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Citizens Development Corps is a nonprofit organization that supports private sector development and economic growth in emerging markets and transitioning economies worldwide by delivering practical strategies and solutions, high impact programs, and the expertise of experienced business professionals. CDC has worked in over fifty countries on four continents, and we have provided services to over 20,000 small and medium size enterprises as well as the institutions and government agencies that support them.

In a new partnership with the Business Transformation Agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, CDC will field two MBAEC Advisors to assist AFRICOM in focusing its resources to promote regional and international security and development in Africa. The Advisors will engage primary business entities aligned with AFRICOM goals and objectives; educate business and government entities in facilitating economic growth and development on the continent; conduct training in business program development, monitoring, analysis and evaluation; and lead in the development of a Command business (and possible NGO) interface plan. For more information, please contact C.D. Glin at cdglin@cdc.org.

Equatorial Guinea

, EG LNG has expanded its commitment to building local content, in close conjunction with its partners in government and the private sector. The new local content development plan will focus on enhancing enterprise finance, increasing basic skills of suppliers, and identifying and issuing procurements that are suited to local suppliers. To support this effort, two MBA Advisors will assist current and potential local EG LNG suppliers with business plan development, international marketing and sales techniques, introduction of internationally-recognized accounting standards and bid and procurement processes. They will also work with entrepreneurs in gaining access to credit to expand their ability to provide additional services to the oil and gas industry in the country. For more information, please contact C.D. Glin at cdglin@cdc.org .

IBM Logo CDC is pleased to report that we will be IBM’s prime implementing partner on its new global Corporate Service Corps. The Corporate Service Corps is a new initiative under IBM’s Global Citizenship Portfolio, which gives IBM staff access to global business and leadership opportunities as well as training and guidance to enter into new positions that support global economic growth. For the Corporate Service Corps, IBM has teamed with CDC to place teams of its employees with NGOs and SMEs in emerging markets for one month special projects. IBM employees from all of its global offices have been chosen through a highly competitive process to participate in the inaugural groups of the Corporate Service Corps, and the first groups will travel to their project countries in July-September of this year. In 2008, CDC will manage Corporate Service Corps activities in Ghana, Tanzania, and Romania, with expansion plans for 2009 and beyond. For more information on CDC and the IBM Corporate Service Corps, contact Kate Ahern at kahern@cdc.org.

To read the March 26, 2008 New York Times article on the Corporate Service Corps, please click here.

USAID recently awarded CDC a 1-year extension of our Jamaica Farmers Access to Regional Markets (JA FARMS) program. JA FARMS uses a unique network model to link small holding farmers to major national and international markets. Under the extension, the program will be expanded to include two additional Biodiversity Zones in Jamaica and will continue to use the hurricane-resistant hoop tunnel houses developed by the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. The program will be able to take on new activities due to a greater level of funding than in its initial phase, and it will be implemented through a close relationship with the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

The MBA Enterprise Corps is currently accepting applications for July 2008 positions. The 12-15 month assignments will be available in several locations, including (but not limited to) East, West and Southern Africa (Angola, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Sudan), Latin America (Ecuador, Guatemala and Guyana) and the Caucuses (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova). For more information about the MBAEC or the upcoming information sessions, please contact Alma Sadikaj or a School Representative from the consortium of our participating schools.

Recently CDC signed a new contract with BP in Angola that will extend and expand our Supplier Training Initiative, which is steered by an Industry Group that also includes Sonangol, Exxon, Chevron and Total. Through our business center, the Centro Apoio Empresarial (CAE), CDC provides business training and other services to Angolan small and medium size enterprises to enable them to compete for contracts with the multi-national oil and gas companies operating in the country. Under the new agreement CDC will continue to operate CAE for an additional three years and will expand operations from Luanda into Soyo, Cabinda and Benguela. To date, CAE has resulted in over 41 new contracts for Angolan SMEs and the creation of over 227 jobs in the local economy.

CDC is pleased to announce that our Guatemalan subsidiary, the Fundacion Sierra Madre, has spun off as an independent organization! Created to assist several communities surrounding the site of a gold mine through CDC's Integrated Community Development Program, the Fundacion will continue the program's work in the areas of health care, community development, vocational and entrepreneurial training and environmental stewardship. CDC will continue to collaborate with the Fundacion through our MBA Enterprise Corps, which will send Advisors to work through the organization's Enterprise Development Program.