The term M4P refers to an approach in aid

Aid

In international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country....

 and development

Regional development

Regional development is the provision of aid and other assistance to regions which are less economically developed. Regional development may be domestic or international in nature...

 known as 'making markets work for the poor'. The approach utilises systems analysis

Systems analysis

Systems analysis is the study of sets of interacting entities, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or operations research...

 as a means of diagnosing and addressing the constraints that face poor and disadvantages households and communities in accessing goods and services. M4P is an overarching approach to development that provides agencies and governments with the direction required to achieve large-scale, sustainable change in different contexts. Focused on the underlying constraints that prevent the effective development of market system

Market system

A market system is any systematic process enabling many market players to bid and ask: helping bidders and sellers interact and make deals. It is not just the price mechanism but the entire system of regulation, qualification, credentials, reputations and clearing that surrounds that mechanism and...

s around poor people.

External links

• M4P Hub
• Making markets work for the poor - Knowledge page of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development
• M4P site and Market Approaches to Development Site of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation
• M4P publications of the Springfield Centre for Business in Development