The SEEP Network has partnered with Pollen Group to offer an introductory course on inclusive market systems development (MSD) in thin markets, in contexts such as post-conflict, environment related emergencies, and highly underdeveloped markets with limited or distorted private sector engagement. The training will strengthen practitioner application of systems-thinking and facilitative approaches to program design and implementation. The outcome of this course is a more comprehensive understanding of how to instigate systemic change in thin markets, leading to larger and more sustainable impact.
Throughout the training, participants will engage with a fictional case study based on the experiences of SEEP members implementing MSD programs in thin markets. This case will help practitioners to identify vulnerable groups, analyze thin market constraints, develop intervention strategies that are inclusive of vulnerable groups, identify leverage points for systemic change, and design partner engagement strategies that spur behavior change among public and private market actors.
This training is aimed at mid to senior level managers of market systems programs that may have some familiarity with the approach but have not experienced an in-depth training on market systems, M4P, or facilitation. The training will cover 6 main topics:
- The foundational concepts of market systems development;
- Frameworks to shape inclusive strategy and intervention design;
- How programs can engage in thin market contexts and, within these contexts, target vulnerable or marginalized groups as beneficiaries of systemic change interventions;
- Tools and tactics on how to engage market actors while promoting ownership and sustainability;
- M&E for systemic change;
- Organizational processes for more flexible and adaptive programming.
Audience
This training is aimed at mid to senior level managers of market systems programs that may have some familiarity with the approach but have not experienced an in-depth training on market systems, M4P, or facilitation.
Participants will gain:
- Strengthened understanding of complex systems, systems-theory, and its application to analyzing problems;
- Increased knowledge of market systems facilitation tools and frameworks to strengthen the design of project intervention strategies;
- Strengthened capacity on the use of facilitative tactics during project activities, including strengthening formal and informal feedback loops to inform learning and planning;
- An understanding of thin markets versus thick markets, and how to engage marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Meet the Trainers:
- Raksha Vasudevan joined Pollen Group Consulting after two years working in the humanitarian sector in west Africa, Europe and the Middle East. As a market development Strategist, she has undertaken market analyses of the livestock sector in northern Kenya and access to digital financial services in West Africa. Previously, Raksha worked with a management consulting firm in Canada and a microfinance NGO in south Asia. Raksha holds a Master’s in Development Studies and a Bachelor’s in Commerce.
- Christine Livet is a Senior Strategist with Pollen Group Consulting, with extensive experience working with market systems and facilitative programs in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. She specializes in organizational change management, developing performance management systems, and training/mentoring of field staff in market systems and facilitation. Prior to working with Pollen Group (as well as formerly under Engineers Without Borders Canada), Christine worked in the dairy sector in Nepal and with the Canadian donor agency supporting the design of economic growth policies and strategies. She studied international development and economics at the University of Ottawa.

The Africa Energy Indaba Conference will discuss, debate and seek solutions to enable adequate energy generation across the continent.
THE CONFERENCE WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO:
- debate policy
- review industrial progress and market trends
- discuss the efficiency of various public support mechanisms and public-private partnerships across the continent
- review new data and the latest technological trends globally
Delegates in the early stages of their careers will have an unprecedented opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of the energy sector and to lay the foundations for their role as “Future Energy Leaders”.
WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
- Update your knowledge on the current trends within energy across the African continent with input from global authorities
- Explore future trends to position your business as effectively as possible
- Explore the growing interest in ‘green’ and sustainability issues in the context of developing countries. New opportunities will emerge and new careers will be created
- Understand the research needed to transform the primary energy related industries of oil, gas and coal so these abundant resources can continue to be exploited responsibly
- Discover examples and best practices from other industries
- Find out how government and business leaders plan to address the energy demand
- Share ideas and network with business associates in a rewarding, off-the-record setting
- Understand how the new energy landscape is creating new opportunities to address our continent’s challenges, improve the way we work, impact training and development and attract new talent and technology to Africa.
Delegates, drawn from all continents, represent an unrivalled combination of industry experts, project developers, financiers, energy users, government officials and manufacturers.
NETWORK WITH PERSONALITIES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
- Government & Municipality
- Project Developers/Consultants/Analysts
- Environmental Engineering
- Equipment & Technology Solutions
- Banks/Investors/Insurance
- Automotive & Transport
- Green Energy
- Commodity Traders / Agents & Brokers
- Associations & Press
REGISTER TO ATTEND THE AFRICA ENERGY INDABA 2017 AND BENEFIT FROM:
- Networking amongst more than 600 senior level energy sector experts and decision-makers planning and developing the 21st century energy requirements for Africa.
- Hearing from more than 160 expert speakers discussing the latest and best industry practice.
- Visiting over 100 leading energy suppliers showcasing the latest technologies, equipment and services.
- Reviewing policy and regulation, industry progress and changing market trends.
The major goal of this Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop is to create a large pool of experts in the area of gender-responsive economic policy management. This pool of experts will be equipped to act as trainers for the two-week course on gender-responsive economic policy management organized for middle and senior African policymakers and which takes place on an annual basis at IDEP’s headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. Successful applicants may also be considered to be included in IDEP’s roster of gender experts.
The course aims at providing training on agricultural policy with a view to strengthening and/or renewing the knowledge and capacity of African policy makers, including senior managers, negotiators, advisors, planners and analysts, to meet the core challenges of growing the agricultural sector as a central engine of national economic development and social policy. In doing so, the course will expose participants not only to the current state of knowledge and the comparative lessons which are available to Africa, but also some of the best practices that serve as pertinent examples of how an integrated and comprehensive agricultural policy regime has been used to promote economic transformation and social well-being.
The course will serve the policy concerns which most African governments share of, among other things, improving agricultural output and productivity, nurturing the linkages between agriculture and other economic sectors, increasing national food security, combating poverty, expanding employment, promoting environmental sustainability, and enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods, including gender equality. These are concerns that have also been embraced by the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and NEPAD.