Project

Business support programs, such as classroom-based training or consulting services, are widely used by developing country governments to enhance the performance of small-scale enterprises. The small business sector’s central role for overall employment are common reasons given for implementing such programs. However, these programs are often not designed to target employment outcomes directly, and impact evaluations rarely focus on these outcomes. We do so in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a consulting program with financial management and human resource components for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Côte d’Ivoire. The program, implemented by the Ivorian SME agency (CI-PME), consists of firm-specific advice provided by Ivorian business consulting firms over a period of six months. We collect innovative matched firm and employee datasets and consider outcomes both firm- and employee-level outcomes.

Project start:
01. January 2020

Project end:
31. December 2025

Project staff:
Bernd Beber PhD, Tabea Lakemann, Katharina Fietz, Jan Priebe, Jann Lay

Project partners:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Côte d’Ivoire), Côte d'Ivoire PME, German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Funding:
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung