Market Development
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Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps
It is estimated that almost half of the world’s population, 3 billion people, live on less than $2.50 per day. The global economic crisis, conflict, natural disasters, and environmental impacts threaten the fragile livelihoods of these low-income earning populations. However, the world’s poor demonstrate impressive resiliency, coping strategies and entrepreneurial energy. Mercy Corps applies a market development approach to understand the complexities surrounding the poor and focuses on removing constraints to their participation in markets, offering a leverage point to turn challenges into opportunities.
Mercy Corps currently operates upwards of 30 market development projects in over 27 countries worth approximately $100 million dollars. These projects support at-risk communities to sustainably develop strong market systems that increase incomes and productivity while reducing the effects and risks of disaster or conflict.
Mercy Corps believes that partnership is critical to achieving deep impact, sustainability, and amplifying reach. We collaborate with a diverse range of partner agencies and institutions at all levels of the public, private and civil society sectors to address the global challenges that drive our work. See the list at the right for a few of our current international partners.
Attachments
Sector Approach: Economic and Market Development All stories about Market Development
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Nigeria: Adolescent Girls in Northern Nigeria: Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Opportunities April 26, 2013
Adolescent Girls in Northern Nigeria: Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Opportunities Profile profiled 1,800 adolescent girls (ages 15 to 19) and private sector actors across the northern Ni
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Yemen: Promoting Youth Employment in Yemen April 18, 2013
In 2013, Yemen’s youth sit at the forefront of a new revolution.
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Niger: Tracking Resilience in Niger January 23, 2013
This post-project independent evaluation of Mercy Corps' Market Improvements and Innovative Linkages (MILK) program in Niger tracks resilience outcomes among program participants from the completio
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Ethiopia: Making the Input Supply Market Work for the Poor January 14, 2013
Mercy Corps is implementing the USAID/OFDA funded Revitalizing Agricultural/Pastoral Incomes and New Markets (RAIN) program in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.
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Private Sector Engagement August 30, 2012
Mercy Corps recognizes that engaging actively with the private sector on a program level helps us sustainably fulfill our strategic goals articulated in our Vision for Change.
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Uganda: Market Analysis for Fuel Efficient Cook Stoves in the Acholi Sub-region, Uganda August 23, 2012
This report summarizes the results from the household energy and market assessment focused on cooking energy in the Acholi sub-region of Northern Uganda.
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South Sudan: Market Support in South Sudan: Building Long Term Resilience for Livelihoods April 23, 2012
International humanitarian agencies are increasingly aware that emergency responses must be designed with a sound understanding of key markets, or they risk undermining recovery by damaging livelih
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Kenya: Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) in Wajir County, Kenya November 3, 2011
Mercy Corps conducted an adapted Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) assessment in Wajir County of Kenya from 2-6 August 2011.
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Georgia: Creating a Sustainable Market November 3, 2011
Changing the livestock system in Georgia to benefit small-scale farmers.
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Kyrgyzstan: A Market-Integrated Response to an Emergency in Kyrgyzstan November 3, 2011
In an article published on the Humanitarian Practice Network, Mercy Corps' Robin Currey, Meghan Neumann, and Patrick Eckford detail market-integrated emergency response in the post-conflict provinc