BDS Conference - About Us

The 1st Regional Conference on Developing Service Markets and Value Chains.
February 19-21, 2007 Amman, Jordan

The Business Development Center (BDC) is a Jordanian non-profit organization committed to economic development and building a better life for all Jordanians. To achieve these goals, the BDC assists Jordanian enterprises in realizing their full potential by enhancing their competitiveness and efficiency, thus preparing them to compete successfully in regional and international markets. Additionally, this assistance fosters job creation and improves the income of Jordanian workers. To further these objectives, the BDC will be hosting the 1st Regional Conference on Developing Service Markets and Value Chains in Amman, Jordan from February 19-21, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

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About Conference

Why Develop Service Markets & Value Chains for Small and Medium Enterprises?

Thousands of people are engaged in developing service markets and value chains around the world; the website www.bdsknowledge.org has registered over 340,000 page views since its launch in August 2003. But the emphasis and headlines change often. So, what is the latest thinking - and what does this mean for practitioners around the world? Organizations that have made major shifts towards developing service markets now wonder, for example, what the current focus on competitiveness and pro-poor growth might mean for them, as well as how these initiatives can be achieved?

Since 2000, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Turin Annual Seminar has addressed these sorts of questions and over 900 people from 104 countries have benefited from the seminar experience. In the early years, the event focused mainly on the field of developing business service (BDS) markets and value chains. In 2005, it expanded to cover current thinking in other markets, such as agriculture and financial services. It also touched on the latest developments in other fields, such as creating an enabling environment for businesses.

In the Arab region the picture is quite different; knowledge and understanding about the above issues is still lacking. However, there is a growing interest by business support organizations, donors, international agencies and private sector BDS providers in the Arab world to develop effective service markets and value chains that stimulate employment and sustainable micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

In response to this demand, the International Training Centre (ITC) of the ILO and the Business Development Center (BDC) in Jordan have organized a regional conference for Arab States. This conference will review the challenges facing service providers in the region and examine how these constraints might be overcome in light of international experience in facilitating the development of markets for business services that focus on strengthening MSMEs. Other organizations participating in this event may include the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, the International Trade Centre of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization.

The conference agenda and technical material has been compiled by economic development experts from the ITC/ILO. Themes which will be covered in the regional 2006 conference include:

Developing markets for business services - a review of international experience;

Frameworks for developing programs to develop business service markets and value chains;

Case studies focusing on service market development in Arab States - including markets for consulting and training services, and the use of mass media to brand training packages;

Case studies focusing on value chain development in Arab States - in particular on how to up-grade producers and trading organisations so that they can reach large export markets; and

ILO tools and instruments for supporting the development of MSMEs.

There are several cross-cutting questions that are being discussed with respect to the themes listed above. For example, how can programs reach the most disadvantaged in society, including women and the poorest of the poor? How are individual donors thinking about these issues now and what does that mean for markets and business service providers? Also, do the differences associated with the Arab business environment necessitate an altered approach to intervention?

The 2007 Regional Conference will address themes and questions like the ones above, taking into consideration both current theory and international best practices. Formal presentations will be complemented by input and feedback from the participants to ensure a rich exchange of experience and learning. Debates are planned on topics that are currently controversial, such as whether or not development agencies should focus on specific target groups (such as MSMEs) and how subsidies can be effectively targeted to minimize distortions in emerging markets. In addition, case studies highlighting regional accomplishments will be presented and discussed by both the participants and facilitators.

The three-day conference, which is to be held in Amman, Jordan from February 19-21 2007, will be conducted in both Arabic and English. Simultaneous interpretation between the two languages will be available. Additionally, the two main documents from the annual Turin International Seminar, the BDS Primer and the latest version of the ILO Reader, will be provided in both Arabic & English.