“I think we can call ourselves business women now, understanding better our economic reality and reflecting on how to improve it.” Diasso Nana, Nununa Shea Cooperative, Burkina Faso For Nununa, a cooperative operating in the southwest of Burkina, production costs were their key limitation. An SNV study revealed that the union was actually making a loss on every kilogramme of shea butter produced. By processing the nuts at a centralised, semi-industrial factory, Nununa was not only able to slash production costs, but also to handle far greater volumes. Being able to secure credit is essential; without access to direct markets, the women’s organisations were ‘price takers’, forced to accept what was offered by the bulk nut traders, with prices often forced down due to the seasonal nature of shea production. Having lines of credit has allowed the associations to stockpile produce and therefore take back control of the price point. In Ghana alone, SNV has supported the development of 1,483 community-based village Saving and Loan Associations. These give their 42,000 members (85% of whom are women) the skills to manage savings, credit and to stockpile produce in order to better control price points. “Before, we were producing without knowing if we were actually making profit or loss. I think we can call ourselves business women now, understanding better our economic reality and reflecting on how to improve it,” says Diasso Nana, former president of Nununa. The creation of modern, efficient, profit-making organisations was just the first step. The next step is impact investment as SNV attempts to give these small and medium shea enterprises access to afFordable finance so that they can expand their businesses while also having a positive impact on their communities. To achieve this, SNV has inverted the usual business process and, rather than > JULY 2013 CONNECT #2 23 Pagina 22
Pagina 24Heeft u een mailing, pagedirect of e-flyers? Gebruik Online Touch: vakblad online op uw website plaatsen.
SNV Connect 2013 Lees publicatie 100Home