“Great Things Are Done, When Men and Mountains Meet …,”

William Blake

Partners in Development
 Developing through Partnerships

Since its beginnings in 1982, AKRSP's approach to poverty alleviation

has been based on establishing and sustaining meaningful and
enduring partnerships with a broad range of organisations and people.

Group Members

Aman Ullah Babar

Naureen Shahzad
Omer Sadiq
Sobia Hassan
Usama Arshad
Zehra Hassan
 Working with Government

With the support of AKRSP many of the community schools in the

Northern Areas and Chitral are able to get valuable support from the
Government.

Introduction

The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

(AKRSP), Pakistan was established in 1982
as a part of the Aga Khan Development
Network. It is a development organisation
that works in partnership with local
communities living in the high mountain
ranges of northern Pakistan, at the heart of a
rapidly changing Central Asia.
Valleys in Transition
Problem Area
 Market Development

Committed to creating jobs, generating incomes, and promoting

enterprises, AKRSP's market development programme has been
working in partnership with various Government departments in the
Northern Areas and Chitral, and national agencies such as the Export
Promotion Bureau to provide business development opportunities in
the area.

Presentation Objectives

Marketing Audit
External Audit: Performed by external donor missions
and enterprise training agencies who are supporting a
particular intervention at AKRSP

Internal Audit: Periodic visits from senior management

and concerned programme manager along with the CEO
 Infrastructure Development

AKRSP has partnered with local communities to build basic

infrastructure in villages and valleys of the North. Over the years, more
than 2200 infrastructure projects have been built.

External Audit

External Audit
Public Environment
Competitive Environment
Macro environment
 Development of Barren Lands

In partnership with communities and other development partners,

AKRSP has mobilized local community organisations to develop barren
lands in the Northern Areas and Chitral.

Public Environment

Input Publics
Aga Khan Foundation: Programme Operations
CIDA (Government of Canada): Social Sector and Gender
Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund: Infrastructure Projects
SDC (Government of Switzerland): Small and Micro
Enterprise Development
 Managing Natural Resources

Managing natural resources in complex mountain environments and

traditional farming societies requires putting local communities at the
center, who best understand the long term value of these resources for
sustaining their livelihoods and protecting their environments

Public Environment

Internal Publics
Board of Directors: Iqbal Walji (Chairman)
Vision and Mission Setting Group comprising a cross-section of experts
Senior Management: CEO and his policy making team comprising of
Programme Managers (Resource Development, Market Development,
Institutional Development). Responsible for Strategic Directions
Staff: Operational and professional field staff
working in NAC
Volunteers: Trainees and interns from local and international universities
 Poverty Alleviation Programme

Development projects under the Poverty Alleviation Programme are

identified and planned by the communities themselves and later
approved by a district-level committee, of which AKRSP is also a
member.

Public Environment

Intermediary Publics
Merchants: Suppliers that acquire various products from AKRSP (such as dry fruit, etc) and sell
them to retailers in the down country
Agents: Partner organizations and sub-contractors such as Karakoram Area Development
Organization (KADO: A local indigenous crafts-based enterprise marketing products made by
communities of Northern Areas)
Facilitators: Aga Khan Foundation, donor assistance and capacity building organizations such
as Intermediate Technologies (UK)
Marketing Firms: Consultancy Services (AKRSP is a development organization and is not into
aggressive marketing itself. However, it subcontracts to other firms as and when necessary to
sell and market its products
 Gender and Development

AKRSP's approach to Gender and Development aims to address

practical needs of women improving their lives and strengthening
gender relations in the marginalised and conservative groups of
Northren Areas and Chitral.

Public Environment

Consuming Publics
Clients: Local Communities of Northern Areas and Chitral
Activist: Local NGOs (KADO’s environmental support programme),
support organizations and pressure groups
General: Local community members, leaders, senior citizens of
community and volunteers from AKRSP’s programme area
Media: Local, national and international news carriers from print and
electronic media
 Developing through Partnerships

Since its beginnings in 1982, AKRSP's approach to poverty alleviation

has been based on establishing and sustaining meaningful and
enduring partnerships with a broad range of organisations and people.

Competitive Environment

Desired Competitors: Since AKRSP is the only firm that is offering

development program for NAC, therefore, they are focusing
to fulfill all the immediate desires of the local communities
Generic Competitors: After the availability of the infrastructure communities
may adopt different alternatives to fulfill there desires.
Enterprise Competitors: Apparently there are no competitors of AKRSP because
it is a development program and most of it’s funding came from
international organizations. The only competitors are those firms who are
funded by Poverty Alleviation Fund of Pakistan
 Working with Government

With the support of AKRSP many of the community schools in the

Northern Areas and Chitral are able to get valuable support from the
Government.

Macro environment

Demographic: Population:of 1.3 million. Three sects such as

sunni, shia and ismaili dominate
Economic: Subsistence farming and small enterprise
Technological: Remote and isolated area gradually opening up
to the outside influences
Political – Northern Areas Legislative Assembly
Social – Cultural: Diversity of communities and cultural sects
with a range of local languages and customs such as Kalash
from Chitral, Balti from Baltistan
 Infrastructure Development

AKRSP has partnered with local communities to build basic

infrastructure in villages and valleys of the North. Over the years, more
than 2200 infrastructure projects have been built.

SWOT

STRENGTHS
Big organization
Funding comes from international organizations and communities
WEAKNESSES
Apparently there is no weakness in the organization because it belongs to a powerful and
influential community.
OPPORTUNITIES
Other unexplored areas that require development
THREATS
Almost unnoticeable
 Managing Natural Resources

Managing natural resources in complex mountain environments and

traditional farming societies requires putting local communities at the
center, who best understand the long term value of these resources for
sustaining their livelihoods and protecting their environments

Conclusion

“ In my Beginning is my end.
In my end is my Beginning.
. . .”
T. S. Eliot