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FEATURES Value Chain Development Wiki NOW LIVE January 28 Breakfast Seminar: Does the Value Chain Approach Have Relevance for Food Security? The Case of Rice in West Africa. With Ruth Campbell (ACDI/VOCA) and David Neven (DAI)

USAID’s approach to enterprise development has evolved from facilitating markets for business services to a broader value chain perspective. The premise of USAID’s approach is that enterprise development can create wealth in poor communities and promote economic growth by sustainably linking large numbers of MSEs into international, national, and/or local value chains. To achieve this goal, the approach calls for linking small firms to economic growth opportunities, while ensuring both the incentives for and the capability to compete in and benefit from market participation. To be able to compete, MSEs need access to supporting markets: finance, business services, technical assistance, and improved inputs. To be able to benefit from market participation, MSEs need knowledge, skills, and bargaining power in the marketplace.