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epublics. For the work in Poland, <strong>DAI</strong> veteran<br />
John Magill went in first to set up the project,<br />
followed by George Metcalfe (the same harddriving<br />
individual who had tried to diversify <strong>DAI</strong><br />
into enterprise development 10 <strong>years</strong> earlier) as<br />
the long-term advisor in Poland’s Ministry <strong>of</strong> Industry.<br />
It all happened very fast, Magill recalled,<br />
because “USAID was looking for opportunities<br />
to invest quickly.” <strong>DAI</strong> soon found itself in<br />
unfamiliar company. Flying above Uzbekistan in<br />
a light plane one day, Magill and young economist<br />
Jim Packard Winkler discovered that their<br />
companions on the plane were executives from<br />
McDonald’s, a company equally determined<br />
to hit the ground running in the former Soviet<br />
Union.<br />
Many such stories later, the GEMINI project<br />
wrapped up in 1995 and was followed by the<br />
$8.7 million, five-year Microenterprise Best<br />
Practices contract. During the 1990s, <strong>DAI</strong>’s<br />
enterprise development activities expanded well<br />
beyond GEMINI. Some built on experience that<br />
<strong>DAI</strong> had gained during the 1980s establishing<br />
savings and credit programs in rural Haiti and<br />
later in Indonesia. By 1996, <strong>DAI</strong> teams were<br />
managing enterprise development projects in<br />
Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East,<br />
Africa, and Southeast Asia. By this time, fully<br />
one-quarter <strong>of</strong> the company’s revenue was<br />
derived from enterprise development—already<br />
a larger share than from agriculture and agribusiness.<br />
Jim Boomgard had built a strong franchise, but<br />
in 1993 he decided to return to Indonesia to<br />
lead an agribusiness development project. The<br />
fact that good internal successors emerged—<br />
first Matthew Gamser and then Tim Smith—and<br />
that the enterprise development practice continued<br />
to prosper without him was a healthy sign.<br />
This was not the first time a good idea, enthusiastic<br />
leadership, staff autonomy, and support<br />
from senior management created a durable,<br />
winning combination for <strong>DAI</strong>.<br />
Jim Boomgard<br />
(second from<br />
left) returned to<br />
Indonesia to work<br />
on agribusiness, but<br />
<strong>DAI</strong>’s microenterprise<br />
work was carried<br />
on by others. Don<br />
Mickelwait (fourth<br />
from right) sports a<br />
<strong>DAI</strong> cap.<br />
49
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