Aquaculture was supposed to be the next Green Revolution, a marine version of the push to "modernize" and streamline agriculture in the developing world.  The results have drawn comparisons to the fallout, both positive and negative of corporate agriculture that deserve mentioning.  Yes, shrimp farms create massive increases in output without overfishing the oceans because production is heavily controlled and concentrated in a smaller area.  But this growth is driven essentially by a chemical soup the shrimp are harvested in that can cause productivity to drop overtime and lead to destruction of the local ecosystem. 

 

Whenever I talk about a problem like this, I am always happy to produce examples of companies like BioCentinela that have faced the sustainability challenge rather than dodging it as "not our problem" and learned to thrive in a world of environmental constraints. 

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The four newest organizations in the activity database have remarkably different business models for engaging with the BOP, yet they all do so successfully. Equal Exchange has shaken up traditional distribution chains and created value by cutting out multiple intermediaries and sharing risk with coffee producers. Along similar lines, TransFair USA has benefited the BOP through proving the demand for fairly traded goods. On the other hand, Population Services International has shown that rigorous application of traditional for-profit business techniques can be extremely effective for achieving social goals. MicroCredit Enterprises has mobilized private sector investment to support microfinance institutions, further illustrating new applications for old models. Check out more detailed descriptions below and in the activity database.

MicroCredit Enterprises

MicroCredit Enterprises is committed to reducing poverty by mobilizing private investment capital to finance micro-businesses of poor families throughout the developing world. MicroCredit Enterprises gears its entrepreneurial results to produce jobs, sustain micro-businesses and improve human lives.

MicroCredit Enterprises leverages the collateral assets of individuals and institutions to borrow debt capital in the United States which is channeled through overseas, locally-run, non-governmental microfinance organizations in order to make thousands of tiny business loans to local entrepreneurs. MicroCredit Enterprises' reverses the cycle of poverty in economically distressed countries using the tools of the marketplace to provide self-help opportunities to millions of impoverished women and their families.

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