Search Results: cooperatives
This article was first published at AgriLinks. Kenya saw its first case of COVID-19 on March 13, and the Ministry of Health fears that if mitigation efforts are not implemented and followed, cases could skyrocket to as many as 10,000 by the end of April. The government has acted quickly to close schools and impose…
Read MoreMany communities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) rely on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) as a primary livelihood. ASM is a significant driver of DRC’s economy. Approximately 15 percent of the national population directly or indirectly depends on income from ASM [International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Report on Development of Regional…
Read MoreSilver Spring, Maryland (September 27, 2019) – Global Communities today announced the appointment of John Holdsclaw IV, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at the National Cooperative Bank, to its Board of Trustees. National Cooperative Bank (NCB) is a leading financial institution dedicated to providing banking solutions to cooperatives, their members and socially responsible organizations…
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By Karla Yoder, Global Communities Economic Development/Workforce Specialist This blog was originally published on Marketlinks.org Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded initiative to promote trade in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi by increasing access to finance and markets for agricultural small and medium enterprises (A-SMEs). AIMS was not initially…
Read MoreA word from David A. Weiss, President and CEO of Global Communities: Our people and partners are truly remarkable. They bring to life our nearly 60 programs in 28 countries. Our people are the ones on the front lines working with some of the most vulnerable populations around the world, and in some of the…
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Global Communities announced today a new partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Fair Congo Sarl, IMPACT, and Levin Sources to establish a commercially viable, conflict-free artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold supply chain originating from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The five-year, $11.9 million program funded by USAID builds…
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Investing in Energy Access De-risking Energy Projects through Community Engagement and Financial Inclusion By Robyn McGuckin, Energy Specialist at Global Communities | This article originally appeared on Medium. Photo: Mathieu Young/Off Grid Electric Providing first-time electricity to more than 1 billion people around the world is not a task for the fainthearted. In fact, it is…
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Global Communities and Cargill partner to Facilitate Agricultural Trade, Improved Market Access in Kenya January 17, 2018, Silver Spring, MD — Global Communities and Cargill have entered into a strategic partnership to promote agricultural trade for small- and medium-sized agribusinesses in Kenya. The collaboration will stimulate commercial linkages between Cargill and Kenyan small- and medium-sized…
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Promoting Best Practices in Cooperative Development Despite rapid growth over the past decade and a decrease in poverty, approximately 27 percent of the Ugandan population continues to live below the poverty line. Much of the poverty is concentrated in rural areas of Uganda. With agriculture constituting 80 percent of the workforce, there is a need…
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This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post. At the heart of global development is the question of sustainability. How can we ensure that our investments in emerging economies have a positive impact beyond the end of program funding? Development programs funded by institutional donors or foundations tend to have a limited lifespan – three…
Read MoreEnterprising Africa: Where Strong Systems Boost Business By David A. Weiss, President and CEO of Global Communities  |  This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post. This year in Tanzania, a business-to-business forum brought together nine buyers and processors, 15 sellers of non-refined sunflower oil and oil seeds, and 14 representatives from two agricultural cooperatives.…
Read MoreAIMS Program: Developing the Horticulture Sector in Malawi By Deborah Kafanikhale The USDA-funded Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) program, implemented by Global Communities (GC) since September 2014 in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, facilitates agribusinesses to access markets and finance as a way of bolstering domestic, regional and international trade of agricultural products. In Malawi,…
Read MoreSowing Development Farmers provide more than food; they are the cornerstone of rural economies By Liz Adams, Technical Specialist for Agriculture at Global Communities  |  This article orginally appeared in Medium. No matter where you are, the food on your plate comes from a farmer. This isn’t a particularly shocking revelation, and development assistance to farmers…
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Global Communities in Lebanon: Agriculture Lebanon Apple Production Agriculture is Lebanon’s third most important sector, employing about 15% of the active population. Global Communities has been instrumental in supporting and expanding agricultural businesses in Lebanon by working closely with the USDA-funded Lebanon Apple Production Improvement Program (LAPI), which introduced a mechanism for quality control and…
Read MoreAccessing Higher-Value Local Markets: Lead Firm Collaboration is a Win-Win By Tuul Tuvshinbayar, Program Manager, Global Communities’ EMIRGE program This article originally appeared on The SEEP Network. Smallholder producer cooperatives tend to have low production volumes. When cooperatives are successful in increasing their production, they often face problems with proper storage and finding markets. Cooperatives and…
Read MoreHarvest Losses High in Rwanda: How to turn post-harvest loss into income generation and food security By Emile Nsengumuremyi, Senior Program Officer & Agronomist, EMIRGE / Rwanda This article originally appeared in Global Cooperative Development Learning Platform. A cooperative farmer in Rwanda demonstrates post-harvest handling for maize. Post-harvest losses are food losses. Each step of…
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Multipurpose Cooperative Entities Challenge Cooperative Sector in Uganda By Richard Mujuni, Program Officer, DESIGN team, Uganda This article originally appeared on the Global Cooperative Learning Platform. One of the major impediments to growing cooperative structures in Uganda is born from the multipurpose nature of our umbrella organizations. For example, in Mubende (just west of Kampala), there is…
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The Cooperative Movement in Kenya: When a Sector Comes to a T-Junction By Johnson Kithendu, Co-operatives Specialist & Country Lead, Global Communities, Kenya This article originally appeared on the Global Cooperative Learning Platform. In 2010, Kenya changed its entire constitution after many years of advocacy, activism, and frustrations. The Constitution of 2010 is hailed by many…
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