Private Sector Development
This site provides you with:
Value Chain Development
Result Measurement in PSD
Local Economic Development
Business Environment
Social Aspects of Work
ongoing, scheduled or past PSD discussions
Private sector development aims at creating incentives for private-sector activities.
Private enterprises are the backbone of a national economy, and the private sector is the most important driving force in the move to create jobs and income opportunities. Stable framework conditions, a positive investment climate and correctly functioning markets and institutions are required in order to unleash the potential of the private sector.
When promoting private sector development, SDC focuses its activities on systematic approaches with the aim of encouraging the growth of properly functioning markets. To this end, various policy components and measures are typically combined, including: the reduction of obstacles to economic activities in the formal sector, promotion of a reliable financial sector (also adapted to the needs of small and micro enterprises), strengthening public administration capacities, improving the range of vocational training opportunities, or developing an inclusive dialogue between the private and public sector.
The SDC bases all its private sector development activities on a systematic approach to market development, in line with strategies which are summarised under the collective title Making Markets Work for the Poor. The common denominator of these strategies is that they define markets as socio-economic systems and endeavour to influence these markets so as to improve the opportunities of poor persons to take part in them, whether as employees, producers or consumers. Depending on the context, SDC applies different development approaches, such as:
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Value chains: SDC fosters the development of effective value chains. In particular, SDC assists poor producers to position themselves better along local, regional and global value chains with the goal to enable them to exploit local, national or global market opportunities more effectively, enhance added value and diversify into higher-value product lines.
- Local economic development: SDC supports participative processes in which the government, private business and civil society of a region cooperate with the aim of jointly developing and implementing a strategy for the region's economic development and its positioning within the country and/or in the global context
SDC concentrates its activities primarily at the regional and local levels, in particular in rural areas. SDC puts much emphasis on result measurement in its private sector development projects. A working group on result measurement is about to define common guidlelines for SDC's private sector projects.
