At the age of seventeen, Bolivian-born Long Term Business Advisor Gabriela Prudencio immigrated with her family to the United States. Among her memories growing up in Bolivia, where she led a comfortable middle class existence, one memory remains most vivid: walking with her father in the outdoor market, she caught sight of a seriously impaired man crawling along the street. This brief encounter made an impression on Gabriela and set her on her subsequent path working to reduce poverty.

First earning a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, then an M.A. in International Commerce and Policy at George Mason University, Gabriela gained valuable work experience with the Global Policy Network of the Economic Policy Institute before applying to the  Emerging Market Development Advisers Program (EMDAP), a program implemented by VEGA partner Institute of International Education (IIE).

With EMDAP, Gabriela is currently wrapping up an assignment as Market Research Specialist with USAID’s PROFIT (Production Finance and Technology) project in Zambia. This poverty reduction program focuses primarily on fostering agricultural market linkages. During her assignment Gabriela has been busy conducting community assessments in seven different districts in Zambia and assisting in the design and implementation of business development services. She has also played a key role in designing a monitoring and evaluation system for the project.

Assignment Achievements

• Conducted a major market assessment in Kalabo (western province) on healthcare provision, including in-depth interviews with community members, government health officials, physicians and nurses. The information gathered from this study set the initial steps for the design of a pre-paid health insurance module.
• Conducted research on transport in Solowezy (northwestern province) to gather information about modes of transportation used by community members to sell their products. Out of this research ideas emerged on how to improve information flow between community members and transporters for the best use of resources, particularly to improve post-harvest yields.
• Developed an in-depth gender study across five different districts in Zambia and created a report coupled with training for staff with specific recommendations for each district.
• Performed gender research and training which led to an increase in the number of women participating in PROFIT programs “without causing household turmoil” as well as greater sensitivity among PROFIT staff to gender considerations.
• Participated in the design of user-friendly M&E tracking system that has led to better compliance by counterparts with USAID and internal reporting requirements.

Gabriela discusses what she considers her most important contributions to PROFIT. She developed an in-depth gender study across five different districts in Zambia and created a report coupled with training for staff with specific recommendations for each district. Her gender research and training led to an increase in the number of women participating in PROFIT programs “without causing household turmoil” as well as greater sensitivity among PROFIT staff to gender considerations. “By the end of the year,” she explains, “I had developed a methodology to conduct group interviews that was very effective and allowed me to interact with as many as 250 women simultaneously. My research was an attempt to learn the behavior of women and men within a family unit, so [PROFIT] could understand the outcome of its implementations.”

After completing her assignment in February 2007, Gabriela went home to Washington, DC, for a short time to regroup. During this period, she participated with other returned LTBA Advisors in a de-briefing. Then, in March of 2007, she traded in her cottage in suburban Lusaka for the urban sprawl of densely populated Amman, Jordan, where she has accepted another EMDAP assignment. Gabriela will be advising a small trade association, the Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association (JOPEA), on marketing services to local member businesses.

While the settings and assignments could not be more different on the face of it, PROFIT and JOPEA have in common a focus on agribusiness, which has also been a key priority area for USAID in recent years. EMDAP is fortunate to be able to count on the continued contribution of alumna Gabriela Prudencio to this important effort.