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Doing business with the poor

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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.

Tinex Supermarket has successful project employing foster Children

Tinex was founded by Vladimir Todorovich in 1994 in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). It has grown from a single location supermarket with 15 employees and 700m2 to being the country’s second largest chain of supermarkets in terms of revenue.

India Financial Inclusion Fund raises $90M kitty

The India Financial Inclusion Fund (IFIF), an equity fund that invests in companies that provide financial services to low-income clients, has, after its final closing, raised USD 90 million worth of capital in the last fifteen months. The fund will be used to invest in microfinance institutions...

Adidas is to make €1 trainers for millions of people around the world who cannot afford to buy shoes

Reebok International is working to develop a "sustainable business model" as part of its German parent Adidas AG's plans to sell "one dollar shoes" in India. After conducting a pilot test for 5,000 pairs of shoes of an existing design of Reebok in three villages in Bangladesh last year, the firm...

Fairtrade goes luxury with Traidcraft

Through working with Traidcraft, the UK’s leading fair trade organisation, Glisten Confectionery has recently begun supplying products for the Traidcraft confectionery range.

Starbucks and Fairtrade partner in Rwanda

Starbucks, Fairtrade organisations join in sustainable development efforts in Rwanda; new Rwanda Fairtrade Certified Coffee coming to UK Starbucks in 2010; business forum explores entrepreneurial spirit focusing on responsible capitalism.

Vitmark includes the poor in its value chain.

Vitmark, a leading beverages producer in Ukraine, includes the poor at various points of its value chain: as suppliers of locally grown quality produce, as employees, and as low-income consumers through the offering of low-price juices.

Saraman builds earthquake- proof houses in Iran

Saraman, a start-up company in Isfahan, central Iran, is an example of addressing housing and construction challenges in a profitable way. The company designs, fabricates and erects affordable, earthquake-proof pre-fabricated steel structures for houses, schools and hospitals.

Reuters Market Light: Creating Efficient Markets

Reuters Market Light (RML), a business incubated by Thomson Reuters, is a pioneering mobile phone-based agri information service provider. The service is designed to provide farmers with personalised timely and actionable agricultural information from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages through SMS...

Pot-in-pot Enterprise: Fridge for the Poor

In 2000, Mohammed Bah Abba was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise for his innovative Pot-in-Pot system to provide affordable, electricity free, refrigeration in arid Nigeria.

Vaatsalya Hospitals: Affordable Healthcare in Proximity

Vaatsalya is a for-profit chain of hospitals and clinics which aims to provide quality healthcare to semi-urban and rural areas and was started by doctors-turned-entrepreneurs Ashwin Naik and Veerendra Hiremath in 2005.

Allianz, UNDP and GTZ partner for a three-country study on Micro-insurance

In 2006, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) approached Allianz to work together on a market potential study to analyse the demand, acceptability and affordability of microinsurance products.

Ouro Verde is part of the New Ventures initiative at the World Resources Institute

Brazilian entrepreneur Luis Laranja's company, Ouro Verde, is part of the New Ventures initiative at the World Resources Institute. New Ventures works with small and medium enterprises that have positive environmental impacts, and helps grow environmental entrepreneurship in emerging markets.