At Business for Development, we challenge conventional wisdom, test assumptions, bridge sectors, and embrace change to take measured risks and develop sustainable pathways to livelihoods. It’s through partnering across sectors and markets we achieve these possibilities.
An Option Study is a review outlining economic opportunities to build upon a community’s strengths and address systemic disadvantages, executed through a combination of desktop analysis, in-field community engagement and collaboration with key stakeholders.
The result is a prioritised list of options that have been assessed for feasibility and reflect the values and desires of the community.
An options study facilitates the strengthening of community relationships, enabling the development of a social license to operate and fulfilling social ESG commitments.
A Pilot seeks to prove the viability of an idea by testing new or existing approaches to meet community needs.
Pilots are designed to minimise risks while maximising learnings. They are an invaluable way to inspire communities to see “what’s possible”; bring parties together to achieve consensus; review the agronomics of an area; explore market opportunities; identify and/or advocate for policy change; and test stakeholder engagement.
Pilots are often a precursor to a full-scale program.
Business for Development designs and implements agribusiness programs for smallholder farming communities, working towards income and food security, sustainable growth, resilience and social cohesion. Our programs use a transdisciplinary approach that considers value chains (e.g., access to appropriate finance and affordable quality inputs), environmental elements (e.g., climate smart agriculture practices) and social behaviour change to understand the social and cultural dynamics of the community, informing the change management process to achieve sustainable and equitable outcomes.
Clients benefit from improved relationships with the community, contributing towards the achievement of social ESG outcomes, accountability with metrics and an evidence-based approach, and a focus on the community’s independence post program completion.
Typically, the following lifecycle applies to Business for Development program management.
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We first develop an understanding of the current state of the community through research, site visits, interviews, and surveys. Then we analyse relevant value chains to understand the root causes of market failure and identify opportunities with the highest likelihood of success and minimum risk to farmers. We develop recommendations for potential agricultural solutions considering social, economic, and environmental impacts. It is during this phase a review of off-take partners is also analysed.
Here small-scale implementation is used to prove the viability of a program idea and interest from the community. This could involve the exploration of a novel new approach or the application of a standard approach that requires testing in a new environment.
During implementation, we explore through trials what is the right inputs e.g. seeds, avenues to credit and finance, training, etc, to achieve the desired impact.
Throughout the program a number of trials are implemented, once the right mix of inputs and partners are in place, with the LINC Enterprise, the program scales.
Even when a program is scaling, it is important to continuously assess new options, e.g., new seed variants.
During implementation, we explore through trials what is the right inputs e.g. seeds, avenues to credit and finance, training, etc, to achieve the desired impact.
The focus during this phase is to identify opportunities with the highest likelihood of success and minimum risk to smallholder farmers. Here Business for Development provides an up-front review of off-take prospects for commodities, and what opportunities are worth further investigation.
Once sufficient validation has been achieved in the Feasibility Phase, learnings are consolidated and the program starts to be implemented with the community. During implementation, we explore through trials what are the right inputs to achieve the desired impact. Trials are conducted throughout implementation. The partnerships ecosystem is established to support the program e.g., off-take partners, banks, local government.
During this phase, a Long-term Inclusive (LINC) Enterprise is established. As the LINC Enterprise matures over time, its membership grows to impact more smallholder farmers and communities.
Our approach ensures the LINC Enterprise becomes more self-reliant and sustainable over time. Business for Development’s involvement gradually shifts from hands-on implementation to an advisory role as the community becomes more capable and empowered. The supportive ecosystem of leaders and influencers, developed since program initiation, becomes interwoven with the community.
Once the LINC Enterprise is self-reliant with an ecosystem of partners in place to ensure its long-term sustainability, Business for Development’s role is limited to advising, monitoring, and evaluating.
Through Research for Development, we work with clients to improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of agricultural and food systems. Our research seeks to address food insecurity, improve incomes, bring about partnerships and collaboration, enhance social equity and support sustainable development.
Business for Development works with clients in a collaborative environment to deepen knowledge, challenge consensus, review issues in new ways and co-develop solutions.
There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farmer households globally, upwards of two billion people. Too many remain poor and food insecure due to limited access to services and markets.
Using business principles, Business for Development builds on the strengths of the community while addressing systemic constraints to resilience – empowering people through food security, nutrition, and sustainable economic growth, as well as voice and agency.
We work to:
Illustrated below is our approach.
Partnerships built on trust, commitment, communication, and a shared vision underpin sustainable economic growth. Business for Development creates partnership ecosystems between governments, community-based organisations, the private sector, research and financial institutions to embed long-term, system-wide transformation.
Each partnership ecosystem is different and depending on where in the life-cycle the program is, the partners can change. The diagram represents a partnership ecosystem for cotton, green gram, and poultry. Depending on the organisation, some partners interact with everyone and others only with their value chain.
Companies, governments, researchers, and communities regularly seek partners with complementary capabilities to gain access to new markets, achieve sustainability or reduce risk. To support and protect the stakeholders we work for, a LINC Enterprise is created. The LINC Enterprise represents a community’s interests when negotiating with other partners.
Business for Development has helped executives, ministers, and communities set up and navigate complex partnerships so that everyone in the partnership adds value through working together while achieving their respective interests. Developing partnerships – particularly across sectors and geographies – can be difficult. To enable successful partnerships, we:
Community 
Government
Professional 
Value Chain 
Technical 
Collaborative and a high level
of time and effort invested to
achieve better outcomes
Cooperative and some time
and effort invested to
achieve better outcomes
Transactional
Size of wedge indicatesCollaborating with other NGOs ensures community interests are prioritised, resourcesare used efficiently,and social impact is maximised.
Provide the LINC Enterprise with a working capital facility. Provide smallholder farmers with financial management andfinancial literacy training, as well as access to suitable banking arrangements. Digital payments are the preferred option under the program to ensure the safety of community members.
Provide funding to support development of the program.
Effective relationships with regulators are important to ensure compliance with relevant regulations, such as import/export requirements.
A collaborative relationship with national government is critical to ensuring alignment with overarching strategies, plans, policies and regulation, helping to create the enabling environment for program success and long-term sustainability.
A collaborative relationship with local government ensures alignment with their strategies, plans and policies. Capability building of local government and securing advocacy for the program is critical to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability and improves the likelihood of the program model being adopted and scaled-out to other regions.
Primary funder and project partner. B4D works closely with the resource company’s community development team to ensure our approaches are aligned and community benefits are maximised.
Leads and manages the program. Responsible for program design and implementation, ensuring the smallholder farming community’s interests are prioritised by working with all program partners.
Provide professional services to the LINC Enterprise, such as ensuring the accuracy of accounts and financial statements, supporting business plan development and donor reporting.
The LINC Enterprise may purchase farm inputs in bulk on behalf of smallholder farmer members to secure more favourable pricing. Farm inputs include fertiliser, seed and crop protection.
Processing green gram provides a value-added product that can be used in stockfeed.
Channel for smallholder farmers to sell surplus produce or where the program does not have an established offtake partner.
Channel for smallholder farmers to sell produce.
Research plays an important role in continuous improvement of the program, for example, developing stockfeed formulations for optimum poultry growth.
Quality genetics is critical to ensuring resilient poultry and superior poultry products. May also supply training to smallholder farmers.
Research plays an important role in continuous improvement of the program, for example, identifying the best seed genetics for various cotton fabric end uses.
The process of tracking the provenance and journey of products and their inputs, from the very start of the supply chain through to end-use.
Producing cotton to globally recognised ethical standards provides a point of differentiation in the market, helping smallholder farmers achieve greater returns.
Provides cotton testing services to help the program demonstrate cotton quality, such as fibre length, strength, micronaire and colour.
The LINC Enterprise may purchase farm inputs in bulk on behalf of smallholder farmer members to secure more favourable pricing. Farm inputs include fertiliser, seed and crop protection.
Transforming seeded (raw) cotton into garments requires multiple processing stages – ginning, spinning and weaving, and cut-make-trim. Collaborative relationships throughout the value chain are required to achieve commercially sustainable outcomes.
Global retailer working with the program to develop a sustainable cotton sourcing program, including their commitment to achieving 100% sustainably sourced cotton within the next three years, and a primary program funder. The program provides risk management benefits to the cotton retailer by diversifying cotton sourcing regions, enabling a point of differentiation to its customers to improve market share and stronger margins, and playing a role in the retailer’s employee engagement program.
A Long-term Inclusive (LINC) Enterprise (a type of social enterprise) is often at the crux of our programs. The purpose of a LINC Enterprise is to protect the community’s interests by reducing risk to smallholder farmers and redistributing power in their favour. The structure of the LINC Enterprise is determined by the best business model for the community (e.g., cooperative, franchise, partnership). Over time, scale is achieved as the LINC Enterprise matures and its membership grows to impact more smallholder farmers and the broader community.
Community
Government
Professional
Value Chain
Technical
Collaborative and a high level
of time and effort invested to
achieve better outcomes
Cooperative and some time
and effort invested to
achieve better outcomes
Transactional
Size of wedge indicatesCollaborating with other NGOs ensures community interests are prioritised, resourcesare used efficiently,and social impact is maximised.
Provide the LINC Enterprise with a working capital facility. Provide smallholder farmers with financial management andfinancial literacy training, as well as access to suitable banking arrangements. Digital payments are the preferred option under the program to ensure the safety of community members.
Provide funding to support development of the program.
Effective relationships with regulators are important to ensure compliance with relevant regulations, such as import/export requirements.
A collaborative relationship with national government is critical to ensuring alignment with overarching strategies, plans, policies and regulation, helping to create the enabling environment for program success and long-term sustainability.
A collaborative relationship with local government ensures alignment with their strategies, plans and policies. Capability building of local government and securing advocacy for the program is critical to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability and improves the likelihood of the program model being adopted and scaled-out to other regions.
Primary funder and project partner. B4D works closely with the resource company’s community development team to ensure our approaches are aligned and community benefits are maximised.
Leads and manages the program. Responsible for program design and implementation, ensuring the smallholder farming community’s interests are prioritised by working with all program partners.
Provide professional services to the LINC Enterprise, such as ensuring the accuracy of accounts and financial statements, supporting business plan development and donor reporting.
The LINC Enterprise may purchase farm inputs in bulk on behalf of smallholder farmer members to secure more favourable pricing. Farm inputs include fertiliser, seed and crop protection.
Processing green gram provides a value-added product that can be used in stockfeed.
Channel for smallholder farmers to sell surplus produce or where the program does not have an established offtake partner.
Channel for smallholder farmers to sell produce.
Research plays an important role in continuous improvement of the program, for example, developing stockfeed formulations for optimum poultry growth.
Quality genetics is critical to ensuring resilient poultry and superior poultry products. May also supply training to smallholder farmers.
Research plays an important role in continuous improvement of the program, for example, identifying the best seed genetics for various cotton fabric end uses.
The process of tracking the provenance and journey of products and their inputs, from the very start of the supply chain through to end-use.
Producing cotton to globally recognised ethical standards provides a point of differentiation in the market, helping smallholder farmers achieve greater returns.
Provides cotton testing services to help the program demonstrate cotton quality, such as fibre length, strength, micronaire and colour.
The LINC Enterprise may purchase farm inputs in bulk on behalf of smallholder farmer members to secure more favourable pricing. Farm inputs include fertiliser, seed and crop protection.
Transforming seeded (raw) cotton into garments requires multiple processing stages – ginning, spinning and weaving, and cut-make-trim. Collaborative relationships throughout the value chain are required to achieve commercially sustainable outcomes.
Global retailer working with the program to develop a sustainable cotton sourcing program, including their commitment to achieving 100% sustainably sourced cotton within the next three years, and a primary program funder. The program provides risk management benefits to the cotton retailer by diversifying cotton sourcing regions, enabling a point of differentiation to its customers to improve market share and stronger margins, and playing a role in the retailer’s employee engagement program.
A Long-term Inclusive (LINC) Enterprise (a type of social enterprise) is often at the crux of our programs. The purpose of a LINC Enterprise is to protect the community’s interests by reducing risk to smallholder farmers and redistributing power in their favour. The structure of the LINC Enterprise is determined by the best business model for the community (e.g., cooperative, franchise, partnership). Over time, scale is achieved as the LINC Enterprise matures and its membership grows to impact more smallholder farmers and the broader community.
Digital and agricultural innovation enhances development outcomes. Business for Development uses digital tools to gain a more robust understanding of program performance, improving decision-making. Agricultural innovation involves simple changes that can have a profound impact on smallholder farmer outcomes, such as crop selection and rotation to improve soil fertility.
Digital technology is key to transforming the way goods are produced, processed, traded, and consumed, building more resilient and robust systems. The first stage of Business for Development’s digital strategy is focused on the agricultural “first mile” – connecting farmers to the nearest markets. Farmers empowered with digital information have increased their yields, incomes, and resilience against market shocks.
Business for Development is testing with partners on applications of digital technology. For example:
Financial and geographical barriers to accessing basic agricultural inputs like seed and fertiliser, along with environmental issues including soil erosion and climate change, limit the production and profits of smallholder farmers.
Business for Development employs a range of simple and proven agricultural innovations to address environmental volatility. We incorporate techniques that are low cost, such as soil management and integrated farm management.
We also test opportunities that may have a higher cost, but stronger returns. For example, BT Cotton was trailed at 24 sites for the Kwale Agribusiness Program where it produced exceptionally high yield, quality cotton. Because it is pest resistant there’s been little chemical use, improving the return on investment for the farmers.
Business for Development approaches community development with deep respect, empathy and curiosity, to understand the culture and social dynamics within communities. Community development establishes trust and provides a foundation for smallholder farming communities to envision a life beyond poverty – transforming mindsets.
As part of our community development approach, Business for Development uses the principles of Human Centred Design (HCD). HCD is an empathetic approach to problem solving that puts the people we are designing for at the heart of the process. Communities are involved in every step of the program development process, from generating ideas to trialing and implementing them.
We use HCD principles to find the sweet spot for innovation.
We ask three fundamental questions:
It is important to understand what is feasible for a community. For example, growing bananas in a cyclone prone region might not be advisable, versus growing crops that have shorter crop-cycles, and might not be as vulnerable to extreme weather events. Reviewing key inputs such as climate, transport, post-harvest handling, can provide a stronger understanding of what is feasible for a community.
To understand the dynamics and pressures communities face, Business for Development meets with community members, listens to them, and unpacks how they make decisions based on risks, desires, and access to resources. Together we develop potential options to meet their needs.
Throughout a program, community consultation and participation is key to ongoing uptake of a programs success. While executing a program key members of the community will be identified and engaged for their perspective to understand their willingness to take risks and change behaviours to pursue better outcomes.
Business for Development builds programs that must be viable. We need to ensure the program output is desired by the partners and that the business established can over time be financially viable without external input.
Sustainable sourcing is the integration of social, ethical and environmental performance into the procurement process. It includes supply chain transparency, sustainable standards and compliance with the Modern Slavery Act. Business for Development helps businesses develop and implement their sustainable sourcing strategies, enabling them to build long-term relationships with suppliers and manage risk.
As companies expand into developing countries, seeking lower costs and greater production capacity, sustainable sourcing is needed to ensure – for all stakeholders in the supply chain – that it is done ethically, profitably, and equitably.
Sustainable sourcing requires a complex network of partners to collaborate in harmony for it to be done responsibly. Business for Development’s considered approach to partnership development establishes the strong bonds between all program partners to achieve the shared vision.
Business for Development can undertake the following:
Business for Development has worked on the production of several commodities including coffee, fruit and vegetables, livestock, cocoa, cashmere and cotton. Together with partners, we help to navigate to achieve sustainable sourcing that supports everyone in the partnership ecosystem.
As part of the program management approach during the implement and scale phase, often a Long-term Inclusive (LINC) Enterprise (a type of social enterprise) is developed. The purpose of a LINC Enterprise is to protect the community’s interests by reducing risk to farmers and redistributing power in their favour. The structure of the LINC Enterprise is determined by the best business model for the community (e.g. cooperative, franchise, partnership). Over time, scale is achieved as the LINC Enterprise matures and its membership grows to impact more smallholder farmers and the broader community.
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