Features
Helping Entrepreneurs Harness The Local Value Chain
(United States Office - July 1, 2010) The “business” of international development has increasingly become micro-finance, micro-credit, and seeding entrepreneurs. Some have even referred to this as the new dot-com craze. But what happens to the small business owners and farmers who receive the loans once they have grown into small to mid-sized enterprises? Is repayment of the loan the end goal (as it is for many of the financial institutions who have jumped into the role of micro-credit providers) or is it the creation of a sustainable and reliable source of income?
With the help of the Ford Foundation, IIRR and its partners are working to support small business owners and farmers in understanding their local value chains, uncovering their links to suppliers, traders, and consumers, and then maximizing their position within that framework. IIRR has created a value chain training program which addresses the needs of small producers in Africa (the first training was held in 2008 in South Africa). In addition, IIRR has collaborated on a series of 5 writeshops documenting challenges of entrepreneurship in Africa and culminating in a series of publications which are available on our website.
Do you want to support our value chain and micro-finance work?
Please consider donating online - https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/IIRR_2/OnlineGiving.html
Some interesting reading -
McKinsey Quarterly - Helping Africans to Jumpstart Their Industries (Bruce McNamer, June 2010)
Wall Street Journal.com Blog - In Micro-finance, a “Dot-Com” Boom? (Eric Bellman, June 24, 2010)
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