PSD 2.3.4 Businesses directly supported

The indicator counts the businesses that HELVETAS or its implementing partners supported directly and substantially to improve their own performance, for example their production, sales, management or compliance with standards.

Business: any enterprise that produces goods or provides services to make a profit. This includes self-employed entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), formal or informal. Cooperatives and producer organisations count if they are supported to improve their own business. Smallholder farms are not counted here (see FAN 1.2.1 and SJI 2.1).

Directly supported: the business received support from HELVETAS or an implementing partner, not only through a service provider the project strengthened (that is PSD 2.3.1).

Substantial support: more than a single information event or a one-day training. Examples of support that counts:

• training followed by coaching or advisory visits

• support over several sessions or days (business plan, marketing, bookkeeping, quality standards)

• a grant, matching fund or in-kind support (equipment, technology)

• a market linkage that leads to a deal or contract

The project defines its own minimum support package in the M&E plan and applies it to all businesses.

Not counted here:

• businesses supported to provide services to other businesses or farmers (PSD 2.3.2)

• businesses that only use the services of a strengthened provider (PSD 2.3.1)

• service providers contracted by the project, consortium partners and implementing partners

• fenale-led, male-led, joint lead business

Businesses (each business counted once, not its owners or employees)

The owners or managers who take part in the support (one person per business unless several are trained).

Employees of the supported businesses, and household members of owners trained individually.

No

• Project business register with a unique ID per business

• Attendance lists, coaching and visit records

• Grant and matching fund agreements, delivery notes for in-kind support

• Contracts or sales records for market linkages

Collect data continuously, whenever a business completes the minimum support package. Report annually.

Keep one register of all businesses the project supports directly. For each business, record: unique ID, name, location, size, formal or informal, who leads it, the support received with dates, and the date it completed the minimum support package.

A business is counted when it completes the minimum support package, not when it first attends an activity. Use the same register as the sampling frame for the SJI 2.2 survey.

Defining the minimum support. Projects differ a lot. Write down the minimum package in the M&E plan and apply it the same way every year.

Business or service provider? Decide by the purpose of the support. Support to improve the business itself: PSD 2.3.4. Support to provide services to others (for example an input trader trained to advise farmers): PSD 2.3.2.

Self-employed and smallholders. Self-employed entrepreneurs are counted. Smallholder farms are not, even if they sell their produce.

Same business, several years. A business supported in several years is counted only in the first year.