MaFI (The Market Facilitation Initiative)

Pro-poor market development is an approach to poverty reduction that seeks to promote changes in market systems that will lead to sustained improvements in income, employment, and access to products and services for a large number of marginalized enterprises and households. One challenge of this approach is that, although a wide body of resources exists on conducting market research and program design for market development programs, there is far less information available on program implementation.

MaFI (The Market Facilitation Initiative)  helps close this gap in knowledge by advancing practical principles and tools that assist practitioners working in pro-poor market development to move from market assessments and program design to implementation. The group produces learning products based on MaFI’s online discussions, webinars, and in-person meetings, and also seeks to influence the debate about rules and principles of international aid that hamper inclusive market development. 

 MAFI PRIORITIES FOR 2016

• Adaptive (program) management: We need practical tools and tactics on adopting this approach starting with a review of existing  literature. Need more advocacy and champions within donor organizations.
• Art and Science of Facilitation: We need high quality practical guidelines. Focus on making available materials, more practical and usable.
• Financial Inclusion: Promote dialogue between market development and financial inclusion experts; CGAP guidelines can be used as starting point but need to share examples, tactics, and tools.
• Complexity Dialogues for Scale: Use adaptive program management as entry point to understand and demystify complexity. Provide concrete examples of how complexity is useful for market facilitators.

For more details about the 2016 plan, click here.

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Seven Things You Should Know About MaFI