Bankable Frontier Weblog

The Asian Development Bank and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) joined to host a small conference in February in Manila on this topic, nicknamed M4P. Both agencies have M4P programs (in name anyway!) active in various parts of the world. These programs attempt to implement aspects of this theme in different markets, ranging from labour markets (Vietnam, South Africa), agriculture (Bangladesh, SE Asia, Nigeria, South Africa) and financial services (South Africa, Zambia). The conference provided an opportunity for practitioners from the field to rub shoulders with academics and consultants on the conceptual issues. Papers are available on the conference website. Those who wish an overview of this new approach will find Alan Johnson’s paper very readable and useful.

The conference grappled with the core question of what was really new about the M4P approach—was it simply old wine in new bottles? The conclusion: There is new wine, too, although it could do with some maturation. In particular, many participants from the donor world stressed how, properly understood, this approach was a big move for donors away from the world of designing narrow private sector growth interventions to supporting systemic interventions. The approach is long on analysis at present (value chains, livelihoods analysis, access frontier) and short on practical implementation tools. However, even the analysis itself can be a useful tool: by engaging with governments, private sector and other donors on how markets touch the lives of the poor, the official mindset towards markets can be encouraged to be more pro-poor. For example, as bank supervisors understand how issues of financial exclusion affect societal stability and thereby financial stability, they are likely to consider the impact of new regulations on access to financial services. This approach could help prevent the unintended consequences of regulation, which can be so dangerous for the poor.