Meet 10 rural small businesses making a big difference
Micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstones of a vibrant rural economy.
From the food on our tables, to the clothes on our backs, and everything in between, they keep our societies going.
SMEs employ millions of people globally, creating opportunities for many, especially women and young people.
During the pandemic, they were often a lifeline for rural economies.
Discover 10 rural businesses from every continent that are thriving with IFAD's support.
Colombia
When COVID-19 hit, IFAD helped rural Afro-Colombian communities keep their links to markets alive – and even develop new ones.
Producers of sugar cane drinks pivoted to making hand sanitizer. Traditional costume makers sewed facemasks instead. Local women offered an Afro-Colombian food delivery service and online cooking classes. Read more.
Paraguay
Ten years ago, a group of women in eastern Paraguay formed an association to sell their produce outside the local hospital.
Through IFAD’s PPI initiative, they took classes in everything from account-keeping and negotiation skills to creating business plans.
Now, the women sell their wares in the capital, Asunción, and earn as much in a month as they did in a year. Read more.
Nigeria
After joining an IFAD-supported programme, Dorothy Chia Vandefan co-founded her own company to produce certified rice seed.
At first, the company had to give seeds for free – but after their rice yields quadrupled, the farmers rushed back to buy more.
Now, the company helps farmers produce their own seeds, provides inputs and training, and buys the crop at pre-agreed prices. It’s a win for everyone. Read more.
Ghana
With limited work opportunities for persons with disabilities in her region, Awulatu Abdulai used to go into town on her wheelchair to beg for money.
Then IFAD's REP project trained her in soap making and gave her financing to start a business.
Now, Awulatu’s soaps are in high demand and when she goes to town, it’s to sell her wares. Read more.
Tunisia
Ibtissèm Mansour was a young biochemist in Tunis, but when her mother fell ill, she left her job to care for her.
With support from PROFITS, Ibtissèm bought a milk tank, a refrigerator and a cheese press.
Today, she’s an accomplished cheesemaker, earning twice as much as she did in the lab, and she employs two people. Read more.
Uganda
When Gladys Ndagile’s chickens lay more eggs than she knows what to do with, she sells them to an SME that turns them into egg powder.
This SME is financed by the European Union under IFAD’s Uganda Yield Fund. The fund specializes in investments with social and environmental benefits, giving small but high-risk businesses a way of accessing finance at good terms.
Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest fish producers, but up to a third of the catch is wasted, partly because fishers don’t have ways of preserving it.
Now, with training from the IFAD-supported CCDP project, enterprise groups can process the catch into non-perishable foods, like smoked fish and fish crackers.
They’ve also obtained international safety certifications that allow them to export products as far as Japan. Read more.
Solomon Islands
Jack Chottu started as a small copra producer, extracting oil from dried coconut. Today, his company Chottu’s Guadalcanal Products (CGP) is a commercial coconut oil producer.
As his business grew, Jack mentored other copra farmers through the IFAD-supported RDP-II programme and set up a farmers’ association to increase production and quality.
CGP bought their copra at a fair price and extracted premium oil using a mill provided by RDP-II. Read more.
In an age of climate change and rising food prices, SMEs are key to resilient rural economies that can weather hard times.
Learn how IFAD and partners in the SAFIN network help channel finance to agri-SMEs and small commercial farms.
Explore IFAD-supported research on how SMEs are leading a quiet revolution in rural economies.
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IFAD concerning the delimitation of the frontiers or boundaries, or the authorities thereof.
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