CROSS-COUNTRY WORKSHOP FOR IMPACT EVALUATIONS IN FINANCE AND

CROSS-COUNTRY WORKSHOP FOR IMPACT EVALUATIONS IN FINANCE AND PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT Dakar, February 1 -4, 2010 Country: Mauritius Manufacturing and Services Development and Competitiveness Project Mr C. Charitar-Principal Financial Analyst Mr. N. Raffique (On behalf of the MSDC Team)Financial Management Analyst Mr A. Ramdhany- Financial Management Analyst 1

PROJECT OBJECTIVES Title Ø Support enterprise growth Ø Competitiveness ØEmployment creation in manufacturing & services sectors. 2

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Title ØImproving access to Quality Development Services (BDS ) ØStrengthening Institutional and Policy Support for existing Public – Sector SME related institutions. ØIncreasing access to finance to credit constrained businesses. 3

PROJECT COMPONENTS Title Improving access to Quality Business Development Services (BDS) Ø specialized skills and training Ø Upgrading technology Ø Standards & certification Ømarketing research 4

PRIORITIES FOR LEARNING: INTERVENTIONS Title Cost sharing or matching grants – to buy specialised outside expertise ØTo whom ? • T 0 any commercial activity contributing to the economy. • Firms with sales of $160, 000 USD and above • Average grant size of $20, 000 USD ØFinancial services and trading oriented to the domestic market are expressly excluded. 5

EVALUATION QUESTIONS Title Ø How much do the matching grants increase turnover? Ø Do the grants lead to jobs creation, and if so, what is the gender mix of the jobs created? Ø Which new business services do SMEs demand? Are they activities with spillovers for society and are they ones they wouldn’t have done without grants? ØWhich firms apply for matching grants? ØHow long does it take firms to recoup their investments in their share of the match? 6

EVALUATION DESIGN Title • 500 SMEs over 4 years • Introduce in a staggered fashion, with limit of 75 in round one, limit to be decided in round two, etc. • Program is promoted heavily in year one, and we hope to get more applicants than the quota §Then treatment group will be randomly chosen from applicants in first year, those who aren’t chosen become control group (note they are eligible to apply again in round 2 7

SAMPLING AND DATA Title ØFirms self-select into applying from the general population – we can use Enterprise Surveys and other Government data to compare those who apply to the average firm ØApplication form contains baseline data on firm sales, employment, owner characteristics (GENDER), etc. ØAdministrative tax records on sales are also available both before and after ØFirms receiving grants will also give quarterly updates ØFollow-up survey of firms in year 3, independently done by contracted survey firm, not linked to administrative agency ØEnd year survey at year 5 8

TIMELINE FOR IMPACT EVALUATION Title ØIn effect within 6 months from now ØApplication forms invited soon, and lottery then done ØFirst grants given out, and processes piloted and databases built ØDepending on initial level of applications, targets will be reviewed and quota and timing for round 2 set. Ø Survey at the end of year 3 and end. 9

IMPACT EVALUATION TEAM: STAFFING Title ØMauritius Business Growth Scheme Unit Ø Establishment of a Monitoring & Evaluation Unit Ø Outsource the survey ØProject Coordinator from WB side to be provided and collaborate with MBGSU 10

BUDGET Title ØProject has budgeted for implementation costs including promotional activities to advertise the project. It also has budgeted for follow up surveys ØOnly additional budget requirement is funding for the project coordinator (which WB will fund) 11

Thank You 12