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Doing business with the poor

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Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) in Brazil: Planting eucalyptus in partnership with the rural poor

Brazil suffers from high income inequality and widespread poverty, especially in rural areas. Despite recent policies to support rural settlements through land reform, a mismatch remains between the rural population’s social demands and the state’s capacity to respond.

Working with the community to grow coconut tree business in Indonesia

Due to the abundance and ubiquity of coconut trees and plantations in Indonesia, there are potentially enormous social and commercial benefits that can be gained from integrating local communities in the production of high value coconut-based products. Indonesia has about 3.7 million hectare of...

PROMASOL partners to provide green energy and create jobs in Morocco

For a country like Morocco with 3,000 hours of sun per year, totally depending on imports for its energy needs seems like a paradox. Being aware of such a situation, Moroccan authorities aimed to benefit from renewable sources of energy to produce at least 10% of the country’s energy needs by 2010....

Partnerships allow Rural Finance Corporation to promote rural development in Moldova

Rural Finance Corporation (RFC) is a non-bank for-profit financial institution that has been functioning on the financial market of the Republic of Moldova for 10 years. Its mission is to directly take action against poverty in Moldova and promote rural development, offering favorable financial...

Saraman partners to provide affordable and green earthquake-Safe Schools and Housing

Housing is a major challenge for the rising young population of developing countries. For households who have their dwelling as their main asset and shelter, the robustness of the construction is crucial, especially in earthquake-prone areas. Yet, in low-income markets, conventional construction...

SELCO partners with India's state banks to bring sunlight to rural India

SELCO India is a Bangalore‐based social enterprise that makes solar lighting technology accessible to the economically impoverished people in India. SELCO’s mission is based on a simple but powerful idea that the economic conditions of the impoverished can be improved substantially if they are made...

Tedcor model helps out small businesses with refuse removal in South Africa

Tedcor started its community-based refuse removal system in 1992. Today, using Tedcor's model, over 80 trained entrepreneurs operate their own small businesses in 16 local authorities. They provide employment to more than 1,000 historically disadvantaged people and supply waste removal services to...

TEMASOL: Providing Energy Access to Remote Rural Households in Morocco

In Morocco, despite the government’s efforts to expand its grid-based coverage, about 9% of the rural population could not be cost-effectively connected. Given that Morocco enjoys 3,000 hours of sun per year, solar energy was therefore thought to be a cost-effective alternative. TEMASOL is a...

Food for Development in Nigeria

In 2004, the Nasarawa State Government (NSG), under the mandate of Nigerian President Obasanjo, collaborated with Tetra Pak West Africa (TPWA) in the development of a state‐wide school feed programme using Nutri‐Sip, a maize‐based meal supplement that had been developed and deployed in South...

Toyola Charcoal Stove: Improving the Environment and Health of the Poor in Ghana

Toyola Energy Limited is a company that operates in Ghana. It produces and distributes energy efficient charcoal stoves and solar lanterns for domestic users in the urban and rural parts of Ghana. Toyola entrepreneurs Suraj Wahab and Ernest Kyei – two artisans - have implemented an innovative...

Vitmark partners with small scale fruit farmers in Ukraine

Annually Vitmark, a leading beverages producer, purchases about 40,000 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables from small–scale farmers (more than 2,500 employees) and from about 25 large domestic agricultural suppliers in Ukraine.

Public-private partnerships provide microfinance to remote regions of Voronezh Oblast

The Voronezh Oblast State Fund for Small Business Support (hereafter referred to as ‘the Fund’) in cooperation with a multitude of partners started in 2009 to provide microfinance services and mobile banking for micro-and small businesses in the remote regions of Voronezh Oblast. The...

A sucessful community/private/public partnership model for waste recycling in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the large proportion of urban population combined with limited waste collection systems poses serious social, environmental and health problems. A social enterprise called Waste Concern has found a way to transform solid waste into organic compost using a low cost, low-tech and...

Coffee company benefits small scale Indonesian farmers and increases employment

P.T. Toarco Jaya, subsidiary of Key Coffee Ltd., a large Japanese company, established a brand of specialty coffee called “Toarco Toraja” by procuring Arabica coffee from Indonesian farmers, and by running its own coffee plantation in the country.

Partnership helps to improve training and production facilities for those with sight and hearing impairments in Turkmenistan

One of the most noticeable absences in policies with regards to disabilities in Turkmenistan is its lack of incentives to help integrate people with physical disabilities into society and the economy. One of the main NGOs in Turkmenistan working with disabled is the Deaf and Blind Society (DBS).

Paper Recycling enterprise in Albania focuses on including smaller businesses and improving the environment

Edipack is a leading paper recycling and packaging material enterprise, located in one of the environmentally most hazardous places in Albania. With the aim of including poor and vulnerable people in its supply chain and generating income opportunities, Edipack cooperates with three NGOs, which...

Opportunities to improve productivity provided for small farmers within Colombian pepper supply chain

Hugo Restrepo y Cia has over 30 years of experience in the food industry, especially in chili paste, with exports to the US, Europe and the Middle East. In 2000, in partnership with the Carvajal Foundation, the company initiated a project with the objective to continuously improve the productivity...

Natura beauty productsenefit Colombia's lowest social class and recycle tonnes of waste

Natura is a Brazilian organization operating for 40 years with a portfolio of 800 cosmetics, perfume and personal hygiene products. The company has adopted a direct sale scheme as its unique distribution channel.

Rural communities in Serbia have IT services provided

Rural communities in Serbia are confronted with less infrastructure and opportunities, and hence higher levels of poverty. Access to IT facilities and computers/internet in particular remain a major challenge. This prevents people from accessing information such as job vacancies, buying machinery,...

Tengizchevroil identifies and facilitates loans at no interest to boost small business development in Kazakhstan

In the 20 years since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has experienced economic setbacks and increased poverty. One major hurdle to small business growth is lack of financing for loans. However, the Central Asian nation has attracted investors.