Business Consultancy Fund - Advantages and Limitations
The establishment of a BCF may:
Stimulate the demand for business development services by small enterprise clients and encourage business people to try the services;
Improve business people’s access to the information, resources and services offered by local BDCs;
Facilitate the provision of services by private providers;
Improve business service delivery through increased competition;
Help BDCs produce a “demonstration effect” that increases demand for their services;
Raise the supply of demand-driven consulting services. As business centres are encouraged to search for product development and delivery mechanisms, resulting in better consulting products and services;
Create solid, long-term relationships between service providers and clients;
Set standards for quality and prices for business development services;
Educate clients that services are not free;
Encourage local BDCs to be more pro-active and output-oriented.
Consultants may lack practical experience in providing business development services in countries with a relatively young private sector;
There may be no officially recognised education program for consultants to ensure quality standards and proficiency in the consultant’s field or discipline;
Demand for consulting services may be limited because business people fail to appreciate the benefits of the services rendered;
Potential clients may lack knowledge of the benefits of business development services if the consulting market is under-developed;
Willingness to pay for consulting services may be low; traditionally, governments and donors have provided business development services through public institutions or non-governmental organisations, mostly for free.