Development of Anchor Firms. Growing cacao under shade in Esmeraldas, belonging to a Chachi community.
2.1 Achievements during the Quarter
A. Socio-Economic Environment for Stakeholders in Border Region Value Chains Processing coconut from the Atacames Canton of Esmeraldas Province at the Jugo Facil anchor firm factory in Quito.
Development of Anchor Firms. The PRODEL team completed the anchor firm selection process during the first quarter of FY 2009. Upon conclusion of the selection process, the PRODEL team immediately began to work with firms and their producers in the areas of business development, producer and company relationships, and strengthening the production chain. To this end, the PRODEL team conducted training events, capacity-building and business planning workshops.
2.1 Achievements during the Quarter
Development of Anchor Firms. The group of 19 small businesses chosen to date for the PRODEL program is a heterogeneous group of privately-owned and associative MSEs that possess great potential for impact and synergy with a large number of producers. Many of them have survived in the highly competitive world of agribusiness as a result of their strong leadership skills and business acumen, which has resulted in a growing acceptance of their products in the local marketplace. Against many odds, PRODEL anchor firms have developed their businesses with passion and determination, few resources, without access to credit and with annual average sales of less than $500,000. They have faced financial and internal deficiencies, including little access to technology or research and development resources. This has resulted in low competitiveness levels, which represents the reality of the majority of small businesses in Ecuador. A total of six value chain sectors have been chosen through the PRODEL program to date. They include: cacao, coffee, dairy, aromatic herbs/horchata, grains and fruits. PRODEL seeks to channel resources through anchor firms to their producers in each of these value chains, focusing resources primarily on increasing productivity and improving competitiveness through business strengthening trainings and workshops. A proposal is developed in close coordination with the anchor firms and their producers for the Enterprise Partnership Fund (EPF) and is based on the needs identified through the business planning process. This process requires a comprehensive approach to enhancing competitiveness for each participating firm. Through this process, PRODEL technical team members recommended allocating resources to strengthen the management component of each organization. PRODEL also included a component to strengthen linkages with suppliers in order to improve productivity and quality assurance. The PRODEL team recommended that administrative, financial, commercial, processing of goods and internal management procedures be strengthened. PRODEL anchor firms named access to credit, technology, and social, political and economic insecurity as their main barriers to growth and development. According to PRODEL technical team members, participating anchor firms require a strong focus on internal strengthening in order for the firm to grow and prosper. Table 4: Business Planning Workshops Completed by 4th Quarter FY08 Anchor Firm Coffee Xxx xx Xxxxxxx Café Xxxxx Café Xxxxxxxx Café Rio In...