Looking Back on USAID CATALYZE’s 2023 Highlights
Launched in October 2019, CATALYZE is a buy-in mechanism that allows USAID to efficiently design and roll-out innovative blended finance solutions for a variety of sectors and countries in collaboration with governments, civil society, and private sector actors. In 2023, CATALYZE Activities significantly scaled implementation of its blended finance approaches, accelerating engagement with its local private sector actors and supporting local firms and financial institutions in 39 countries (up from 28 the prior year) with technical assistance and financing. We reached record numbers of non-state schools, students, and increasingly, childcare centers, in emerging and frontier markets, with increased access, quality of learning and needed financing.
We are pleased to share some highlights of our work in 2023. Activity teams continued to invest USAID resources into digital innovations across the globe, from e-job and digital training platforms to support youth and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) workforce development, to crowdfunding/matchmaking solutions, digital finance products, payment platforms, digital risk mitigation through visualization technology, and digital data solutions for expanded smallholder finance.
- The USAID CATALYZE Engines of Growth (EoG) Activity in the Western Balkans launched a new fintech solution called LORES+ in partnership with the Albanian company Creative Business Solutions (CBS). LORES+ allows SMEs in the Western Balkans to apply for loans online in less than 90 seconds and access information on available financial opportunities to grow their businesses, saving them time and effort. LORES+ will also benefit banks and other financial institutions by attracting new verified clients at an exceptionally low risk rate (1% non-performing loans). The goal is to enable a minimum of $12 million of credit applications, benefiting 285 SMEs over the next 2.5 years. LORES+ is just one of many tools and initiatives supported by EoG to boost SMEs in Albania and across the Western Balkans.
- The CATALYZE Women Building Resilience (WBR) Activity works to improve women’s economic opportunities by expanding access to finance for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (W-SMEs). In 2022, WBR (formerly Women’s Economic Empowerment or WEE) conducted an in-depth gender assessment with Propemi Banco America Central (BAC) Credomatic to identify opportunities to overcome constraints to lending to women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (W-SMEs). With CATALYZE support, this year BAC measured the financial institution’s reach amongst women against peer institutions and identified opportunities to capture greater market share. This partnership in El Salvador leverages innovative financial technology to finance women entrepreneurs, easing the application process for loans and increasing their access to capital.
- Feed supply is a lucrative industry in Burkina Faso: nearly 86% of the working population in rural areas derive all or part of their income from livestock. But in 2021, Aminata Ouedraogo — an animal feed, flour processing and wheat bran business owner — lost a large part of her working capital following an armed attack. Like many women entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso’s rural areas, her access to financial services was limited. The CATALYZE Finance for Resilience (F4R) Activity in Burkina Faso and its partner GRAINE SARL processed Aminata’s loan in less than two weeks and enabled her to increase wheat bran purchases by 20 tons. Since receiving the F4R loan, her profits have increased by 100%.
- At a time when more customers and consumers than ever want to know exactly where their products are coming from, blockchain technology can provide that ‘radical transparency.’ But implementing that technology can be difficult. Improved uptake of blockchain technology by SMEs can also lead to increased incomes for their suppliers, further contributing to a country’s economic growth. Many SMEs in Sri Lanka aren’t equipped to manage their supply with this technology. The USAID CATALYZE Private Sector Development (PSD) Activity in Sri Lanka partnered with small businesses to help them pilot blockchain technology and provide their customers with a glimpse of each product’s journey from manufacture to delivery. PSD partner Selyn Handlooms is one of Sri Lanka’s first firms in the apparel industry to integrate blockchain into its products.
- In 2023, the CATALYZE Market Systems for Growth (MS4G) Activity in Ethiopia launched a $3.5 million initiative to enable banks to restructure the debt of farmers and other value chain actors whose ability to service their loans was affected by recent fertilizer supply and price shocks. As a complement to USAID’s direct support for farmers suffering in the face of the crisis, MS4G took a market systems approach to support a variety of value chain actors and their financial sector partners. The financial support from MS4G puts agriculture value chain actors back in good standing with their financial institutions and injects much-needed U.S. dollars and liquidity into Ethiopian banks.
- A microfinance institution in Peru, EDPYME Alternativa S.A., partnered with USAID CATALYZE Peru through its financial incentive program, committing to mobilize USD 500,000 in one year. EDPYME Alternativa surpassed their targets, mobilizing 109% of their original commitment. The financial institute’s Amazonia portfolio also grew by 26%, demonstrating the power of the program’s blended finance models in increasing MSMEs’ access to financing. This, in turn, is, helping to create jobs, increase incomes, and boost food production.
- The CATALYZE Asia Social Protection (ASP) Activity officially launched in Philippines this year. The recently hired in-country team met for three days to draft a workplan, and start planning for activities, which will increase access to employment and health for underserved youth. ASP also facilitated a focus group discussion with youth aged 18–20 in Pasig City. The team talked about what better employment means to them, and how better access to healthcare could improve their livelihoods.
- At the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit in November, President Biden announced the Americas Partnership Accelerator. The USAID CATALYZE Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Accelerator will establish a multi-year accelerator program that will promote the inclusive growth of social and impact startup enterprises in the Americas. The new Activity will aim to improve socioeconomic and climate impacts; employment; and productivity across 10 countries: Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. The program also aims to support actors within the informal sector, including agricultural workers and small farmers, by improving their productivity through capacity building, better access to markets and value chains, financing, and climate resilience tools.
Our Education Activities also shared their highlights from 2023.
On behalf of USAID CATALYZE Activities from all 39 countries, thank you for following our work. As we move into 2024, CATALYZE is expected to continue expanding its portfolio of programming activities into new countries and sectors to address new development challenges and further its positive impact. We look forward to continuing our mission of mobilizing private capital for development.
