On January 24, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) Advisory Group held its inaugural meeting in Hanoi.  This Advisory Group consists of leading experts and consultants from business associations and government ministries. The group will meet quarterly throughout the life of the five-year project to provide technical input and guidance as it encounters challenges. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce Advisory Group members to each other; describe the project in detail and report progress; discuss and agree on the group’s scope; and set a schedule and communications protocol for future meetings.  The group agreed that the scope will be to review project progress; understand lessons learned; recommend modifications to the project as necessary; and advise sector selection at the end of the pilot phase.

So What? The USAID LinkSME Advisory Group offers a hands-on public-private dialogue forum where carefully-selected, directly concerned participants can contribute their expertise and guide the project to high levels of performance.