Cape Town
Monday 12th March to Wednesday 14th March 2007
(with optional learning tools workshop on M4P methodologies, Thursday 15th March)
Making Markets Work for the Poor is an approach to development that aims
to harness the power of markets to fight poverty. A number of agencies have
built on the ideas and concepts supporting this approach, and have achieved
practical results. Join us at the Spier Estate in Stellenbosch to share the
experiences of the ComMark Trust and others as we discuss the strengths
and limitations of this approach and critically assess how markets can be
made to work for the poor.
Plus, a one-day workshop is on offer for participants who would like to gain
practical skills to apply the approach in their own work in the future.
Introduction
Historically, development agencies have tended to work within discrete thematic areas, such as
“agriculture” or “legal environment”. Now, however, there is general agreement that growth is
necessary for poverty alleviation, and that the private sector – through markets – must deliver
that growth. M4P practitioners therefore address any market-based constraint that will open up
major new opportunities to people living in poverty.
Agencies as diverse as DFID, CARE Canada, Swedish Sida and the Asian Development Bank and
various government development agencies have adopted the approach, but it is only now that
they are achieving measurable impact. This event will showcase these results, achieved by
ComMark and others; it is a unique opportunity to rapidly up-date your knowledge about
current thinking across agencies and countries in the region – and to contribute to the
discussion about the future in this important field.
Provisional Agenda
Many different agencies will present their experiences with M4P during the Seminar, including
ComMark, FinMark, DFID, CGAP, Technoserve, FIAS, ILO, the Tourism Enterprise Programme
(TEP) and various Southern African government initiatives.
In addition, private companies will
tell participants about their experiences in