Publication database

This case study shares experiences from private sector-led programmes in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon. It aims to develop awareness of IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Programme (ALP) used with SCOPEinsight’s farmer organisation assessment tool (SCOPE Basic). Based on the experences described, it identifies seven “implementation lessons” that off-takers, NGOs and capacity-builders may wish to heed. 

Foreign companies operating in a ‘host’ country’s private sector play an important role in fostering inclusive development in these nations. This PhD thesis, exploring the contributions of the Dutch private sector to inclusive development in Kenya’s three most important sectors, tea, flower and renewable energy, finds that private companies operate in a very specific context and must adapt to existing local circumstances that are often not automatically inclusive.

This case study shares lessons learned from a capacity building project with farmer organisations in Kenya and Rwanda. The project stems from a five-year partnership program between MasterCard Foundation and a financial institution in Kenya which targeted agricultural value chain actors to offer mobile-based financial inclusion and information to smallholder farmers. 

The idea of Inclusive Business is taking Africa by storm. The timely publication of a new concise book 'Inclusive business in Africa': A business model aims to take readers on a journey into the subject of Inclusive Business in Africa and shows how companies can be agents of change, contributing to inclusive development and growth. The publication brings together research supported by the Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC), a specialist research centre at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and RSM’s Professor Rob van Tulder. 

Food and nutrition security remain at the top of development priorities in low income countries. This is especially the case for smallholder farmers who derive their livelihood from agriculture yet are often the most deprived. Inclusive agribusinesses have been championed as a key strategy to address local constraints that limit smallholders’ participation in regional and global value chains, thereby enhancing their livelihood, and food and nutrition security, accordingly. This paper explores the potential food and security contribution of inclusive agribusiness in Makueni county, Kenya. It focus on the smallholders’ constraints and needs, exploring the extent to which these are addressed by such purported pro-poor approach.

Thirteen interdisciplinary research projects were reviewed for this synthesis paper. These projects addressed a range of business processes and innovations by and for small-scale producers and entrepreneurs in the agri-business sectors in countries across sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia. The paper stresses that innovations supporting inclusive business are only relevant and effective for the poor and marginalized when they are applicable to a specific problem and context, affordable at low costs, and accessible to all. This Is called the Triple A: applicability, affordability and accessibility.

This final factsheet of GCP project “Local and International business collaboration for productivity and Quality Improvement in Dairy chains in SE Asia and East Africa (LIQUID). It provides insights into power balances in formal and informal dairy value chains as related to the inclusive development effects of milk quality improvement activities can be considered as the .

Population growth, rapid urbanisation, and a young population are major trends shaping the future of African agriculture. The sector must take on these issues to safeguard its future ability to produce enough food. Therefore, it is imperative to establish an integrated land management strategy by increasing organic matter, retaining moisture, and increasing the use of inorganic fertilisers. Governments must invest in technical and professional agricultural education. In addition, policies must clearly support family farming and the facilitation of private sector intervention via inclusive business models.

Producer organizations (POs) provide benefits to smallholders by alleviating market access challenges. However, whether all farmers benefit from a PO is still a question. However, whether all farmers benefit from a PO is still a question. Limited evidence is available on whether POs are inclusive of poor farmers. Even if the poor join, do they participate in decision‐making? This report provides insights into decision-making structures and what factors influence power balances.

The authors aim to catalyze a competitive marketplace of companies providing smallholder farmers with a choice of affordable, inclusive and high-quality services. For this they are building a common understanding of the key barriers and opportunities for providing smallholders tailored, high-quality services at scale, coupled with advice, technical assistance and de-risking finance to pilot new business models and partnerships.