MCC should conduct thorough market analysis before investing in productive use activities to ensure that proposed interventions have the intended effects. In the case of the Javlec Solar grant, market forces that had not been identified beforehand led to problems with the operation of the ice plant. The ice plant was meant to be used by about 300 fishermen in the community. Fishermen would save money and time by not having to travel to another island to refrigerate their catches, not using as much fuel to get to another island, and by not losing a significant portion of their fish to spoiling. However, the grant did not account for the existence of five to twelve wholesale traders with whom the fisherman had a longstanding agreement. In the end, most of the expected economic benefits accrued to the wholesalers rather than to the fishermen, the targeted beneficiaries. Had the market conditions and actors been better understood, mitigation elements could have been designed to address certain risks.
Lesson Learned