflict Sierra Leone:

• Intervention in Thailand involved restoring livelihood options of the fishermen community through:
  • Supply of boats;
  • Creation of employment generation opportunities by involvement in local activities.
• Intervention in Sierra Leone involved a cross-sectoral approach across the agricultural product value chain by production enhancement through:
  • Farmer field schools and building capacities of local organizations to provide business development training;
  • Making information accessible to farmers through radio.

The presentation states that the major challenges affecting market development programs have been:

• External challenges:
  • Fragmented markets and their distortions during relief activities;
  • Lack of value chain options;
  • Information asymmetry;
  • Loss of skills/networks of the clients;
  • Poor infrastructure.
• Internal challenges:
  • Short term funding;
  • Lack of analysis due to need for rapid response;
  • Phobia of integrating with the for-profit sector.

The environment also offers new linkage and quicker reconstruction possibilities due to intervention in the market side from the start. The presentation highlights country specific challenges and results, and concludes by summarizing the possible best practices for market interventions which involve:

• Designing staff and client appropriate programs;
• Supplementing country resources;
• Taking a market development approach from the start;
• Designing programs in a phased manner, further leading to sophisticated activities;
• Engaging multiple actors early to put-forth an unified version.