Budget: From 10.2007 to 10.2009 - CHF 3'875'000 (approx. USD 3’100’000)

Implementing Agency: Prosperity Initiative (PI)

Project Location: Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR.

Background:

Rural poverty remains a challenge in the Mekong countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Despite economic development in Vietnam, groups particular rural poor and ethnic minorities remain economically marginalized. Around 35 million poor or near poor rural people in the region remain disconnected to broader economic development which is needed to eradicate economic poverty. Poverty rates are worst in upland and remote rural and ethnic communities, exceeding 85% in some areas. The causes of this deep and persistent poverty are numerous, yet a key factor has been the failure to create targeted growth benefiting poor communities.

The bamboo sector has been evaluated as a potential sector to impact poverty at scale in the region by Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK) and partners. The growing USD 7 billion global bamboo market holds significant opportunity for rural communities in the region.

Recent work shows that the targeted expansion of the bamboo sector has the potential for large-scale regional poverty reduction.  The Prosperity Initiative (PI), which was created by Oxfam Hong Kong in 2006, will therefore undertake a range of bamboo sector development activities aimed at scaled poverty impact.  In parallel, PI will use the experience in the bamboo sector to develop, test and refine a model for regional sector development that can be replicated in other sectors. 

Overall Goal:

Impact poverty in the Mekong through further development of the bamboo sector, launching other regional sector development initiatives and provincial multi-sector initiatives, building the capacity of institutional partners to conduct analysis and develop policy, and establishing a rich network of government, private sector and development actors engaged with the project.

Approaches:

Scaled impacts will best be achieved by developing and linking two types of large scale interventions:

• National and regional single sector development initiatives.
• Multi-sector initiatives at provincial level.

Analysis and strategy underpin the process to embark on these interventions. The initial stages of screening and feasibility analysis of potential sectors is carried out with key national partners to ensure the national capacity for sector prioritisation is developed. This stage of the process also requires live supply chain pilot activities so that real market viability and potential poverty impact can be established.

Regional sector development initiatives include supply chain demonstrations – further development of supply chain pilots established during the feasibility stage – and sector level activities such as market facilitation, finance, sector enabling environment, and research and policy advocacy.

Provincial portfolios are developed by integrating the multi-sector experience of analysis and supply chain pilots into a partnership and policy engagement process with provincial partners.

Results Achieved and Expected:

• Increased investment and business activity resulting in measured bamboo related impact on poverty in the supply chain pilots of MBC, and multiple replication sites and more than 20 formal project partners in the region.
• Phase 2 project ready to launch including: completion of project design, the identification of at least 4 new priority sectors for regional scale implementation and 5 provincial portfolio initiatives identified with partnerships established and poised to move into implementation phase, and collaborative platforms in advanced stages of development.
• Advancement of the approach developed in the work and to make a significant contribution to international practice in PSD.
• Development of skills of key market strategy agencies in the region.

Contact:

Prosperity Initiative (PI)
Email: info@pi-email.org