This report aims to understand where the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA’s) Kaizen approach to productivity enhancement fits into the broader donor approaches to productivity. It begins by looking at the three distinct levels of productivity enhancement: 

1. Improving productivity at the national level by allocating resources between sectors.
2. Productivity increases through shifts in resources from less to more productive firms.
3. Increasing productivity within individual firms, where the focus of the Kaizen approach is centred.