A portfolio approach to value chain development programs

This report examines the application of the portfolio approach, a strategy for managing risks in the finance sector, in value chain development.

It focuses on a three part definition of the portfolio approach, with contextual examples from agricultural value chains. First, the portfolio approach can be used to select value chains with diverse risk profiles so that the realisation of a specific risk in one value chain does not undermine overall programme progress. Second, the portfolio approach helps target functionally interconnected market systems so that a set of programme activities taken together may have a transformative effect on value chain development. Thirdly, the portfolio approach can be used as a programme management process to track both value chain and programme performance.

Useful for:

Managers selecting market systems to work in, and designing and overseeing interventions to manage sector risks.