Helping Local SME Suppliers Survive the Global Economic Crisis : Lessons from Zambia
Economies dependent on resource extraction are particularly susceptible to sudden swings in commodity prices. International Finance Corporation (IFC) linkages projects should take this into account by helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) pre...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/05/10658749/helping-local-sme-suppliers-survive-global-economic-crisis-lessons-zambia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10552 |
| Summary: | Economies dependent on resource
extraction are particularly susceptible to sudden swings in
commodity prices. International Finance Corporation (IFC)
linkages projects should take this into account by helping
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) prepare for the
'hard times,' such as the current global economic
crisis, through diversification of markets and improving
their coping capacities. To reduce their dependency on one
or a limited number of corporations, SMEs should also be
linked or introduced to market opportunities available from
other organizations or firms. Likewise, other players or
consumers in the sector should be included in
'crisis' planning and introduced to SMEs to
increase the market size for SMEs. Finally, partnerships
should be sought with government organizations involved in
SME development to design innovative capacity-building
interventions. This smart lesson describes how IFC's
are helping Zambian SME suppliers hit hard by the global
economic crisis and sharp fall in world copper prices and
the lessons learned from the experience. |
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