Catalyst For Growth

Catalyst for Growth (C4G) is a non-profit company that was conceptualised by JP Morgan Foundation and Dalberg Global Development Advisors as an intervention to promote and introduce quality Business Development Service (BDS) Providers to corporates seeking to optimise the impact of their Enterprise and Supplier Development (EDS) spend on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). C4G will add value to corporates or any other buyers of ESD and BDS providers by focusing on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and analysis of BDS impact and ESD spend. C4G will publish non-attributable, but verified demographic and performance data of BDS provider partners and their SMME clients, thereby enabling corporates to make informed decisions about where to direct their ESD spend as well as how to work more closely with BDS providers to ensure that services to SMME clients are relevant, have greater potential for impact and development of SMME suppliers. Additionally, C4G’s technology driven monitoring and impact analytics will enable registered BDS providers to compare their performance against the industry average, enabling them to see the impact they are having in the enterprise and supplier development space and will enable SMME investors to identify finance ready SMMEs. Currently, C4G is in the beta phase, working with a selection of BDS providers and corporates with the objective to ensure that the process will be beneficial to the various stakeholders in the industry. Post the beta phase, C4G wants to develop an analytics platform with the intention to increase the quality of BDS in the market, reward the best service providers, and help link SMMEs to growth capital. The data will improve SMME services and allow the investment community to decrease costs associated with sourcing SMMEs, while directing ESD capital into high-achieving programmes. SMMEs who are seeking finance will also have the opportunity for their information be made available to investors.