Tagged in EmergingMarkets, Environment, ESG, FrontierMarkets, ImpactInvesting, Investing, JobCreation, Sarona, SME, Sustainable
Impact Investing in Frontier Markets (INFRONT) – a pilot project to test a blended finance approach – used public funds to attract private capital via Sarona Asset Management funds and provide technical assistance to small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. INFRONT addressed environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, created jobs and improved the delivery of goods and services. A Sustainability Innovation Grants (SIGs) program provided financial and in-kind support to SMEs to make their businesses more sustainable.
Tagged in Access, Business, BusinessPerformance, Development, Economics, Finance, IncomeGrowth, Markets, NewSkills, Tanzania, ValueChain
Tanzania is experiencing steady economic growth, but many small business entrepreneurs are not well positioned to benefit. The obstacles they face include lack of business management training, limited access to production technology, access to financing, and limited market access and awareness. MEDA’s Strengthening Small Business Value Chains (SSBVC) is a six-year project working to strengthen value chains in specific sectors of Tanzania. Using a “lead firm” approach, MEDA equips businesses to develop their supply chains while engaging, training, and nurturing small entrepreneurs and supplying them with consistent, high quality crops.
Tagged in Access, Agriculture, Business, Environment, GenderEquality, Horticulture, marketsystems, SME, SupplyChain, UHBDP, Ukraine
The Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP) is building on MEDA’s success in phase one of our work with farmers in Ukraine. The main goal is to increase incomes of poor farmers in four oblasts – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolayiv and Odessa by: Expanding access to markets; providing equipment, training and technical assistance on better agricultural practices; improving access to finance so farmers can grow their business; strengthening small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to spur market expansion; promoting alliances and developing supply chain logistics to ensure cooperation.
Tagged in Agriculture, Empowerment, Environment, FoodSecurity, GenderEquality, Ghana, GROW, Nutrition, Soy, VSLA, Women
Soy beans are a ‘game changer’ for families in the Upper West region of Ghana. GROW is showing the potential of this crop to provide a window for economic and social empowerment of women, bridge the food supply gap and improve families’ nutrition and wellbeing. With soy beans, women are diversifying their household food supplies and improving nutrition, especially for their children. For GROW, soy is the right crop: Soy improves nutrition and raises incomes.
