Core Guidance Note: The Market Map

Figure 1 presents a generic Market Map that we use in this guidance note to describe the areas of the market system.

Figure 1: A generic Market

Section 2: The core market

The core market describes the channels through which a product or service moves from primary producers to final consumers, passing through each actor who has legal title over the good or service. In the middle of the Market Map is the market chain. Figure 2 presents the market chain of a generic market system. Market chain actors found between the end markets and the primary producers are called intermediaries.

Figure 2: A generic core market (sometimes known as a market chain)

Gender and the core chain

In order to improve outcomes for women, we need to understand where women are in the market and what roles they perform in the core chain. Analysis can reveal the approximate numbers or percentages of women in particular roles – often this will equate with roles that are less lucrative – for instance, roles associated with primary production or labour. You can indicate this information on the map by colour coding functions that are important for women. This can then lead to discussions on how to improve the conditions for these roles or how to shift women into other more lucrative roles.  You can apply the same process to other marginalised groups that you are wanting to target (e.g. youth).

Fig 4: Illustrative gendered market map

Key:
% F – % of actors who are female
Yellow: Market system element significant from gender perspective

Demand from end markets and the direction of the chain

The chain itself can be considered from two directions.

Starting with the primary producer and ending with the end markets, the chain seen in this way captures the flow of goods or services as they pass through intermediaries. However in PMSD we orient the arrows of the market chain to show the flow of money from the end markets to the primary producer. This emphasises that a market system depends on the demand of final consumers and that all value derived by market actors in the system could not exist sustainably without reliable, realised demand on the part of final consumers.

It also encourages us to consider where value is being captured in the chain. Additional tools for quantifying this flow of value are available in the Tools Directory under Economic Analysis.

Figure 5: Market chain showing the direction of flow of the money/value

Examples from the field

Common misconceptions about who holds value – Aloe margins in Kenya

In the Turkana district of Kenya, Practical Action facilitated meetings between market actors to discuss how they could work together to increase the competitiveness of their local market system. They hoped to access national and international markets for the sought-after aloe extracts that other Kenyan regions were able to reach.

Practical Action’s team initially expected to find that the role of traders – middle men – was problematic. They had assumed this role would take value away from the producers and unnecessarily reduce the efficiency of the market chain. This is a common perception amongst NGO staff and it misreads the important functions that middle men often play. In this case, analysis of the market chain revealed that traders were delivering critical bulking and brokering functions often very efficiently, working within very tight margins.

As a result of the analysis, facilitators turned their attention to helping the market actors to improve coordination, quality of production and processing, reduce energy costs along the market chain, and coordinate advocacy around policy issues. This example emphasises the need to understand the system and the roles that different actors play rather than coming to a situation with preconceived ideas.

Map the supporting inputs and services

It is relatively straightforward to map out the supporting inputs and services. Work your way along the market chain asking the following question for each market chain actor:

• What inputs, services and advice does this core market chain actor need to use to play the role that it does in the market system? Include both what they currently have access to and what they might not, but need to become more efficient.

Gender, and inputs and services

The provision of access to inputs and services will not always be equal. Women and other marginalised groups, such as youth, may find it more difficult to access particular services for a number of reasons. In some markets, inputs and service provision may be dominated by men, who for practical or cultural reasons, cannot serve women. The way services or inputs are delivered may not fit in with women’s time schedules or their mobility. There may be requirements (e.g. access to a land title), that women cannot meet for services such as finance.

When you are preparing your Market Map, identify where women have less access to inputs and services – you can mark this on the map with a coloured pen. Figure 7 below illustrates a simple example of this.

Figure 7: Gendered Inputs and Services

The analysis in figure 7 could result in further investigation that gives you a deeper understanding of what is happening and which ultimately will help you identify suitable interventions. For instance:

• What is the reason women lack access to phones – could it be income levels or social norms? Are there other ways women can get information that would by-pass these constraints?
• Why can women not join cooperatives – are they constrained by formal regulations or gender dynamics? If women can join cooperatives, will they be heard? Alternatively, what are the potential benefits and the possibility of developing ‘women only’ groups?

Examples from the field

Mapping supporting market systems

Practical Action have piloted the use of Market Maps focused on products and services that are often found in the supporting input and services area. Our experiences indicate that the Market Map is an effective framework in all the cases we’ve tried. For example, we’ve used Market Maps to:

• Analyse charcoal and biomass energy provision systems in Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively;
• Understand how best to achieve effective technology transfer and innovation around climate change technologies around the world;
• Enable us to understand vocational skills and employment systems in Peru and Nepal.

Gender and the enabling environment

Some of the issues that fundamentally determine how women engage with markets will relate to informal norms. It is therefore critical that you ask which social and cultural factors affect gender equity and social inclusion in the market system. Norms that mean women bear the bulk of responsibility for care work will limit their time and thus, their involvement in economic activities. Norms about ‘men’s work’ and ‘women’s work’ will influence which roles you find women in. These cultural norms may then be reflected in formal rules – for instance Government support for specific crops being targeted at men only. Understanding these sorts of issues and highlighting them on your market map is critical. Guidance on how to develop this understanding is available in some of the resources cited below and in the Empowering Marginalised Actors Tool. Figure 8 below demonstrates how you can highlight these issues on your Market Map.

Figure 8: A gendered enabling environment