BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF
BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP
ORGANISATIONS
Andrei Mikhnev
World Bank Group
DEFINITION
Business Membership Organisations
(BMOs) are various organizations where
companies or individual entrepreneurs are
members
• business associations
• chambers of commerce
• federation of business associations
• employers’ clubs
• private sector forums
RATIONALE FOR
STRENGTHENING BMOs
• Representing the private sector in a
dialogue with public authorities
• Providing services to enterprises
• Playing self-regulatory role for some
industries
• Accumulating and disseminating knowledge
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
• Better environment for doing business
• Greater participation of private sector in
the governance processes
• Promotion of access to new markets
• More transparent regulatory functions
• Better representativeness of various
industries and enterprise groups
BMO GUIDE
OBJECTIVE
Summarize and systematize the
expertise and lessons learned in the
area of building the BMO capacity
and provide guiding principles for
design, implementation, and
evaluation of the BMO support
activities
BMO GUIDE
AUDIENCE
• Project managers/project teams
• Bilateral and multilateral donors
• Business membership organizations
• Researchers
BMO GUIDE
DESIGN
• Project cycle
• Steps in project implementation
• Case studies
• Practical tools
CONTENT
A. General Considerations before
Starting a Project
B. Implementation of a Project
C. Impact Assessment of BMO Projects
D. The Way Forward
OUTCOME INDICATORS
1. Service delivery is improved
2. Advocacy is improved
3. BMO management has
become more professional
IMPACT INDICATORS
1. Business environment has improved
2. Competitiveness of SMEs has
improved
3. Socially acceptable employment has
risen
4. Project has contributed to
environmentally sustainable
development
WAY FORWARD
1. Ten Rules for Donor Intervention
2. Sustainable BMOs: What Next?
3. BMOs as Tools to Spur Policy Reforms
4. What can we achieve through
engaging BMOs in public-private
dialogue?
BMOs IN PUBLIC PRIVATE
DIALOGUE
1. Implementation of policy reforms
2. Improving the relationship between the
public sector and the business
community
3. Creation of friendly business
environments in post conflict countries
CONCLUSION
• BMOs are key institutions in a public
private dialogue
• The higher the capacity of BMOs, the
stronger their voice in a public private
dialogue
• Engaging the existing BMOs rather than
establish new purely donor-funded entity
• Ensure sustainability
BMO GUIDE
http://www.ifc.org/sme