Creating Good Jobs in Ethiopia

2022-11-24T08:46:24+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Export and Business Development for Ethiopian Agribusinesses The backbone of the Ethiopian economy is agriculture, which provides employment for approximately 68% of the working population and represents 30% of GDP. With over 40% of the Ethiopian population being under the age of 15, the Ethiopian government must facilitate the creation of millions of jobs a year to ensure the reduction in the labour surplus. Consequently, and for the past two decades, the Ethiopian government’s strategy for economic development is the structural transformation of the economy from low- to high-productivity agriculture, value-addition and industrialisation. In conjunction with the GIZ project, [Read more]

Social certification Trends

2022-06-14T08:24:40+00:00June 14th, 2022|Tags: , , , , , , , |

  Social issues across global value chains have received more attention over the past years. Standards serve as a tool to ensure good social practices. But with over 400 sustainability schemes to choose from, how do you find the best one for your business? ProFound consultants Lisanne Groothuis and Jolanda van Hal researched just that. On behalf of CBI, the Center for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, they identified current trends in social standards, compared the main standards on the market and developed guidelines to help exporters find the best one for them. The study and webinar [Read more]

How to choose the right social certification for my company?

2022-07-05T09:56:42+00:00June 14th, 2022|Tags: , , , , , , , |

As an exporter, you should choose a social certification standard that fits your company best. To determine which standard fits your needs you will need to determine your objectives and compare the different standards available to see which one helps you meet them. We have developed three important steps to guide you on this process. Determine your needs and objectives You should look for standards that help you achieve your objective and goal. Maybe you have a buyer that wants you to certify according to a specific standard before you can become a supplier. You can also use standards [Read more]

Linking Ethiopian Gums and Resins to international markets

2021-06-10T09:35:51+00:00May 11th, 2021|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

  For the last ten months, ProFound’s experts together with a local Ethiopian team have been working on establishing sustainable Gums and Resins supply chains in Ethiopia and linking them to international markets. As the project is coming to an end we want to share with you some of our main achievements and learnings. Strengthening Drought Resilience in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lowlands of Ethiopia (SDR-ASAL) Ethiopia's rural areas face enormous environmental and socio-economic challenges that put the livelihoods of small farmers and pastoralists at risk (Humboldt Universität Zu Berlin, 2017). These environmental pressures have become evident through the [Read more]

ProFound will link Gums and Resins collectors to markets

2021-06-10T09:35:53+00:00July 29th, 2020|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

ProFound is proud to announce that we recently won the tender for a programme focusing on Gums and Resins, supported by GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH Ethiopia. The GIZ Programme is called “Strengthening Drought Resilience in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lowlands of Ethiopia (SDR-ASAL)”. Amongst other objectives, the programme aims at building capacities amongst Government institutions and partners in the field of planning and natural resource management and utilization. The Gums and Resins market in Ethiopia Gums and Resins such as Frankincense, Myrrh, Gum Arabic play an important role in the daily life of many Ethiopians. [Read more]

Training the Foreign Trade Chamber in Market Analysis

2020-03-04T10:06:25+00:00June 5th, 2019|Tags: , , , , |

Did you know that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has various promising products to offer to the global market? The Foreign Trade Chamber (FTC) in BiH is making sure that people around the world are aware of the opportunities that the country has to offer. Such as its range of essential oils. ProFound, through the trade promotion programme of our partner SIPPO, supports Foreign Trade Chamber. The aim is to improve the services of FTC to its members. Delivery of Market Intelligence will be a new service to help FTC's members find the best match between market needs and their [Read more]

Export development project in Indonesia for natural ingredients

2020-03-04T10:18:49+00:00May 24th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , |

CBI (the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries) recently launched its new export development project in Indonesia. In this project CBI cooperates with the German Import Promotion Desk (IPD) and the Indonesian Ministry of Industry. Robbie Hogervorst joined IPD and CBI's mission to launch the project. 100 companies producing and exporting essential oils, botanical extracts and seaweed extracts participated in two national workshops. During these workshops the participants learned about opportunities on the EU market and requirements to reach this market. Moreover, they heard how the project could support them to enter Europe successfully with sustainable, [Read more]

Diving into sustainable wild collection at FairWild Forum

2020-03-02T17:52:28+00:00May 14th, 2019|Tags: , , |

Did you know that commercial wild-collection in Europe is alive and kicking? ProFound senior consultant Robbie Hogervorst participated in FairWild Forum 2019 in Budapest. During the forum he visited wild collection sites near the Hungarian-Croatian border. Here Roma collectors benefit from working for FairWild-certified operations: At the time of visit, the group was collecting wild garlic. better working conditions, better and more stable incomes and fair trade premiums to invest in community projects.   At the FairWild Forum, Robbie also presented how FairWild certification can support compliance to the Nagoya Protocol for Access and Benefit Sharing. Other speakers [Read more]

Improving export development and promotion services to BioTrade companies

2019-06-03T11:28:41+00:00April 9th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , |

In close cooperation with Miguel Camacho, ProFound provided a workshop on behalf of Helvetas. Together with Miguel we helped to reinforce capacities of business support organisations (BSOs) to deliver demand-driven, value-added services that promote exports of BioTrade natural ingredients. The workshop provided international best-case examples of services to companies. For example trade fair organisation, certification training, export market planning and buyer missions. In addition, the workshop linked BSOs to trade promotion organisations in their countries. This link helps BSOs to discuss how to implement these services in practice. During the workshop the BSOs designed their service portfolio and did initial [Read more]

Marketing and Innovation 2.0: Export Marketing training at Natural Products Expo West

2019-05-24T16:18:27+00:00March 21st, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , |

Many Myanmar companies want to enter the American market. They feel their innovative and speciality products will have the best chances in this highly dynamic market. That the American market is indeed dynamic we saw during a study visit to the Natural Products Expo West trade fair in Anaheim, California. Here we joined the Helvetas Myanmar team, 6 companies and 2 business support organisations. At the same time, the show also showed how fierce the competition is. Products and marketing concepts need to be very strong to stand out in this market. ProFound consultants Jolanda van Hal and Robbie Hogervorst [Read more]

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