Enterprise Development - Defining the Field: Synthesis of a SEEP Network Online Discussion

This paper presents the online discussion on enterprise development organized by the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network. It aims at:

• Exchanging ideas, experiences and frameworks around which enterprise development is defined,
• Brainstorming innovative solutions,
• Facilitating improved understanding and dialogue among practitioners.

The paper communicates the discussions on:

• Definitions of the enterprise development terms,
• The pros and cons of the terms,
• Suggestions related to specific terms used in the field.

The paper discerns the clearest terms for the concepts and brings out the suggestions for:

• Communicating with a variety of actors;
• Defining the appropriate terms to describe:
  • Thing provided by one firm to another to improve their participation in the market;
  • Thing provided at no cost by one firm to another as a part of their commercial transaction with one another;
  • The sustainable provision and use of the thing referred above.
• Defining the term "capacity building" and the needs for it to be sustainable.

The paper then analyzes three concepts related to market assessment:

• Process for identifying the need for a particular product;
• Process of assessing the provision and use of targeted product;
• Differentiating these two processes and constraints associated with each.

The paper highlights the steps taken to ensure that the principles are sustainable and concludes that SEEP working group will continue internal discussions and look for opportunities to participate in and contribute to external dialogue.