Lead Firms

In least developed countries, it is often the case that market mechanisms, governments, and companies working on their own are unable to coordinate increased productivity and mutually beneficial exchanges in a value chain. It is in these contexts of market failures and weak state governance that the role NGOs can play becomes even more important. Most of the literature on value chain development focuses on the importance of NGOs working with lead firms—usually the largest and most influential firms in a sector—that have the power to influence the adoption of new behaviors and practices, and this is certainly one important part of a value chain facilitation organization's private sector engagement strategy. However, CARE's experience in the Bangladeshi dairy value chain…