Economic Growth

Driving trade, technology, agriculture, business, and financial services to create jobs, reduce poverty, and enhance food security.

Market Systems and Value Chain

We are a global leader in implementing market systems development programs, expanding the frontiers for driving competitive, inclusive, and resilient growth. We have been at the forefront of integrating the value chain approach and the Making Markets Work for the Poor approach (M4P) within the broader systemic thinking. Since 2010, we have implemented more than 50 market systems development projects in 42 countries, and for clients including the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Chevron, and Kosmos Energy. Our approach addresses the root causes of systemic constraints, empowering local actors in the market system to understand underlying problems and find solutions, all while adopting a facilitative approach to ensure long-term impact at scale.

We engage private sector actors to co-design and co-create market-based and enterprise-led interventions that value and actively engage a broader set of system actors, specifically the rural poor and other marginalized groups.

  • In Bangladesh, DAI forged agreements with 42 of the most influential private sector firms and helped facilitate $19.4 million in new private sector investment that drove inclusive growth.
  • In Mozambique, DAI leveraged project funds to strategically buy down risk and co-finance with farmers and agribusiness to promote investments in equipment upgrades, climate-smart agriculture, input distribution, smallholder farmer access to finance, and women’s empowerment.
  • In Nigeria, DAI applied a market systems approach in the conflict-affected areas of the Niger Delta across 17 sectors—agricultural, livestock, manufacturing, renewable energy, and the entertainment industry—by facilitating relationships between lead firms and local service providers, who supported 700,000 smallholder farmers through commercially driven models.

Our most successful market systems projects work at the nexus of government and its interactions with the private sector to create a conducive enabling environment for inclusive growth.

  • In Ethiopia, we have assisted the government to develop sectoral growth strategies in conjunction with the private sector and then supported their implementation using market systems approaches.
  • In Mozambique, we have enhanced the regulatory framework for seed certification and supported the rollout of new licensing regulations to make commodity trading easier and less expensive.
  • In Nigeria, we worked with state governments to adapt their policies and implementation to include sustainable approaches. In each case, changes made it easier for the private sector to drive inclusive growth.

Our Experts


Rashad Bibars is a senior development leader with more than 18 years of experience in designing and managing complex economic growth and private sector programs in Afghanistan, Jordan, and the Middle East in areas related to micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) and workforce development.

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Melanie Bittle is a Director for DAI’s Agriculture and Market Systems practice.

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Brianna Cole is a Global Practice Specialist in DAI’s Private Sector Development and Skills practice.

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Lief Doerring is a senior international development expert, leader, and portfolio manager with more than 20 years of experience working in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific.

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Arsalan Ali Faheem is the Country Director of DAI’s corporate office in Pakistan, where he leads corporate strategy, client engagement, and new business development.

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Bill Grant is a pioneer in developing market systems development (MSD) approaches through his work on developing and applying value chain and Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approaches on 25 long-term projects in more than 30 countries.

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Marina Krivoshlykova is a Principal Global Practice Manager for DAI’s Private Sector Development and Skills practice.

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Tom Lenaghan is a specialist in agricultural value chain and market systems approaches to development.

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Bryanna Millis is a Principal Global Practice Specialist with DAI.

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Kirsten Pfeiffer leads the design and implementation of complex agriculture market systems and investment facilitation projects.

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Zaki Raheem is private sector development specialist, where he engages in market assessments that look to link micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises and producers to growing markets.

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Bhairav Raja is a Trade Advisor on the USAID Africa Trade and Investment Activity. He works in the team’s cross-continental trade services.

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Our Projects


Mozambique—Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Market System (PROMAS)

The Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Market System (PROMAS) project is creating a more competitive, inclusive, climate-resilient market in northern Mozambique.

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Worldwide—Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP)

The Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships activity (MSP) helps the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) advance learning and good practice in integrating private sector engagement across all activities, while at the same time deepening market systems development across the Feed the Future program cycle.

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Uganda—Feed the Future Inclusive Agricultural Markets (IAM)

The Feed the Future Inclusive Agricultural Marketsactivity works to increase incomes and improve livelihoods in Uganda by promoting agriculture-led economic growth.

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Afghanistan—Value Chains Program

The Afghanistan Value Chains Program helps farmers and related agribusinesses to increase productivity and create jobs by expanding into new markets, attracting investors, and improving efficiency.

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