PISCES II experience. Volume I. Local efforts in micro-enterprise development

This report reviews PISCES Phase II demonstration projects and summarizes the lessons learned. First discussed are the characteristics and problems of informal sector businesses, their role in the economy, and aspects of effective microenterprise projects, including the importance of the local setting and beneficiary level. A typology of projects is presented in table form. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn from demonstration projects in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Egypt, followed by an outline of the steps in implementing a microenterprise project: feasibility study, outreach and promotion, selection, credit, management training, organizational assistance, monitoring and evaluation, and project management. Implications for donors, three phases of funding strategy, and new directions for future projects are described.