Evaluation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 2014, Evaluation of DANIDA Business to Business Programme 2006-2011

2.1 ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

2.1.9 Value Chains and adding value to value chain components

Recommendation: 11. Strengthen exchanges among enterprises from developed and developing countries in order to accelerate knowhow transfer in both directions. Companies in developed countries may, for example, increase their understanding of other cultures and new markets.

Reference: Evaluation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 2014, Evaluation of DANIDA Business to Business Programme 2006-2011, Final evaluation, Danida, Copenaghen, Covered countries: Mali, Benin, China, Vietnam, Uganda, Bangladesh.

Evidence sample: evaluation focuses on enterprises exchanges and knowhow transfer. The latter is often related to systems building, for example in creation of cold chain in the food industry and in general safety and hygiene in this sector, critical in developing country exports to industrial countries where food safety standards are generally very strict. Knowhow is also to a large extent related to market demands and quality issues in industrialised countries. In this respect, the Danish companies brought critical knowledge to local firms engaged in sub-contracting manufacturing in sectors such as information technology and food. The exchange of personnel between Denmark and the partner country was often a critical element, providing essential learning for the local company on how firms in the same business was organised in Denmark and the quality requirements on the Danish market. Financing such exchanges was an essential part of successful knowhow transfer and learning.

In general, collaboration between businesses from different cultures and markets means learning from both parties. It would therefore be wrong to see the knowhow transfer as a one-way street. It goes both ways: Danish companies interviewed express overall the learning they have made through the partnerships of understanding of cultures and of new markets. While technology transfers from the North often can be a valid concept, technology is today globalised in many sectors and transfer of knowhow goes both ways, besides the aspect of mutual cultural learning.

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2.1.11 Coordination and sustainability planning

Recommendation: 20. Study the contextual factors that may influence effectiveness and sustainability of value chain partnerships between companies from developed and developing countries. Take such identified factors into account when designing future programming on such partnerships.

Reference: Evaluation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 2014, Evaluation of DANIDA Business to Business Programme 2006-2011, Final evaluation, Danida, Copenaghen, Covered countries: Mali, Benin, China, Vietnam, Uganda, Bangladesh.

Evidence sample: the evaluation found that several contextual factors can have a positive correlation with the likelihood of a sustained PPP  (partnership) beyond the project.

- Size: larger Danish companies have shown to be more able to sustain the partnership than smaller ones.

- Age: more established Danish partners were slightly more able to sustain partnerships than younger companies, whereas there is a rather clear correlation between the age of the local partner and sustainability – the more established the company, the better sustainability.

- International experience: both Danish and local partners with considerable international experience have better sustainability, and the same goes for the financially robust companies, though none of them are strong factors.

- Business motive: market extension projects are more sustainable as are buy/sell and JV type of partnerships. Sector wise, the ICT sector is the one that has the least chance of sustainability.