Understanding Local Private Sector Partnerships

Speeches Shim

Local Private Sector Partnerships

USAID has a long history of collaborating with local firms. However, because local partnerships are shaped by local systems and the priorities of individual USAID Missions, the successes and challenges of partnering locally are not yet well known nor effectively shared across the Agency.

WHITE PAPER: ASSESSING THE STATE OF PRACTICE

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. Drawing on the insights of more than thirty USAID colleagues around the world and in Washington, the paper explores the dynamics of USAID’s partnerships with local private sector actors and how they differ from USAID’s partnerships with multinational companies.
 
Several short profiles were developed to accompany this paper. They include:
 
USAID/Philippines partnered with local company Smart Communications and the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group to create “700DALOY,” an SMS hotline to crowdsource the detection and reporting of illegal fishing. 
 
In Colombia, USAID is working with local firm Casa Luker to support cacao production in the troubled Tumaco region, raising incomes for thousands of cacao farmers. 
 
USAID, together with the Bangladeshi company Golden Harvest, is building Bangladesh’s first integrated “cold chain” – a network of refrigerated trucks and holding centers that will help rural farmers get their crops to market before they spoil. 
 
USAID, the Government of India, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) launched the Millennium Alliance as a joint government-private sector platform for supporting early-stage Indian innovation. 
 
In El Salvador, USAID is collaborating in the fight against urban violence by creating economic opportunity.With the support of the local private sector, USAID is helping at-risk youth find jobs and is fostering entrepreneurship in urban neighborhoods.