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Direct Sales Agent Models in Health

The SHOPS project funded a 16-month study conducted by the Monitor Group as reported in Promise and Progress: Market-based Solutions to Poverty in Africa. The study identified promising direct sales agent business models enabling enterprises to engage with the poor in Africa, primarily in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. This primer aims to provide a data-driven perspective on the conditions under which direct sales agent models are most likely to succeed, highlights how these models are applied to health and the barriers they face in the health sector, and examines case study examples. Based on the characteristics and constraints of the direct sales agent model, this primer proposes three direct sales agent archetypes that could serve as guidelines for donors, social enterprises, and health goods manufacturers for future application of the model.