Donor programmes and companies increasingly work together. But why do such collaborations prove hard, and what lessons can be drawn for each party?
This report examines examples of how businesses have worked together with one type of donor funded programme, The Business Innovation Facility (BIF). The programme supports companies to innovate products and services that benefit both poor people and the private sector. The programme is being implemented principally in Malawi, Myanmar and Nigeria. BIF engages with businesses either by:
- first identifying a market in which to operate, and then finding appropriate companies with whom to work; or
- identifying multinationals that are looking to innovate, and then introducing a programme to develop the market in which they are working. In this report, we explore examples from both of these strands.
This report distils learning from all three countries after the first three years of the programme.