Business Development Services – Developing business model for rural microenterprises Comparative case study of rural microenterprises in Madagascar

This research discusses business models for rural micro- and small enterprises (MSE) and business development services (BDS) that proved to facilitate growth and increase income of MSEs. The research was conducted in regions Itasy and Boeny in Madagascar, in sectors of pink peppercorn, pineapple, common bean, cashew nuts, corn and black eye bean. Through set of interviews with MSEs at different development levels, characteristics of the successful ones were dissected, in order to use as guideline for less-developed MSEs to follow; discussed are best practices, access to markets, usage of training and approaches to crop cultivation. Moreover, as a study done for International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), it summarizes the BDS which help the MSEs in their progress and help to generate more revenue, so that both IFAD and other BDS NGOs can draw on the experience of the study to improve the BDS as well as identify which are most important for the smallholders.