A successful development project shouldn’t end when the funding runs out. It should leave behind thriving businesses, stronger local markets, new opportunities, and communities that can continue growing long after the last workshop has been held and the final report has been submitted. Yet, that isn’t always the case.
Across many rural communities, development projects have helped farmers improve productivity, trained entrepreneurs, supported women’s groups, and created new opportunities. But once the projects come to an end, many local businesses still struggle to find customers, secure contracts, or access the markets they need to grow. For many communities, the biggest challenge isn’t starting something new, it’s sustaining the progress that’s already been made.
For Tolulope Makinwa, this has become one of the most important questions in development today. After years of working alongside development finance institutions, governments, and development partners, he has come to believe that lasting impact isn’t created simply by implementing more projects. It comes from building stronger local markets that continue creating opportunities long after external support has ended.
It is this belief that continues to shape the work of Muazu Africa, a venture builder focused on strengthening rural markets across Africa. And it is the thinking behind the organisation’s decision to expand its Technical Assistance Facility, an initiative designed to help governments, development finance institutions, philanthropic organisations, and private sector partners design and implement programmes that create stronger local economies.
“We often celebrate the number of people trained or the amount invested,” Makinwa said. “Those things matter. But the bigger question is what happens after the project ends. Are local businesses stronger? Are women-owned enterprises growing? Is more economic value staying within the community? Those are the things that determine whether development has truly made a difference.”
Over the past four years, Muazu Africa has worked with development partners to strengthen enterprise ecosystems, support women-led value chains, conduct market research, deliver technical assistance, and improve the design and implementation of rural economic development programmes. But according to Makinwa, technical assistance should be more than helping organisations deliver successful projects.
“Our work begins where many programmes end,” he explained. “Technical assistance should not only improve programme delivery; it should help build market systems that continue creating opportunities for people long after a project has been completed.”
One example is social procurement, an approach Muazu Africa is helping partners adopt.
Imagine a development project that needs food for participants, furniture for a training centre, transportation, or printing services. Instead of bringing suppliers from outside the community, what if those goods and services were purchased from local businesses? What if women-led enterprises were intentionally included as suppliers? What if local entrepreneurs became part of the implementation itself?
According to Makinwa, these decisions may seem small, but they can have a lasting impact. They keep money circulating within local communities, strengthen small businesses, create jobs, and help ensure that development investments continue generating value long after the project has ended.
The expanded Technical Assistance Facility also draws on Muazu Africa’s growing expertise in rural market intelligence, helping partners understand the realities of local economies before designing interventions. By identifying market gaps, understanding enterprise readiness, and analysing opportunities for inclusive investment, the organisation hopes to help partners make better decisions and achieve stronger results.
For Makinwa, this is about changing how development is measured. Rather than asking only how many people attended a training or how many grants were distributed, he believes organisations should also ask whether local businesses became stronger, whether communities gained new economic opportunities, and whether the investments helped create systems that can continue working without constant external support.
As governments and development partners place greater emphasis on locally led development and inclusive economic growth, Muazu Africa believes the future lies in helping communities build economies that are not only productive today but resilient enough to thrive tomorrow.
For Tolulope Makinwa, that is what success looks like, not simply delivering projects, but helping create rural markets where opportunity continues long after the project itself is over.
