Our vision

Development Solutions is an innovative, result-oriented and top-notch organization providing a set of professional business development services. 

Our mission

Development Solutions works to:

• Improve the quality of community life
• Develop business capacity
• Support environmentally-sound social and economic growth with innovative and result-oriented solutions. 

Our competitive advantages

Development Solutions identifies organizational competitive advantages on three levels: 

• Client Level: Development Solutions strives to provide comprehensive business development solutions that meet each customer’s needs.
• Staff Level: Our employees utilize proven business development methods and experience to build the capacity of Mongolian small and medium sized businesses.
• Corporate Level: Development Solutions is a progressive, independent, non-profit organization committed to the economic development of Mongolia. 

Objectives

• Helping existing businesses to strengthen and expand
• Supporting start-up businesses
• Supporting business group generation and development
• Decreasing unemployment by generating new jobs and developing vocational skills
• Supporting micro and large business cooperation through creating linkages
• Supporting urban and country development in result-oriented ways 

Services offered

• Trainings
• Business consultancy
• Business linkages
• Information facilitation
• Access to finances
• Business group and cooperative development 

As a result of the programs and services implemented by Development Solutions, thousands of Mongolian micro, small and medium businesses are growing and contributing to the economy of the country. Development Solutions takes this initiative to large corporations of Mongolia and helping them to implement their corporate social responsibility effectively. 

Membership

• Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Business Council of Mongolia
• EBRD – Business Advisory Services Mongolia Programme

Brief history

Similar to many post-communist countries, Mongolia has experienced a difficult transition from a command economy to a market-based economy. Early on in the transition, the Government of Mongolia distributed livestock to families as an incentive to move to the countryside and make their livings as herders. The scheme did not have the desired effect since families lacked the requisite knowledge and experience about herding and animal husbandry. Herds died in dzuds[1] and families gradually migrated back to the urban areas for jobs.

Although the urban economies are more robust than the rural areas, the formal sector could not completely absorb the influx of new migrants so many migrants began micro-enterprises in the informal sector and/or became traders, trading between Mongolia and Russia or China. As time passed, some traders moved to other businesses or became producers while others found employment. The importance of micro-enterprises in the economy is rarely acknowledged by the Government of Mongolia and historically, there have been few government policies or programs to assist them. Most micro entrepreneurs operate home-based enterprises with no bankable collateral and are all but invisible in Mongolia.  

In this context, the GER Initiative began in late 2002 with funding from USAID to assist the peri-urban residents of Darkhan, Erdenet and Ulaanbaatar to integrate into the mainstream economy. In July 2004, the GER Initiative expanded its scope through the implementation of a Capital Augmentation Fund, increased the focus and resources dedicated to group formation, and expanded the program’s geographic coverage to include Choibalsan, the fourth largest city in Mongolia. In 2005, GER added sales and input linkages to the services provided and established information services as a distinct service, expanding it to include information about government services available to clients. In the spring of 2006, GER opened offices in Tov, Bulgan, Selenge aimags, remote Ulaanbaatar, and Ulgii city. The expansion doubled the program’s geographic coverage and required intensive training and capacity building of new staff, as well as operational adjustments.  Services were expanded and refined to bring more of an agricultural focus to business assistance.

In 2008, as GER Initiative entered its final year of USAID funding, activities began to focus on building greater sustainability through strengthening services and building staff capacity to manage the program as a local non-governmental organization (NGO) or a for-profit business. CHF International commissioned an assessment to evaluate the potential methods for ensuring that program goals and objectives have been met and that program activities will have achieved sufficient levels of sustainability, whether through continued direct service provision under an independent structure or via an improved market for business development and employment services with ongoing service provided by other market actors.

The assessment concluded that while it is clear that GER will meet its obligations under the USAID Cooperative Agreement and recognition of the importance of business development services by ger area residents and businesses is apparent, it is unclear at this moment whether the full range of business services will still be available on the market should GER Initiative completely terminate programming. There continues to be a donor presence in ger and rural communities that provides residents and businesses with business services and the Government is increasingly recognizing unemployment and underemployment in ger areas as a vital concern. However, no program was identified who provided the breadth of services comparable to GER or works with clients to integrate all service provision in such a way that businesses may access total business solutions to grow and develop.

CHF and its local program staff believed that an independent, locally registered, non-profit NGO would be the most appropriate structure for continuation of GER’s activities, and expansion to include new services and target markets. Therefore, on August 14, 2008, Development Solutions NGO was established by the initiative of CHF and GER Initiative program staff with the assistance from the partner organizations: XacBank, Khaan Bank, Boroo Gold LLC, Winx Continental LLC and Education Channel TV.

Development Solutions sub-contracted the implementation of GER Initiative from CHF from October 1^st, 2008 – March 31, 2009. DS hired 75% of GER’s staff as they have an experience and knowledge needed for successful continuation of the program.

After successfully completing GER Initiative, Development Solutions has been implementing the Business development component of Mongolian Agribusiness Support Program, funded by United States Department of Agriculture since April 1, 2009.