ProFound - Advisers In Development

We spoke with Lisanne Groothuis, Market Analysis Manager at ProFound, following the recent CBI - Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries webinar, Navigating the European Market for Natural Ingredients for Health Products, held on 14 November 2024. 👉 Read on to hear her thoughts!    💚 Why do you believe webinars like this are important?  🌾 They’re a fantastic way to connect with a diverse audience, including natural ingredients suppliers from Asia, Latin America, and Africa, as well as support organisations and companies from all over the globe. A webinar also provides a great opportunity for people to learn from industry experts and colleagues like Gus Le Breton, who shared his rich experiences and insights, and natural ingredients expert Gustavo Ferro.    💚 Could you share what the webinar was about and something that stood out to you during the webinar?  🌾 It was a rich discussion where we covered many topics. In Europe, the demand for sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients grows, which means buyers have growing expectations for compliance and risk management. During the webinar we explored some risks, how these can be addressed, and how exporters can adapt to the increasingly stringent regulations and compliance requirements of the European market.   We discussed how voluntary standards and certification mechanisms can help demonstrate compliance with high social, ethical and environmental standards. As explained by Gus, his baobab products are @FairWild –certified, which has the benefit that it can amplify the voices of wild collectors and farmers in the supply chain. FairWild requires harvesters to be organised into associations, this helps them negotiate prices and manage premiums. This adds value in otherwise fragmented value chains by promoting collaboration, giving stakeholders a united voice, and fostering a shared approach to managing resources and investments.    🌿 Curious to learn more about these insights? Watch the video! And also...drop us a message or connect with us! https://lnkd.in/exYFx454 #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #Sustainability #MarketExport #MarketAccess #MarketExpansion #NaturalIngredients #CircularEconomy #Agroforestry #MarketGrowth #MarketEntry #MarketAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #GreenFuture #SustainableBusiness #EcoFriendly #Regenerative

🔎 Can you find our offices in this picture? 🏤 Our company moved to this beautiful location around 20 years ago, when ProFound started expanding its business, around when the BioTrade programme started, in partnership with UNCTAD, CBI, and SIPPO; which marked the beginning of the natural ingredients chapter for food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics at ProFound.. 🇳🇱 But wait... do you see us? 💚 Find us & come and visit us! We LOVE having visitors. #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #Sustainability #OfficeWork #InvestInSustainability #MarketExpansion #OrganicProducts #Organic #CircularEconomy #Agroforestry #AtWork #MarketEntry #MarketAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #GreenFuture #SustainableBusiness #EcoFriendly #Regenerative   

🇳🇬 Building Sector Knowledge in Nigeria: An Interview How can we build sector knowledge and institutional development for specific industries? 📚📈 For us, building sector knowledge means analyzing demand and trends, identifying the need for services, and aligning these with the company's goals to share this knowledge across the value chain ultimately. How? Often through workshops! 🌍 This is why, recently, Bert-Jan Ottens and Gustavo Ferro, from ProFound, and Wim van Heumen, from CBI, conducted a two-day workshop in Abuja as part of the CBI - Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries Export Workshop Experience. 👇 So...we wanted to learn about how it went! Most importantly, understand from firsthand experience how these knowledge-building workshops impact local companies and their participants. This is why we talked with Rukayat Yusuf, owner of Jaunty Group LLC, a women-empowered company that participated in this workshop. Read on! 🌍 PF: Tell us a little bit about your company. What does "Jaunty" mean? ✨ Rukayat Yusuf: "Jaunty" embodies a spirit of happiness, energy, liveliness, and confidence. Jaunty is not just a brand; it represents a movement towards conscious and sustainable living. 🌱 😊 PF: Nice! How has your participation in the CBI Export Workshop Experience been so far? 💡 Rukayat: I first attended the event in October 2024, and since then, the workshop has equipped me with essential tools to enhance Jaunty Group's export strategies. It also provided a deeper understanding of how to introduce quality Nigerian products to the European market. 🛣️ PF: Right, it's a long roadmap! Could you share the most significant insights from these workshops? 💻 Rukayat: We've gained access to valuable resources from the CBI website and identified critical opportunities for scaling our operations and achieving compliance. 📋 PF: What about compliance and certification? What advantages have the workshops provided? 🌱 Rukayat: Access to compliance experts and real-life examples has been crucial in understanding the complex requirements for exporting to the EU, including organic certification, sustainable sourcing, and food safety. 📏 During the workshops, we also emphasized the importance of unified certification processes and discussed optimal business models for international growth, especially through contract manufacturing. 🤝 PF: No doubt, together we are stronger! Thank you, Rukayat! 😊 #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #Sustainability #MarketExport #MarketAccess #MarketExpansion #NaturalIngredients #CircularEconomy #Agroforestry #MarketGrowth #MarketEntry #MarketAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #GreenFuture #SustainableBusiness #EcoFriendly #Regenerative  

🤎 🌍 💚 We focus on supporting decent work and economic growth by empowering small and medium-sized enterprises. Through sustainable value chain development, quality improvement, and market access support, we help businesses reach their full potential, often expanding locally and integrating traditional knowledge. 🧑🌾 We’re proud to be part of a movement that creates lasting change, one community at a time!   ⏳ But wait... What do we mean by “Local development that lasts”?     To us, development means improving local working conditions, creating job opportunities within communities, and fostering fair, sustainable growth.  What does it mean to you? Please help us expand this conversation and share your thoughts with us! 💚 💚 💚 #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #SDGs #SustainableDevelopment #SDG8 #LocalDevelopment #DecentWork #EconomicGrowth #SustainableTrade #EmpoweringCommunities #FairTrade #InclusiveGrowth   

Thank you so much Joren Groot for great experience visiting, and getting to know better the work of DO IT ORGANIC (B Corp) and the possible sourcing from the Cambodian suppliers! 🌱

💚 🚀 Growth with Invest for Jobs! We are embarking on a thrilling project designed to help around 60 companies from seven African countries enter the market successfully. 🌍✨ But wait…! What does "successfully" mean? 🤔 For us, it means working closely with committed agri-entrepreneurs to add value to their products, create jobs, and do so sustainably. 🌱🤝 This project will focus on several segments, gradually building collaborations with our partners. We are dedicated to helping these companies succeed by identifying gaps and crafting the best solutions to secure new contracts. 💡📈 Supported by the Invest for Jobs - Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, this project under the Invest for Jobs brand aims to partner with companies to create good jobs while improving working conditions and social protection in its seven of its partner countries in Africa. 🌟🤝 We look forward to witnessing the success of these companies and contributing to meaningful, sustainable growth! 🚀🌿 Stay tuned for more stories on this project soon! 📢✨ #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #GIZ #PartnershipsForSustainability #ReGen55 #AgriBusiness #Sustainability #MarketEntry #GlobalPartnerships #InnovationInAgriculture #JobCreation #AgriEntrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #EnvironmentalImpact #RegenerativeTransition #GreenTransition #InvestForJobs

🤔 📈 What does decent work and economic growth mean to you? For us at ProFound, it means local development that lasts. How? 🌱 By supporting sustainable sourcing and connecting producers of agro-biodiverse and natural ingredients to the market. But wait... don’t go! 💚 We want to hear what decent work and economic growth means to you. Help us expand this conversation! Check out what our partner, CBI - Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, says about this (and their amazing video too!). 🚀 #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #Sustainability #MarketExport #Change #CBI #Partnerships #NaturalIngredients #CircularEconomy #Agroforestry #MarketGrowth #MarketEntry #MarketAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #GreenFuture #SustainableBusiness #EcoFriendly #Regenerative  

👇 Check out this outstanding opportunity to contribute to sustainable development in Southeast Asia! #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #FoodExpoVietNam

📬 A few months ago, we received one of the most outstanding letters in our mailbox. 🌳 🌿 The letter, signed by Mike Brook, owner and founder of Organic Herb Trading, shared his wishes for the future of his over forty-year-old business, now that he is beginning to step away from the company.     For us, it was outstanding because he managed to simplify, in such an approachable way, so much essential knowledge.    🌱 When Bert-Jan Ottens, founder and owner of ProFound, met Mike in 2006, it quickly became evident that he was not afraid to do what it takes to develop outstanding projects that support people, their economies, and regions. His knowledge and passion quickly became a source of inspiration for the entire ProFound team, and a solid friendship based on collaboration was born. 🌻 Mike has worked tirelessly to prove that bringing traditional uses of medicines and herbs to the market is possible with respect and fairness. 💐 Since the birth of the company, Organic Herb Trading has been a pioneer in developing markets for traditional ingredients used in skincare, herbal tea, food, and medicinal products. More than this, their commitment to organic practices, sustainability, quality, and fairness has become a point of reference for others.    Mike worked with us on the CBI - Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries studies for natural ingredients in health, spices, and herbs, guiding the team in the right direction with his expertise and knowledge of the trade. At BIOFACH, he supported us at the initial stages of the Organic Africa Pavilion, offering his perspective on the market, informing us, while also contributing to the BioTrade project in its initial stages.    🦋 The work that Organic Herb Trading does is a reference for organic and fair trade internationally. They somehow manage to keep it simple: choose organic, be fair, embed quality, and make it sustainable!    Read Mike’s wishes in the link and share your thoughts with us: https://bit.ly/3Ya2YVU #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #ReGen55 #Sustainability #OrganicTrade #OrganicHerbs #NaturalIngredients #AccessToMarket #CircularEconomy #Agroforestry #MarketGrowth #MarketEntry #MarketAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #GreenFuture #SustainableBusiness #EcoFriendly #Regenerative #BioTradeAsia    Matt Richards, Laura Tucker

🔥Spicing Up Europe with Nigerian Ginger! 🌍 Join us at #SIALPARIS2024 Hall 5AJ196 where we’re excited to promote 7 Nigerian companies exporting premium dried split ginger, all supported by CBI - Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries Don’t miss this opportunity to explore an exceptional offering of high-quality ginger, perfect for spicing up your products! A big thank you to Lisanne van de Kerkhof #Daniella Beni, Hugo Lamers and Mansoor Raji and ProFound - Advisers In Development for their amazing support in making this possible. Come visit us and discover the best of Nigerian ginger! #NigerianGinger #ExportOpportunities #Spices #CBI #FoodIndustry #TradeShow