NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - BOP Activity Update: Fair Trade, Social Marketing, Microfinance - Comments

what would you reccomend?

Koozie — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:16:12 -0500

I am currently working for a us company and we deal with some fair trade certified companies, my question is are there organic Fair trade products? where can I find some?

Wholesale buyers seeking Fair Trade products

Liz Wald — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 23:31:59 -0500

The Los Angeles and NY International Gift Fairs that took place in January were proof that wholesale buyers are starting to seek out not only Fair Trade products, but also Fair Trade companies. We had mutliple inquiries about the concept of Fair Trade and some buyers told us they would buy ONLY from importers who were members of the Fair Trade Federation or who offered certified Fair Trade products. The paths paved by Equal Exchange, TransFair and others are now extending from coffee and chocolate to gifts and accessories and this trend will continue to provide positive support to many producers--whether farmers or artisans--in developing countries around the globe.

BOP Activity Update: Fair Trade, Social Marketing, Microfinance

Lauren Abendschein — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:51:08 -0500

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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