Activity Description:

Multi-M is a pharmaceutical company distributing high quality generic drugs at affordable prices and currently operating in Africa. Operation began in Mali at the end of 1998 and by 2003 had expanded to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Niger, with five warehouse locations serving over one thousand customers.

Products cover the entire pharmacological range and include all presentation forms: tablets, capsules, dry suspensions, syrups, solutions, ampoules, vials, IV-solutions, bags, crèmes, ointments, eye drops and lozenges. The medicines are tested by an independent Swiss laboratory. Due to poor transportation infrastructure, Multi-M often arranges distribution by its own means.

Activity Description: The IKON project is a pilot that experiments with tele-radiology via the Internet. Almost all radiologists in Mali are located in the capital Bamako, which means that up till now all expert diagnosis of radios, had to take place in the capital, sometimes up to 1.000 kilometres from the regional hospital where the first analysis was made. The tele-radiology project provides a solution for this problem, by offering the possibility to send or receive radio scans and diagnoses over the Internet.

Activity Description: The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) is an independent, non-profit organization that assists developing countries to realise locally-owned, sustainable development, by harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). IICD works with its partner organisations in (currently nine) selected countries, helping local stakeholders to assess the potential uses of ICTs in development.

Activity Description: The 12 organization partnership that is The West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) focuses on the provision of rural water supply and sanitation - in the form of latrines and water wells - as the entry point for community development.

WAWI's full range of activities undertaken by all partners includes enhancing local governance and an enabling environment, well drilling and rehabilitation, alternative water source development, construction of latrines, household and school-based sanitation and hygiene education, community mobilization, hydro-geological analysis, policy development, income generation and food security, information management and gender mainstreaming.

Activity Description: The UNEP's AREED initiative fosters the development of rural energy entrepreneurs in Mali, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, and Zambia through partnerships with local NGOs. With the support of international development organizations and financial institutions, the initiative provides a combination of business development services and start-up financing. AREED aims to attract investments from mainstream financial partners to these entrepreneurs.

Activity Description:

EnterpriseWorks (formerly Appropriate Technology International) is a non-profit organization that fights poverty in the developing world through business development programs that allow small agricultural producers and other entrepreneurs to increase their productivity and incomes, pursue sustainable business opportunities, and create jobs that benefit their families, communities and regions.

EnterpriseWorks has successfully assisted the creation of small-scale food and oils processing and garment making businesses, implemented irrigation to help productivity, created farm cooperatives, and managed many other entrepreneurial initiatives.