The Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) commissioned Common Ground Solutions to conduct a market assessment and private sector engagement study for the Smart Villages Project, funded by the Drosos Foundation, in Soul and Al Brombl villages, Atfih District, Giza Governorate. Over 2 months, CGS conducts 6 focus group discussions, 20 key informant interviews and 10 to 12 enterprise assessments, and assesses 4 NGOs, to guide the selection of 20 micro enterprises led by women and youth.
The terms of reference ask for decision ready evidence on market demand, agricultural value chains, private sector linkages, local NGO capacity and financial inclusion needs for the 20 enterprises.
CGS works in 11 phases using a market systems lens. A desk review and mapping of local enterprises, institutions and market actors precede fieldwork. Using purposive sampling, focus groups cover women, youth and enterprise operators, and interviews reach 10 private sector actors, 5 finance and business development providers and 5 local stakeholders.
Value chains linked to crops, livestock, agricultural waste and food processing are analyzed, enterprise options are screened and ranked against agreed feasibility criteria, and the 4 NGOs are assessed for their capacity to host incubation. Evidence is coded, triangulated and validated with the project team.
CGS delivers an inception report and tools, a clean database, a market study with a ranked enterprise opportunity portfolio, a private sector engagement plan, an NGO capacity assessment and development plan, and a final report with Arabic and English executive summaries.
