Document: Business Development Service for small enterprises - Guiding principles for donor intervention

The ultimate objective of donor intervention in Business Development Services (BDS) is to improve small enterprise (SE) performance in developing countries, as a means to achieve higher economic growth and employment, reduce poverty, and meet social objectives. Better BDS is only one means to these ends. Improving SE performance requires many ingredients, such as a policy environment conducive to enterprise competitiveness, access to financial and non-financial services, and expanding markets for SE products and services. These Guiding Principles are not intended to cover all of these elements, but rather the specific contributions which BDS can make to small enterprise development.