Armenian regions prioritize small-scale business

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Association of Young Women of Armenia jointly with ProSME, a project of The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Armenia, have carried out PACA economic program in Eghegnadzor.



PACA (Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage) is a fast-growing, participatory, bottom-up, pragmatic and innovative approach to local economic development (LED). It is based on a set of tools that permit a rapid appraisal of the competitive advantages and disadvantages of a locality. It delivers concrete, practical proposals to stimulate the local economy (through the PACA exercise).



The PACA exercise starts with a kick-off workshop with the local stakeholders, followed by a series of interviews with local players (firms, business associations, supporting institutions, local government and others), and mini-workshops with groups and local actors.



PACA has been applied in more than 20 countries worldwide.



The program helped determine priorities of economic development in Eghegnadzor. A package of relevant proposals on running small-scale business was developed.