Community Guide: Establishing Market Networks

Starting a business is hard. Doing it while facing social exclusion, stigma or a lack of resources can feel impossible. For many young women in marginalised situations, the marketplace is isolating and risky.

This guide offers a structured way to turn individual effort into collective economic power.

What is a market network?

A structured web of relationships connecting producers, suppliers, buyers and support institutions: who you know, who you trade with and who supports your business, working together to make buying and selling easier, cheaper and more sustainable.

Five steps to a strong network

1. Community and business mapping: find the skills, resources and businesses already in the community.
2. Market research and demand analysis: learn what people want to buy, which markets are safe and what prices are realistic.
3. Capacity and quality strengthening: training, business literacy and quality standards that build buyer trust.
4. Group formation and cooperatives: small, trusted groups for bulk buying, shared marketing and a safe space to work together.
5. Market actors and partners: finding ethical buyers and service providers while screening out exploitative middlemen.

Safety before profit

Public visibility can lead to harassment or stigma, so the guide includes anonymised participant profiling, mapping of safe trading windows and locations, and identifying stigma-free buyers and partners.

Developed by ORHI and BCD360 with funding from the French Embassy in Nigeria.