In late 2006, the SB Partners Ltd. group also signed a very
important cooperation agreement with the Micro credit and financing mutual cooperative based in Guinee Bissau, called COMDEV FINANCAS.
This association is the result of a project called "FINANCE EQUITABLE"® ("Fair Finance"®) which initially consists in raising funds in Europe and the United States among large and medium sized companies that regularly conduct sponsorship communication, and investing these funds, under the joint supervision of SB Partners, Comdev Financas, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization for United Nations) and the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) in micro financing schemes for sustainable development in Africa. This micro financing enables farmers, small retailers and artisans to develop durable businesses, which is the economic basis for SUSTAINABLE state development.
COMDEV FINANCE, "fair financing" representative offices, managed by mission heads are currently opening in Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, Central Africa and Angola, in order to establish links with the accredited micro-credit organizations already operating in these countries and thereby exponentially multiply the "fair financing" project's action capacity.
The provisional micro credit investment budget for 2007 is capped at 20 million euros, to be increased to 70 million in 2008.
THE "FINANCE EQUITABLE®/ FAIR FINANCE®" CONCEPT :
At the dawn of the 21st century, the so-called century of "solidarity", the real economic motor and necessary factor for true development in Africa is primarily the rural community and small retailers.
Africa will develop durably by supporting these sectors. Fair trade initiatives have understood this perfectly in striving to help small producers benefit from higher profits and thereby earning the means to invest and grow.
The Fair finance® project is based on that same concept. By financing micro projects and supporting the base of the economic fabric, we help increase the GNP (Gross National Product) of developing countries, thereby anchoring these countries' sustainable development. The Fair Financing concept is based on a simple idea: using the constant need for marketing visibility among European and American businesses of all sizes to fuel the increasing demand for micro credit funds in Africa.
A company generates the potential desire among its clientele to buy its products or services via precisely targeted advertising. This communication is usually conducted through the media, as well as via sports or special events sponsorship.
Now, we offer these companies an opportunity to communicate differently and reach their potential customers through their actions in helping the less fortunate: a small financial deduction from the profit on each product sold, backed up by communication on the use of these funds will create much stronger impact than any other form of communication.
