The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded global Strengthening Health Outcomes for the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is designed to increase access to and use of priority health products by supporting innovative private sector approaches in the health system. In Senegal, SHOPS Plus focused on family planning, malaria, and maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health. Its work was built around public-private partnerships and strategic innovations, with special emphasis on gender and youth. Banyan Global led the access to finance component of SHOPS Plus Senegal, helping to expand financing options for private sector health providers (PHPs).

Banyan Global worked with financial institutions in Senegal to improve the accessibility, availability, and quality of financing instruments to PHPs throughout the country. Financial institutions received technical assistance from Banyan Global, including: business development strategies, adaptation of lending methodologies, appropriate product development, and training of bank staff. Banyan Global’s business strengthening aimed to equip PHPs with the skills needed to improve business management and financial practices. Banyan Global provided direct support to 348 PHPs to improve marketing, costing and record keeping, and financial planning practices. Business strengthening support was delivered in partnership with associations, financial institutions, and other stakeholder networks. Banyan Global also designed and led the business and financial management component of the Tutorat-P pilot program, which offers a comprehensive quality improvement approach targeting a wide array of quality care factors and services.

To evaluate the outcomes of these business training and access to finance interventions, Banyan Global collected baseline data from a total of 175 PHPs and follow-up data (6+ months following training) from a sample of 20 facilities.  The results of this effort indicate that business financing and coaching lead to improved business practices, as measured by Banyan Global’s business practices score (BPS)*. On average, PHPs demonstrated an 86 percent increase in total BPS, from 42 percent at baseline (n=175) to 78 percent at endline. By strengthening business management skills and facilitating access to finance, Banyan Global is helping  PHPs make the necessary investments to expand their practices and improve the quality of services, effectively increasing access to health care for their communities.

*The BPS methodology is a way to assess the quality of PHP business practices. Rather than relying on knowledge assessments such as pre-/post-tests to understand the effectiveness of a business strengthening intervention, the BPS focuses on how businesses are conducting activities, and how these might be improving.