Equator Kenya, a food-processing company that produces African Bird’s Eye Chilies for export, joined 2015 the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to provide climate-smart technologies, training, and market linkages to 8,000 smallholder farmers along the Kenyan coast. This inclusive business is designed to reduce the crop risks posed by climate change, which will sustainably increase incomes among the farmers (+6,000 of whom are women) as well as improve crop yields and quality.
Side by side with multinationals such as IKEA, in Equator Kenya, was among the first batch of private sector members of BCtA to join. “Equator Kenya’s business model is guided by a social inclusion strategy where no farmer – however small – is excluded,” said Almut van Casteren, the company’s CEO. “By creating linkages throughout the value chain, we will ensure that our profits – and the benefits to poor communities in Kenya’s coastal region – continue to grow. We are honored to be recognized by the Business Call to Action and look forward to leveraging their expertise and that of our fellow members to further our work.”
Reason
The reason that Equator Kenya can cost-effectively operate with the smallest farmers is that has developed an ICT platform that has enabled the company to reduce transaction costs to the minimum and manage field operations in a highly efficient manner. Under the leadership of Almut van Casteren, it is the agricultural supply chain management platform that has been commercialized under the name eProd Solutions in 2015. Now, the platform is used by about 100 private sector companies in 13 developing countries. In over 20 sectors about a quarter million smallholders are linked to buyers. Now, 5 years later, BCtA has accepted eProd Solutions as a member as an acknowledgment of its enabling effect for Inclusive Business environments.
Upcoming event: Reimagining Resilience through Inclusive Business Innovation
Reimagining Resilience through Inclusive Business Innovation seeks to inform new paths to resilience and inspire a renewed commitment to sustainable development through inclusive business. The event will tap into BCtA’s member network of inclusive business trailblazers to highlight real-world examples of business models that address both immediate COVID-related concerns and contribute to longer-term sustainable development and recovery. It will convene governments and multilateral organizations for strategic discussions on charting the new frontier of business and sustainable development and uncover promising new alliances across diverse sectors to spur fresh, future-proof development solutions and spark inclusive innovation.
When: 24th September 5 PM GMT (8 PM EAT)
To Register, click here.
More questions: webinar@eprod-solutions.com