Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of those staff at the Department for International Development involved in small business grant funding have hands-on experience of business development.

DFID employs cadres of sector-specific technical experts in a range of disciplines in order to provide intellectual and professional rigour to underpin our poverty reduction work. DFID has a cadre of over 80 private sector development advisers who lead our work to support private sector growth, including small business grant funding. Over 80% of private sector development advisers have worked in the private sector, bringing to DFID a first-hand understanding of business development.