Making markets inclusive and work for the poor

世界银行 estimates that about 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal opportunities in markets, with 178 countries maintaining legal barriers that prevent women from fully engaging in economic opportunities.

Statistics such as this indicate that it is not enough to focus on macro objectives; we must understand how growth, trade and investment relate to broader development outcomes. The Market Systems Development (MSD) approach offers such nuances.?

Specifically, the MSD approach intentionally links growth, trade and investment to ultimate objectives such as pro-poor outcomes by emphasising the need to expand access to economic opportunities for all demographics.

Overall, the MSD approach acknowledges that while markets are an incredible catalyst for change, change can only take place once markets become more inclusive, and specifically, once markets offer greater benefits to the poor and marginalised groups such as women and youth. In order to achieve these aims, the MSD approach focuses on working in ways that are sustainable, scalable and systemic. As a result, markets are enabled to continue to work more inclusively and effectively even after an intervention has ended.

But how do we make sure it works?

?When a pebble is thrown forcefully into a pond, there is an immediate but short-lived splash. However, when a pebble is dropped slowly, gently and intentionally into a pond, the number and size of the ripples can dominate the entire pond.

So, too, MSD proposes to work in a facilitatory and enabling manner with market actors in order to catalyse incremental but enduring change to market systems. One of the key strategic goals in our Evaluation for Development (#E4D) practice is to apply an MSD lens to our design, implementation and evaluation work in order to encourage systemic change.?

?Previous projects include

The design and implementation of the Market Development Component (MDC) of the UK’s former Department for International Development (DFID) DRC Private Sector Development (PSD) programme:

The overall objective of DFID’s PSD programme, and specifically the MDC, was to facilitate private sector growth through the application of the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) methodology. The MDC aimed to contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation by creating firms and jobs and to increase incomes for the poor, particularly women and adolescent girls in the DRC. It also aimed to achieve more equitable market access for the poor and to deepen selected markets.?

A mid-term evaluation to document key lessons from the Kuza MSD intervention:

Kuza was an MSD intervention funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Kenya. It aimed to create employment opportunities for unemployed young people in Mombasa. Genesis was contracted to conduct a mid-term evaluation to document the key lessons that emerged from the programme’s implementation; to inform future efforts to address youth unemployment creation and broader youth empowerment in the Mombasa region; and to enable potential replication and scale to other regions of Kenya.?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how markets, specifically on the African continent, can work for all stakeholders opposed to a select few.

Best wishes, Kirra Evans | Evaluation for Development