Impact SME Development Progamme
We support entrepreneurs in creating social and environmental impact and help them develop their businesses.
OUR VISION
We want to reach a human economy whereby impact-driven small and medium enterprises (iSMEs) contribute to a fairer, greener, and more inclusive ecosystem.
By providing decent jobs, using climate conscious business practices, and offering fairer income to small holder producers, iSMEs have the power to tackle today’s social and environmental challenges.
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WHAT ARE IMPACT SMEs?
Impact SMEs are businesses that aim at benefiting the community, individuals, and the planet beyond profit-making. Using human centered and ecological business models, iSMEs tackle pressing issues such as climate change, youth unemployment, accessibility to services and gender inequality.
MEET SOME OF OUR IMPACT SMES
Examples
Olivia Onyemaobi, CEO & Founder of PAD-UP, is fighting period poverty in Nigeria.
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Daniel Yin, CEO of Spouts of Water, is providing access to safe drinking water in Uganda.
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Examples
Shahira Yahia, Co-Founder of Chitosan Egypt, is contributing towards organic agriculture and supporting local livelihoods.
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Amin Aden Mohamed, Managing Director of Tayo Uniforms, is providing jobs and trainings for the youth of Somaliland within the fashion industry.
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Go to the Meet our Entrepreneurs’ section for more examples.
Why do we support Impact SMEs?
- SMEs are a key driver of economic development, accounting for over 50% of GDP, 67% of full-time employment and 85% of new jobs created in the countries we work in
- Impact SMEs play a key role in offering innovative and sustainable solutions for local economic development
- In order to grow sustainably, SMEs need to overcome issues related to their organizational capacity, access to finance, investment readiness and the overall business ecosystem.
The approach
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
We improve the business and impact performance of SMEs by providing tailored support, group trainings, peer learning, and network facilitation.
ACCESS TO FINANCE
We connect SMEs with investment funds that deliver impact by increasing investment readiness and connecting SMEs to investors.
ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
We influence stakeholders to drive change in national policies by engaging with policymakers and promoting SME stories to gather support.
The superstar impact business competition
Every year, businesses that were part of our iSME or start-up development programmes participate in our Superstar Competition to scale-up and innovate through grant funding and technical support.
Click here for more information about the superstar impact business competition.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 2015-2022
453 SMEs
have been supported
55% of SMEs
got external financing
11,979 jobs
were created by SMEs
50% of management positions
are held by women
Check out our Impact Measurement Data Analysis report (2015-2021) for more.
Partners
The iSME programme works with local partners in 7 countries.
Stories of impact
Read stories of impact driven SMEs that we work with from Cambodia, Kenya, Uganda, Somaliland, Nigeria and Egypt. These SMEs are defying the odds to show that it is possible to build a more human economy that profits people and the environment.
Improving the nutrition biodiversity of our vulnerable groups
We are looking at how we can improve the nutrition biodiversity of our vulnerable groups and Smart Foods focuses on innovations on soyabeans best products," said Martin Ssali, a purpose driven entrepreneur who is fighting malnutrition in Uganda with his sustainable business approach.
Why more women in business leadership matters
In this blog, we share the importance of female leadership in firms supported by an Oxfam business development programme in their decent work environments and gender-balance workforces.
Woman to woman: more than an entrepreneur, a mentor
For Joy, her business success is not measured in just the profit she generates but more in being able to beam the light to illuminate the path of one girl, one woman at a time, to also run an enterprise that benefits people, communities, and the environment.
Phirum’s quest to relieve women from unpaid care jobs
Phirum Dyphan is a nurse and founder CEO of MUCH Mobile Healthcare in Cambodia. She is on a mission to unburden women and girls of unpaid care without sacrificing their ambitions and career goals.
Yellow Star: Florence's Recipe for Change
"Yellow Star emerged as my response to the heart-wrenching food poverty and malnutrition plaguing Ugandan families, witnessed during my two-decade career as a social worker. The urgent need for accessible, nutritious meals fueled my determination and gave birth to this enterprise in 1997," shared Florence Okot, founder of Yellow Star, with unwavering passion.
How Funto is turning Plastic Trash to Treasure
Chanja Datti, meaning 'transform dirt' in the dynamic Hausa language of Nigeria, is on a mission to shake up the world of plastic waste. Led by the visionary founder, Funto Boroffice who is creating waves by collecting recyclables and transforming them into valuable flakes. These flakes are then handed over to manufacturers, who work their magic to craft remarkable, brand new finished products! Curious to learn more?
Louisa's effort to Reduce Plastic Pollution
Louisa Gathecha is inspiring efforts to minimize the volume of glass waste that is disposed of in landfills across Kenya. We admire Louisa’s commitment to mitigating the detrimental impact of plastic on ecosystems, wildlife, and human well-being and hope she inspires more businesses to take proactive measures in reducing plastic waste. See video to learn more.
Looking back at 2023 and Forward to 2024
In 2023, we continued our journey towards creating a fairer, greener, and more inclusive global ecosystem. We want to spread our net to more countries and scale our impact to reach more impact-driven SMEs.
Connect with us
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Eline Arnoldy Project Lead Impact SME |
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Windy Massabni Project Specialist Impact SME |
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Michelle Steggerda Investments Officer • FAIR: Financial Systems and Investments
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