DevTech is a member of a consortium led by The Louis Berger Group to provide USAID assistance in business development services (BDS). USAID defines this substantive area as the development of markets for the provision of business services (market access, product development, technology support services, and technical training, for example) to microenterprises owned and operated by low-income individuals. Under this contract, DevTech provides services across five functional areas, including:

• Strategic Planning: Assist USAID to develop strategies, design and implement micro- and small-enterprise development activities.
• Institutional Support: Assist microenterprise service institutions to deepen and expand their client base through institutional strengthening and partnering.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Support USAID and its partners to design and maintain performance monitoring programs for BDS.
• Human Capacity Development: Develop improved training materials that integrate research results and implementation experience, and conduct training programs in Washington and the field to strengthen design and implementation of microenterprise development programs.
• Knowledge Generation: Contribute to the practitioner-level knowledge about how to implement microenterprise development activities more effectively; measure their impact; and tie the results of implementation more closely into the program design and innovation process. In addition, activities under this component can support research and documentation of knowledge about the most effective ways to develop, expand, and commercialize BDS programs.
  

To date, DevTech’s task orders awarded under this contract include:

• AMAP Business Development Service—Knowledge and Practice Task Order I: Survey of Micro and Small Enterprises in Guatemala (2004–2005)
  

For further information on taking advantage of this mechanism to access DevTech’s services, please contact us.