We started the program with a very inspirational speech by H.E. Mr. Muhammad Ali Sorcar – Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, followed by a video speech of  Mr. Gerben de Jong - Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to Bangladesh. Pro-Social Business Mr. Ali Sorcar stressed that “We have to realise that when a company developes a business proposition for the poor does not only create a difference in the live the BoP, but can at the same time greatly benefit the company”. According to mr. de Jong: “With a large and rapidly growing population, the availability of and access to sufficient and nutritious food is Bangladesh’ biggest challenge, and at the same time provides great opportunities in the field of food production and food processing. Dutch knowledge and expertise can be of genuine added value for sustainable development of the agribusiness sector.” Mrs. Pascalle Grotenhuis, Head of Division Private Sector, CSR and Infrastructure at Foreign Affairs, explained the switch “from aid to trade” the Dutch goverment is currently promoting.

These speeches were followed by Jan Willem Nibbering, Food Security specialist at the Embassy and Thomas Schuurmans, ProPortion, explaining in detail why ProPortion believes this MatchMaking program can contribute to sustainable business matches & food security in Bangladesh. He then opened the floor for further discussion in specific breakout sessions (dairy, horticulture and fishery). These groups discussed the different value chains and the role each organisation could fulfill within their own chain.

After the group sessions, that were -according to the evaluation forms- perceived as very useful for participants, the detailed program of the mission in March was shared by Thomas. We closed the day with drinks, and toasted to a very successful Sustainable Match trajectory in March!

Powerpoint shared this day: http://www.slideshare.net/sustainablematch/sustainable-match-pre-event-feb-7th-2013

Photo’s of the breakout-session and the visualisation of the Value Chain Diary Bangladesh. For more value chains: www.sustainablematch.com/bangladesh

From March 16 – 22, ProPortion will travel to Bangladesh together with Dutch SMEs active in agriculture (dairy, horticulture & fishery). In Bangladesh matchmaking activities will take place and we will visit the Sathkira region in order to have a better understanding of the value chains of these sectors.

We have chose these sectors based on existing food reports provided by the Dutch embassy based in Dhaka, and based on interviews our Bangladeshi counterpart iDE  held with farmers and SMEs in Bangladesh. Opportunities were identified throughout the whole value chain, ranging from supply, farm production, processing, logistics to distribution, retail to  developing specific pro-poor consumer products.

With Sustainable Match we aim to contribute to more food security in Bangladesh that  suffers from ‘hidden hunger’ ; the lack of micro-nutrients in the food supply, because supply and thus the ‘menu’ consists mainly of rice. With sectors such as dairy, horticulture and fishery, we hope healthy, but affordable food can be offered to the BoP.

By now, several Bengali companies have shared a business proposition for Dutch SMEs. We hope we can inspire many Dutch companies too.

If you are a Dutch SME active in horticulture, dairy or fishery, and you would like to expand your market to Bangladesh, don’t hesitate to contact us! info@proportionfoundation.org

With 2012 drawing to a close, we have reflected on what we are grateful for : inspiring projects we have worked on, big and small successes, new team members and our valuable partners. On behalf of ProPortion, we would therefore like to thank you for your support.

Your efforts made all the difference in realizing our mutual dream of a fair proportion in the distribution of world’s wealth and wellbeing – through social business at the Base of Pyramid.

We wish you and your organisation a successful and inspirational 2013 and we look forward to next year’s cooperation!

Warm regards,

The ProPortion Team

Results results of the day:

1. We organised a photoshoot in Mogadishu (purpose: an article in Nuzakelijk)
2. We wrote an article on our project. http://www.nuzakelijk.nl/de-partnershipverkiezing-2012/2934400/van-gansewinkel-proportion-foundation-global-somali-response.html
3. We presented a one minute pitch: https://www.youtube.com/user/ProPortionSocEnt?feature=mhee
   

Project started: 15.05.12
Services: Social business development, co-creation
Partners: MVO Nederland, Agri Pro Focus, BBO, People Connector, Oxfam Novib

Challenge
How to create an innovative matchmaking methodology in order to maximize positive social and environmental impact in developing economies?

Context
The Dutch Parliament addressed the fact that “current trade missions don’t measure sustainable impact.” At the same time, Dutch SMEs increasingly involve CSR in their strategy and international trade (Fenedex) and are looking for a clear network of CSR business opportunities in developing countries. This together, shows the need for sustainable matches.

Solution
Sustainable Match was born; a learn agenda to develop a best practice in matchmaking between SMEs in the Netherlands and in emerging markets in a sustainable way. The program therefore provides Dutch SMEs business insights based on local needs related to food security, including access to local key players & potential business partners. The results will be monitored and described in a practical manual and distributed to SMEs, international matchmakers and politicians.

Current Results
A sustainable trade mission will take place to Bangladesh half of May. Several SMEs, both in the Netherlands as in Bangladesh have been identified, interested to sustainable business development and introduced to each other. In three cases it is very probable a sustainable partnership will follow out of the process. These partnerships are active in the field of dairy, technology and animal feed.

ProPortion will conduct a sustainable trade mission in Bangladesh and to create three sustainable business matches that contribute to food security in Bangladesh. Therefore Dutch &Bangladeshi SMEs business insights are provided. These are based on local needs related to food security, including access to key players & potential business partners. These insights play a central role in the process of tailored matchmaking between Dutch SMEs and SMEs/NGOs in Bangladesh, involving decision makers and key influencers. The most-promising matches will be supported in becoming a successful partnership by facilitating business modeling workshops, providing information on financial instruments and access to existing networks in the pilot countries. On request ProPortion coaches in co-designing and co-writing a Proof of Concept plan.

From 16 till 23th of July, Merel took place in the conference Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy(TIGE). This conference was organised by Initiatives of Change (IofC), a diverse, global network representing diverse professions, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds from around the world. It is on a quest for a sustainable, just and equitable global economy. A quest based on core ethical and spiritual values and aligned with environmental, social and cultural needs. It explores and combines appropriate, culture-embedded down-to-earth solutions and interdisciplinary thinking. The aim is to further the process of restoring trust, integrity and values that lie at the heart of effective organizations and institutions. I noticed it was more then ‘just a conference’.

In the first place, because of the simple fact that every participant was part of a housekeeping team, such as like dining room service, cooking, preparing vegetables and wash-up services. On this picture you see for example Colombia participants in tea service.Secondly, I felt a strong impact of the its core values – turn judgment into curiosity, serve (and be served), take responsibility, take time for quiet reflection, invitation to learn & play, purity, unselfishness and honesty – on the way people treated each other. Everybody participated for the full 100% and shared not only their work, but their visions, dreams and ambition. Therefore in this place continuously beautiful ideas emerged. ProPortion will share its insights and personal way of working in the future with you!

Written by Merel Rumping.

Adenauer and Schuman

Former French statesman Robert Schuman was invited here as well. He is one of the most well known European peacemakers. His willingness for peace is demonstrated by one of the first things he asked when he entered the palace just after World War II had come to an end. His words were: “Where are the Germans?” The Germans arrived a few days later, and he had the chance to meet Bundeskanzler Konrad Adenauer from Germany. Together they became the ‘Founding Fathers’ of Europe.

She explained: “Currently there is an imbalance in business: there is profit and purpose. Profit is currently not a means to do business but an end. Fortunately a paradigm shift takes place from CSR activities, which is according to EU environmental and social concerns integrated into business in close interaction with stakeholders, but fortunately still more and more people see business as a means to create social goals and environmental values. Purpose beyond profit!” http://www.taniaellis.com/

Tania Ellis

A good example of this is the Body Shop. Since the 70’s they have been doing good. And although there was not much attention for environmental and social issues at the time, they were a successful company. Recently, a big company bought them: L’Oréal. We can question ourselves; are they still doing good? Or have they forgotten their values? Or are they, like a Trojan horse smuggling their ethical values into the big L’Oreal…

She gave us an extraordinary example of an island in Denmark where her friend lives. With him, 300 quite conservative islanders inhabit this island. Their income was generated out of oil. Tania’s friend however succeeded to convince the other islanders to become completely self sustainable. Now it is even capable to sell 20% of its green energy!

Ghandi would describe his challenge as following: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” Good to mention in this regard that Texel is also becoming more and more sustainable! http://www.duurzaamtexel.nl/het-laatste-nieuws/texel-eiland-in-de-zon

Peter N. Lewis

Peter N. Lewis, Founder and Lead Consultant at Principled Consulting, helps companies integrating their core values into their core business. He means that the most important reason for lack of trust and integrity in the global economy, is lack of care, lack of compe­tence and lack of fairness.

According to Lewis, recent surveys show that business people measure moral values differently at home than at work. Whereas they value ethics at work, they are assessed much more stringently at home. Thus, he suggests, people know what is right and what is wrong, but they often forget on the way to work.

He figured that companies often have a value-statement containing the word integrity. “But if you get amongst people and ask them what it means you may get different and sometimes bizarre understandings of the word. This is why you have to embed values in your organization and have to make clear which expectations you have in respect to the behavior of your people. If not, a big gap arises between a piece of paper created by the board (and sometimes not even understood by them…) and the way the staff applies these values.

I believe, that some people play their ‘role’ at their work. And if you do not believe in what you doing, it is very easy not to care

I wondered: How beautiful would the world be if every company would live up to their value statements and the values mentioned in it…. ? So, good luck Peter! And lets live and work in a way we –are- and –believe- in it! Let’s stop playing roles.