Private Enterprise and Financial Markets > Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
Making Business Development Work: Lessons from the Enterprise Development Center in Rafaela, Argentina
By Eric Oldsman (04/00, SME-101, En)
In order to become more productive and competitive in a market economy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) require high quality business development services (BDS). During the past five years, the Inter-American Development Bank has expanded its support to create and develop business development services for SMEs through loan and Multilateral Investment Fund financed technical assistance programs. The main objective of the Bank's BDS projects is to establish and develop appropriate markets for business development services as instruments to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of SMEs. The main function of enterprise development centers (EDCs) is to assist SMEs to obtain appropriate business advisory services as well as technical and managerial training. The assumption behind this model is that SMEs require support to identify their specific needs and to find providers that respond appropriately.
This report evaluates the performance of the Enterprise Development Center in Rafaela, Argentina, which was established under a program of the Union Industrial Argentina, financed by the MIF. During the evaluation, special attention was given to the EDC's financial self-sufficiency, internal operating efficiency, coverage and effectiveness. The evaluation concludes that the EDC Rafaela performs excellently in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The issues discussed here were also the topic of an EDC seminar held in April 1997 and a BDS conference held in March 1999 under the auspices of the IDB.
This article includes studies of the effect of the services provided by the EDC Rafaela on two client companies, which give an indication of the types of improvements in SME performance that can be expected from programs such as this one. The lessons that derive from the experience conveyed in this analysis are sure to become a useful guide for designing, implementing and monitoring BDS programs financed by the Bank Group.
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This working paper is being published with the sole objective of contributing to the debate on a topic of importance to the region, and to elicit comments and suggestions from interested parties. This paper has not gone through the Department?s peer review process or undergone consideration by the SDS Management Team. As such, it does not reflect the official position of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Last updated: 06/13/07
