Food production must rise by at least 60% if we are to feed the world population in 2020. How do we ensure that everybody has enough to eat? And how do we safeguard the quality of the food? We can find answers to these questions on local markets in developing countries.
And that is precisely what Woord en Daad is doing with the Agribusiness Booster (ABB). The ABB invests in local agricultural companies that have a direct impact on the living conditions of farm families. This means food security and jobs for more than 100,000 families!
What is the AgriBusiness Booster?
The agribusiness and food industry are major growth sectors in the world economy. At the same time, we see a strong increase in the market demand in many developing countries. We consider small and medium-sized businesses in emerging markets to be one of the most important drivers of the local economy. Woord en Daad and ICCO have established the ABB investment firm to help these companies grow. The fund invests capital, knowledge and networks in exchange for an interest in the business.
Large Investment Impact
The ABB specifically focuses on companies that are in the initial growth phase. These companies often find it difficult to gain access to credit and technical support even though they have a huge growth potential and a strong connection with local, small farmers. Yet this combination makes the impact of an investment surprisingly large. Together with the entrepreneur, a strategic plan is developed to professionalise the company and to make it ready for a growth spurt. That directly creates jobs in the local economy as well as providing growth perspective for small, local farmers. In a nutshell, a boost for the entire agricultural sector in that area!
An example from India: 1700 farmer families
The company Pratyakshra supplies pineapple propagation material to small farmers and wants to build a processing factory with support from the ABB. That factory would guarantee farmers a market for their product at a fair price. Also, the farmers would be organised in a cooperative and supervised in the production according to market standards. This is a business case with a considerable positive impact on more than 1700 farmer families in the region!
100,000 families
Pratyakshra from India is just one example. The ABB invests in numerous companies in more than ten countries. The ABB aims to build up a portfolio that consists of at least 90 successful companies. This will improve the local food production and distribution as well as the quality of the food produced. Furthermore, it will improve the economic position of at least 100,000 farmers and their families, and create at least 4000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.
Want to know more? Or interested in investing? Please contact our partner for foundations.
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