SMEs and PPPs
With high quality project design to attract suitable investment, SMEs can participate in Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs) in a variety of ways.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP), where governments form partnerships with the private sector for their mutual benefit to handle infrastructure projects and services, has become increasingly common.
The involvement of local, national and regional enterprises in PPPs is often valuable, particularly in the case of local SMEs if they have some comparative advantage such as their access to rural or urban areas.
SMEs can participate in PPPs in a variety of ways - as service providers, sub-contractors, or specialist advisers, or go into ventures with international players. However, high quality project design is essential if an infrastructure investment opportunity is to be made attractive to international and local investors. This applies to an even greater degree to post-conflict countries which tend to have weaker institutions. Below are a number of donor-supported facilities aimed at providing project design support.
Project Development Facility (DevCo)
www.ifc.org/ifcext/psa.nsf/Content/DevCo
Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF)
www.unhabitat.org/suf/
Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor (WSUP)
http://www.wsup.com/
African Project Development Facility (APDF)
www.ifc.org/sme/html/apdf.html
UNDP's Public-Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment (PPPUE)
http://pppue.undp.org/
Infrastructure Development Company (InfraCo)
(in the process of being launched)