About Mesopartner

Mesopartner is a knowledge firm that specialises in economic development, competitiveness and innovation.

Our strategic intent is to be globally acknowledged as an innovator in economic development practice. Combining theory, practice and reflection, we enable clients to explore options and support decision-making processes. We collaborate with strategic partners to create knowledge on contextually sound economic development.

We operate as an adviser and service provider to development organisations (development agencies, ODA (Official Development Assistance) donors, development banks, NGOs, cluster networks and others), to decision-makers in the private and public sectors and to consultants and consulting firms. Since 2003, the knowledge that we have shared, and the methodologies and tools that we have developed, have helped development organisations and stakeholders in many developing and transformation countries to conduct territorial and sectoral development in a more effective and efficient way.

Mesopartner offers the knowledge that local actors need to address the challenge of innovation and change in a systemic and complexity-sensitive way. We develop innovative tools based on local and regional economic development, cluster and value chain promotion, market systems development, strengthening of local innovation systems and related topics. We coach and equip practitioners, and conduct leading-edge learning events for practitioners. We facilitate development processes and give policy advice.

Today, Mesopartner is a global micro-enterprise known for pioneering participatory economic development approaches, including Local Economic Development (LED), cluster promotion, Quality Infrastructure (QI), and systemic analysis tools. The Mesopartner Academy, online and in-person offerings, reflects Mesopartner’s dedication to empowering development practitioners worldwide. Committed to integrating systemic and complexity thinking, Mesopartner continues to collaborate globally, driven by a mission to advance practical tools, capacity building, and sustainable solutions in development

Mesopartner by numbers

23 Years of experience

111 Countries worked in

3 Based on 3 different continents

8 Number of Methodologies developed

History

Mesopartner was founded in 2002 when Dr Jörg Meyer-Stamer invited Christian Schoen and Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke to establish a consultancy focused on practical solutions for economic development. Rooted in research and driven to apply real-world approaches, the team introduced PACA (Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage) as their primary tool. Developed from Jörg’s work in Brazil, PACA translates advanced management concepts into practical methods that support development practitioners. Targeting the “meso” level between macro policies and micro-enterprises, PACA became a core offering and inspired the firm’s name, “Mesopartner.”

In 2003, Mesopartner was formally organised in Germany as a Partnerschaftsgesellschaft, allowing the partners independence while fostering collaboration. The company expanded, and new partners joined, each bringing unique strengths. The current partners are Christian Schoen, Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke, Frank Wältring and Dr Shawn Cunningham.

Today, Mesopartner is a global micro-enterprise renowned for pioneering participatory approaches to economic development, including Local Economic Development (LED), cluster promotion, Quality Infrastructure (QI), and systemic analysis tools. The Mesopartner Academy reflects Mesopartner’s commitment to empowering development practitioners worldwide. Dedicated to integrating systemic and complexity thinking, Mesopartner continues to collaborate globally, driven by a mission to advance practical tools, capacity building, and sustainable solutions in development.

Read an article about how we used SenseMaker during our twentieth anniversary to capture possibilities for change.

2003

Mesopartner History

Countries we have worked in the last 20+ years

Our Team

Christian Schoen

Christian has over 30 years of experience in Local and Regional Economy Development, Value Chain Development, Business-enabling Environment and Quality Infrastructure.

Frank Wältring

I love to experiment with, develop and implement new initiatives for economic development in conjunction with German and international colleagues.

Dr Shawn Cunningham

Dr. Shawn Cunningham is a process consultant working in the field of innovation and competitiveness improvement of the private sector.

Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke

Dr. Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke is a process consultant and international expert in the field of international development cooperation.

Annelien Cunningham

Annelien's main tasks involve organising events such as the Summer Academy in Berlin, maintaining the website, managing the client database and customer communication.

Mesopartner Associates & Collaborators

Valerie Hindson

South African and French. Post Masters Degree in Political Studies specialising in oublic service administration (Aix en Provence, 1992)

Zdravko Miovcic

Zaravko lives and works in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. He has a Masters Degree in Management (Solving Development Problems) obtained in 1991.

Ann Ramkissoon

Ann has been a collaborator with Mesopartner since 2021 and has played a role in the development of National Quality Policies for four countries.

Deepti Khakurel

Deepti lives and works in Kathmandu, Nepal. Deepti holds a Masters Degree in Natural Resource Management, completed in 2007 from the Pokhara University, Nepal.

Julie-Ann Laudat

Julie-Ann lives and work in Antigua and Barbuda. Her work also extends to the Caribbean region and beyond - the Philippines and Africa (the later via distance training).

Marcus Jenal

Marcus has a background in environmental sciences. He is Swiss and is the Strategic Learning & Evaluation Lead at Foundation Botnar.

Monica Munoz

Mónica is from México but is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She works mainly on international projects with a focus on Latin America.

Shivdi Singh

Shivdi is from Trinidad and lives in the United Kingdom. She holds a Master's Degree in International Development from the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex UK.