JAA was a core partner in a consortium contracted by USAID to conduct research, evaluation and product development focused on increasing the knowledge and understanding of economic growth through enterprise development. The purpose of the BGI Project was to support USAID Missions in promoting best practices for enterprise development projects and to build a culture of best practices within the broader development community. The lessons from this project adopted by other development practitioners will have substantial impact on better project design and implementation. The objectives of the project were to improve enterprise development project designs; to conduct research projects; to develop and disseminate technical briefs; to convene seminars/workshops on best practices; and to implement pilot demonstration projects (PDPs) for Missions. JAA contributed to BGI by developing tools, approaches and concepts, conducting research, advising USAID missions and programs, providing training, and facilitating workshops, which advanced the understanding of enterprise development and its role in improving economic growth. Some of JAA’s key contributions included:

• Defining and developing an enterprise development framework;
• Describing the importance of and methods to foster long-lasting buyer-supplier relationships in export promotion projects;
• Developing the enterprise elements of value chain-based initiatives;
• Case studies and analysis of successful actions in post conflict enterprise development situations and supporting BGI’s post conflict enterprise development Blog;
• Co-facilitating and participating in USAID’s Development Leadership Institute (DLI) trainings;
• Researching and describing best practices when selecting ICT sectors for private sector competitiveness projects;
• Examining the priorities in ICT-related initiatives of cross-cutting domestic industry development versus export-focused development; and
• Developing an enterprise development diagnostic (MEASURE) which measures the way enterprises react to their environment by combining an enterprise survey with a dashboard of pre-determined indicators.
• Interviewing entrepreneurs from around the world on video to learn how they were able to make their business successful and what roles donors played.
• Conducting market research and analysis to identify concrete ways internet can be more sustainably provided in underserved areas of Mali by shared internet access points

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Duration: 2006 - 2011