Connect to Grow (2015-2018)

David was team leader of Connect to Grow, part of a much larger programme of DFID (now FCDO) India intended to stimulate and transfer innovation amongst SMEs. Launched in 2015, and ran until April 2018, Connect aimed to partner enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa or south Asia who already had a proven but local market with enterprises in India who had an innovation, with the objective that both could then grow faster than they could otherwise and, more importantly, that they could deliver development outcomes. Whilst it had some similarities with challenge funds, it was designed in such a way that businesses could apply at any time. They were assessed against objective criteria and awards offered until the budget was allocated rather than being forced to compete against each other in 'rounds'. Promising proposals were offered advisory support to help them reach the stage where they could potentially submit a proposal likely to be acceptable to the advisory board.

You can read about one of the clients who manufactures and markets Sokhipad sanitary pads in Bangladesh. Another client, Agriaccess in Ghana grows sorghum, and wanted to introduce a system of micro-irrigation. This, together with improved and hybrid seed, was expected to increase yields substantially. They achieved significant coverage on national TV in Ghana. Watch the news here and wind forward about 9 minutes.

I am still working, pro bono, with one of the businesses that came through this programme. A key objective of the programme was to 'learn by doing' and to record lessons and insights. Our final learning report pulls together all the lessons from the three years that the programme ran.

Innovations against poverty (2011-2013)

Low-income markets can offer significant business opportunities. Indeed, Micahel Porter has argued that some of the areas in the US that house the poorest people actually have the highest aggregate level of disposable income - because the density of housing is much higher than in areas that house the more affluent. Similarly, in developing countries, businesses offering the right products and services at the right price can be competitive and profitable. Innovations Against Poverty is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to support inclusive business models that benefit low-income populations whilst delivering commercial benefit.

This was, for a time, managed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and, during that time, I was a member of the assessment team, reviewing applications and preparing funding recommendations.

Business Innovation Facility (2010-2012)

The Business Innovation Facility was funded by DFID (now FCDO) and managed by PwC. Its objective was to support private sector businesses to apply their core business activities and skills in a transformative and scalable manner that would enhance growth and wealth creation, reduce poverty and help meet the MMillennium Development Goals. This was undertaken through (a) offering technical assistance, (b) brokering partnerships and relationships, and 9c) creating a knowledge hub.

I participated as a member of advisory committee receiving recommendations from the team, reviewing applications and appraisals, offering advice and making recommendations on which projects to support.

Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund (2008)

The Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund (MATF) was an initiative of Farm Africa that operated across Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda and managed from tehir Nairobi office. The goal of MATF was "to improve the livelihoods of rural and peri-urban communities in East Africa through agricultural innovations while enhancing productivity of natural resources". Its purpose was "to generate and promote socially and economically profitable agricultural models that could be replicated in other areas for wider impact". It was launched in 2002 with funding from Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GCF), one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts and Rockefeller Foundation. By 2008, grant support from GCF was being channelled through the Kilimo Trust. Kilimo Trust had started operations in East Africa in 2005 as a research entity and grant-giving organisation to support research that connected science with farmers and was initially itself funded by GCF.

IGA, in partnership with Annabel Jackson Associates, was commissioned by Kilimo Trust to undertake an evaluation of the performance and impact of MATF which, by the time of the evaluation, had provided 66 grants to 55 projects.

MATF had been evaluated on many occasions and, at least at project level, appeared to have been pretty successful; Kilimo Trust was keen, however, "to evaluate MATF's success in spreading the lessons of the project more widely and to explore the extent to which MATF might have achieved transformational impact". Overall, we were very positive about the programme and teh difference that it was able to make to small holder farmers and herders.

Goal Oriented Local Development Fund, Nigeria (2013)

The Employment-oriented Private Sector Development Programme (EoPSD) was a development programme based on a bilateral agreement between the Nigerian and German Federal Governments. It was implemented by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ, now known as GIZ). The programme's objective was to support sustainable economic development and thus increase income and create employment through private sector initiatives. The ultimate beneficiaries of the EoPSD were small, micro and medium-size entrepreneurs (SME) in two states: Niger and Nasarawa. Interventions were intended to address the needs of SMEs though it does not work directly with entrepreneurs.

Irwin Grayson Associates was commissioned by GIZ to consider whether, and if so how, to launch the 'GOLD' fund to stimulate the creation of new business models that might otherwise not be pursued or only receive marginal attention from the private and public sector. It was anticipated that the fund would finance projects involving capacity building, infrastructure, machinery and equipment procurement, acquisition of technical consulting services, as well as sustainable private sector development measures. The development of ideas and the design of the fund were intended to promote public private partnerships and private sector development as part of local economic development at level of Local Government Authorities.

Financial Deepening Challenge Fund (2005)

Launched in 2000, the £18.5m Financial Deepening Challenge Fund (FDCF) built on recognition by the Department for International Development (now FCDO) that the private sector could contribute to poverty alleviation and development. During its lifetime, the fund provided grants of £50,000-£1m to share risks with private sector firms in a competitive and transparent manner for projects which met clearly defined criteria reflecting DFID’s priorities to improve access to financial services. DFID hoped that the fund would help to change the behaviour of private companies – both those who received support and also others wanting to replicate the successes observed. Today, there is much talk of the corporates serving the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. In creating FDCF when it did, DFID showed commendable foresight.

In partnership with David Porteous, a US based consultant specialising in economic development and evaluation, I undertook the output to purpose review jointly funded by DFID and the Gates Foundation. Some of the recommendations helped to inform the design of DFID's Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund.