GLOBAL CHALLENGES, LOCAL ACTORS

“As we embark upon the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United States is in a unique position to help lead efforts to resolve humanity’s most entrenched and vexing challenges — including persistent extreme poverty. But only leadership through partnership … can get the job done. Ultimately, it is local actors that will matter most in driving outcomes.”
— VISION FOR ENDING EXTREME POVERTY, USAID, 2015.

With the ratification of the U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the international development community set forth a bold agenda to improve the lives of the 1.2 billion people living on less than $1.90 per day by tackling the interconnected challenges of ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and tackling climate change. The global goals place particular emphasis on the role of the private sector, acknowledging that while governments must take the lead in meeting their pledges, the private sector is fundamental to success. Importantly, there is growing recognition that partnerships between these actors must be part of the solution.

While USAID believes that donor assistance still plays a critical role in eliminating extreme poverty, reaching the objectives of the global goals will require collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders. Local partners are especially important in making USAID’s work more effective and sustainable. Local Private Sector Partnerships: Assessing the State of Practice is the first broad assessment of the state of practice in USAID’s local private sector partnerships (LPSPs). It focuses on collaborations where local firms co-invest with the Agency around areas of mutual interest. 

The Local Private Sector Partnerships Executive Summary provides insight from more than thirty USAID colleagues around the world and in Washington on the unique value of local private sector partners and summaries of the six case studies conducted in El Salvador, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Colombia.