USAID/Nepal Cross Cutting PSE Findings and Opportunities

The USAID/Washington team, comprising Global Partnerships (GP), Private Capital and Microenterprise (PCM) and the Development Credit Authority (DCA), grounded its work in the theory that by leveraging the activities and resources of the recovery effort, the Government of Nepal (GoN) and development partners could empower the private sector as a partner and service provider for the recovery. The assessment team focused on two main objectives: identifying potential market-based approaches to leverage private sector ideas, energy, and resources for the recovery effort and longer-term, inclusive economic growth, and evaluating private sector needs, interests, and opportunities across agriculture, construction, and tourism with the intention to "build back better." The team also focused on alternative pathways to recovery, as indicated by the private sector's interest and willingness to invest. The assessment team set out to identify how USAID could strategically deploy its human and financial resources to unlock private sector potential in the target sectors that would lead to significant development results. The team conducted the analysis from a private sector perspective, so as to understand both sector-specific and cross-cutting constraints and opportunities, and where the private sector seemed most likely to channel its energy and resources to address sector-level issues, from enabling environment to infrastructure. While taking into account the pressures and limitations facing the Mission, the team looked to highlight opportunities for it to promote engagement models, market-based approaches, and private sector services that could drive a deeper, more sustainable recovery. The recommendations that follow outline ideas for Mission-based interventions that could be achieved with current resources either through investing in new projects, potential modifications to existing projects, supporting additional studies and analysis, and brokering partnerships or collaborations that can support this private sector-led approach. The Assessment Team also identified two cross-cutting private sector engagement opportunities for the Mission to consider: exploring potential ways to engage Nepal's large global diaspora to leverage their private capital, resources, and expertise, and exploring private capital approaches to mobilize investment in key development areas. Although many non-resident Nepalese are migrant workers employed on a temporary basis in low- to medium-skilled jobs, there is a small but growing cadre of professional diaspora with a willingness to give back to Nepal. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) raised over $400,000 for humanitarian efforts immediately after the earthquake and over $3.5 million to help rebuild homes, schools, libraries, and health facilities. The NRNA president and other business leaders with strong diaspora connections indicated a desire within the diaspora community to play a larger role in Nepal's post-earthquake reconstruction. Ideas discussed during the interviews include some diaspora applying their business and technical expertise in support of local economic development, while others are interested in investing in Nepal. In this context, there are a number of ways that USAID/Nepal could collaborate with the NRNA (and its affiliates in the United States and other markets), GoN, and other diaspora networks to unlock the potential of the diaspora as development agents. The diagram below maps out these opportunities. In consultations with USAID/W, its experts in diaspora engagement highly recommend conducting a survey of Nepalese diaspora to better understand their socio-economic profiles and determine their motivations, capacities, and interests in engaging Nepal. An example of such a survey, used by USAID/BiH, can be found here. USAID/W can help to develop a Statement of Work (SOW) for this survey and provide additional examples. Based on the findings of the survey, the Mission can determine which types of activities effectively engage the diaspora community in reconstruction and long-term development efforts. Below are two areas worth further exploration based on the Assessment Team's initial conversations in Nepal: partnership with NRNA to develop a Diaspora Volunteer Network and structure Diaspora