Entrepeneurship
Over a billion people in the world live in extreme poverty with no security of their basic needs. Over 75% of these people live in rural areas as small producers, dependent on agriculture for their subsistence. The production, trade and processing of local crops is the foundation and the driver for their own economies and the economies at the local level and beyond.
Climate change and the growing need for land, water and other natural resources are threatening agricultural production and food security. Cordaid is working to make agricultural production more sustainable, and to increase the income and improve the position of small producers in agricultural change. As part of this we are making farmers more resistant to the consequences of climate change. In the chains, Cordaid is supporting farmer organisations in improving agricultural production and in making their working methods both more professional and more sustainable. Cordaid is also supporting chain platforms in which all chain actors participate.
Access to financial services
For some twenty years, Cordaid has given the poor access to sustainable financial products and services on a fair footing through local micro financing institutions (MFIs). Cordaid sees micro financing as a strategy to improve the socio-economic position of poor, vulnerable and/or excluded groups in society by increasing their access to adequate and affordable financial and other related services. This will contribute to their ability to support themselves and increase their participation in society and their empowerment.
In the coming years, Cordaid will be focusing more on rural agri-finance, supplying financial services directed towards small rural producers (farmers), particularly in remote or poorly accessible areas where few financial resources are available.
Entrepreneurship in Conflict Areas
In our work, Cordaid focuses special attention on countries with weak administration, where lawlessness prevails on a massive scale and where governments are failing to guarantee the safety and security of their citizens. In these countries, poverty is not just a consequence of conflict, but a breeding ground for new conflicts. It is in these countries where investments in economic development, agriculture and micro financing are so critically important to offer people the prospect of income and employment. To ensure that this economic development benefits the broader population, Cordaid dedicates itself to simultaneously strengthening good administration and transparent management of economic assets such as land and natural resources.
Cordaid has over twenty years of experience with a wide range of types of financial instruments (loans, participations, guarantees and donations) to support small agricultural producers and micro-entrepreneurs. In that time, Cordaid has built a huge network of not only local partners but partnerships with Dutch and international organisations, NGOs, companies and universities. Not only for project purposes, but for learning processes, knowledge sharing and lobbying. Cordaid Entrepreneurship has entered into an alliance with Both ENDS for the 2011-2015 period.
The focal themes are:
Enterprise in Conflict Areas
Sustainable Agriculture
Access to financial services
