Shared Interest Society Ltd

Secure finance in the agribusiness and handcraft sector 💸 Are you a women-led business in East Africa, West Africa or Latin America? If so, you are warmly invited to join our upcoming webinar in collaboration with SheTrades: ‘Financing the Growth of your Sustainable Business’. Presented by Shared Interest Lending Manager for East Africa, Immaculate Ochieno, this session promises to offer practical tips for securing financing in the agribusiness and handcraft sectors while complying with HREDD regulations. This session is the last in a series of webinars on Sustainable Business Practices by ITC SheTrades, a global platform for women in trade to learn, connect and do business. Webinar details ⬇️ Date: Thursday, 5th December Time: 1pm GMT, 4pm EAT Format: Free online webinar Register now: https://lght.ly/1db8l8e #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface

We know the impact of the climate emergency is growing on a global scale, with remote and rural regions often suffering most. With extreme weather conditions intensifying, farming communities urgently need to build resilience against rising temperatures and the increasing risk of pests and diseases. An emergency in East Africa 🚨 In recent years, eastern Africa has starkly demonstrated the economic, political, and humanitarian consequences of severe drought. Since 2020, the region has had six consecutive rainy seasons with insufficient precipitation, affecting millions. This prolonged drought resulted from a multi-year La Niña event, likely intensified by global climate change. La Niña is part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle - a climate phenomenon that occurs in cycles of 3–7 years, when the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean drop below normal. La Niña can cause widespread changes in global weather patterns. Shared Interest Lending Manager, Immaculate Ochieno, said: “In our region, we have experienced frequent floods, with increased severity and also longer drought spells. The downside is the effect this has on coffee seasons. Previously, we would see harvest periods of three months; these are becoming shorter as weather patterns change, and coffee matures later. However, the issues comes as the buyer expects coffee at a certain time. These issues extend beyond coffee. Speaking about some of the producers we support in Rwanda, Immaculate told us: In the fresh vegetable harvest, farmers are being required to install greenhouses to prevent cross-pollination when using pesticides ... If greenhouses are not installed, pesticides can blow onto crops from nearby fields, affecting the quality and spreading the chemical. In this case, farmers are forced to sell the product locally at a lower price, and so they lose money ... This underlines how essential investments in greenhouses are to prevent cross-pollination and produce organically certified coffee.” Explore this story and more in our autumn member magazine, QR 133, available to read or download now on our website. Read QR 133: https://lght.ly/dm3l4bd Invest with us and build a fairer world: https://lght.ly/nbba9i8 #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface

Founded in 2011, Cooperativa Multifuncional de Productores Exportadores de Café de San Juan del Rio Coco (Procafé) is a co-operative union created to improve the income and living standards of coffee-producing families in San Juan del Río Coco, northern Nicaragua. Driving Sustainable Entrepreneurship💡 Procafé’s Fairtrade, Organic and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee is exported to ten countries worldwide, from Canada and the US to the UK and Australia. Comprising 204 members, 35% of whom are women, Procafé is committed to supporting their farmers to become self-sustainable entrepreneurs, providing access to market opportunities to sell their coffee. They also provide farmers with training in climate mitigation and how to combat coffee rust. Procafé and Shared Interest 💚 Our relationship with Procafé began in 2018, when we provided USD $300k as prefinance to help secure coffee contracts. Our support has since increased to $800k as the organisation has welcomed an improved growth in production and coffee prices. Shared Interest finance is vital for the co-operative to be able to pay its farmer members on time for their coffee. Speaking about the impact of the Shared Interest loan, Rosa López Ochoa, Head of Logistics and Marketing at Procafé, said: “We address the financing needs for harvest collection for each of our partners (farmers). The terms credit turnover policies provided by Shared Interest allow the organization to sell the product at a better price, thus providing benefits such as paying the highest market price locally, providing medical services to our partners and food packages.” In July, Shared Interest Lending Manager, Karolina Jiménez and Shared Interest Customer Representative, Jason Murillo, travelled to Nicaragua to meet Shared Interest customres, including Procafé. Speaking about his visit to the co-opreative. Jason said: "It is wonderful to see an organisation whose key leadership positions are held by women. And how they have grown the cooperative from their different roles. In addition, to see the enormous capacity to manage teams and the technical knowledge of the business." Find out more about our work: https://lght.ly/pn6mi2k Read more about Procafé in our member magazine: https://lght.ly/3hd64eh Invest with us and transform lives: https://lght.ly/ffaa8fd #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface

Shared Interest supports producers of a range of commodities with vital access to finance. The types of commodities our lending supports continues to diversify, helping us to reach and empower more producers from all corners of the globe. In our autumn member magazine, we featured Quality Supplier Foods, a Peruvian producer of high quality products such as quinoa, chia seeds and fava beans, and a representative of our diverse portfolio. Earlier this year, Quality Supplier approached Shared Interest for finance to support them to purchase higher volumes of quinoa and gain a more competitive price for farmers. Peru's grain industry at a glance: 🇵🇪 Peru is the largest producer of quinoa worldwide. 🏆Peru is one of the top 10 producing countries of chia seeds. 📈 Andean grain exports surged by 42.5% in early 2024, signalling strong demand. What is quinoa? 🌱 Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is the seed of the Chenopodium quinoa plant. Quinoa is an ancient South American grain, first grown for food 7,000 years ago in the Andes. The Incas called it “the mother grain” and believed it was sacred. Quinoa was largely unknown to the rest of the world, until fairly recently. Since then, it has experienced a huge surge in popularity because of its high nutrient content and health benefits. Today, quinoa is grown in zones throughout Peru's 'altiplano' (English: 'high plain'), a famous area extending from Lake Titicaca in southern Peru to Lake Poopo in Bolivia - a distance of 600 miles and an average altitude of 12,000 feet. To produce quinoa, seeds are planted towards the end of summer. 90 to 120 days later, when the leaves have fallen off and only dried seed heads remain, quinoa is ready to harvest. The seeds are then separated from the husks, brought back to the farm and rapidly dried to preserve quality. What is chia? 🥜 Chia seeds are the edible seeds of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family native to Mexico and Guatemala. It was an important crop for pre-Columbian Aztecs and other Mesoamerican Indian cultures. Chia seeds are produced in Peru through organic farming methods by small farmers in the Cusco and Puno regions. The special weather of the Cusco region allows for the organic growth of chia seeds. Chia seeds are propagated from seeds or seedlings. Once planted and covered in soil, following regular watering, the seeds will sprout within 7 to 10 days. After about three months, the chia plants will flower. The small chia seeds will form in the heads of the flowers, and the farmers then harvest the crop using organic production systems. Explore this story and more in our autumn member magazine, QR 133, available to read or download now on our website. Read QR 133: https://lght.ly/4lnnni Invest with us and build a fairer world: https://lght.ly/00cak03 #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface

Thanks Shared Interest Society Ltd for support us in our growth!

In our newest Feed Me Fairtrade episode, Shared Interest Partnership Manager, Sally, tries something different and uses a range of Fairtrade ingredients to create a delicious body scrub! And the best part? In addition to supporting the livelihoods of farmers, this body scrub is incredibly easy to make - and would be a perfect choice for an ethical, practical and creative gift for a loved one this Christmas. Watch the video now on our YouTube channel: https://lght.ly/732cncg Invest with us and transform the lives of fair trade producers: https://lght.ly/kipa37l

Today is the sold-out Ethical Consumer Conference at Rich Mix! We're excited to meet with subscribers, campaigners and ethical organisations to engage in some great conversations on degrowth and post-growth alternatives. Find out more about what we have planned here: https://lnkd.in/eZZRcHiB We'll also be joined today by stall holders and sponsors Ecotricity, Triodos Bank, EQ Investors I B Corp, Ecology Building Society, Path Financial, Shared Interest Society Ltd, Ethiqana, Fairphone and Naturesave Insurance We hope to see some of you there!

Merci ADA asbl and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade for organizing the #FAR2024 Agricultural & Rural Finance training in partnership with FAO! Bringing together 40 passionate and deserving participants from 19 African countries, this program looked into crucial topics like Financing Mechanisms in Agriculture, Agricultural Financing Models and Product Design, Agricultural Insurance, Climate Finance, and Digital Financial Services for Agricultural Value Chains. A special shoutout to the incredible trainers — Petronella Chigara-Dhitima, Massimo Pera, Djitaba Ouleymatou S., Anass Khallouqi, and Elisabeth Kibitek Goueth — for delivering each session with such expertise, blending practical insights with rich, real-world experience. Your approach made the learning not only impactful but interactive, allowing us to gain so much from each other as well. Many thanks to Anthony Mbithi and representatives of the esteemed organizations — Association of Microfinance Institutions - Kenya (AMFI-K), Digifarm - Safaricom, European Investment Bank (EIB), Aceli Africa (Sharon Mosin) Shared Interest Society Ltd, Microinsurance Network, and ACRE Africa — for insightful plenary sessions. The unforgettable field visit to Gatatha Farmers — showcasing tea, coffee, and dairy farming — and Kagwe Concept Dairies Limited, organized by Family Bank Ltd, was a highlight worth mentioning. ‘Asante sana’ to Caroline Morilhat, Mathilde Bauwin, Manon LOISON, Soulemane Djobo, and Catherine LIZIARD for your excellence in planning! The choice of Fairview Hotel Nairobi, an IHG member, created the perfect environment for us to focus and connect. A big thank you to Wema Bank Plc. for supporting my participation in this transformative program. To my fellow trainees, thank you for making this journey even more valuable with your contributions and camaraderie. With this experience, we are ready to take on the challenge of scaling innovative financial solutions for the agricultural value chain. Let’s make our impact count! #FAR2024 #AgriculturalFinance #RuralDevelopment #InnovationInAgriculture

We support producers of a range of commodities with vital access to finance. The types of commodities our lending supports continues to diversify - from coffee and cocoa to textiles, sugar and grains - helping us to support more farmers from more organisations, reaching all corners of the globe. Situated on Lake Titicaca, one of the world's highest and most ancient lakes, lie some of Peru’s most disadvantaged communities, where farmers are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Founded in 2020, Quality Supplier Foods (Quality Supplier) provides an opportunity for these communities to improve their income through the sale of quinoa, fava beans and other indigenous seeds and grains. We are proud to support organisations like Quality Supplier with access to finance, enabling farmers to strengthen their livelihoods and communities to thrive sustainably. Find out more about the story of Quality Supplier Foods and how you can support producers like them in our latest member magazine. Learn more about Quality Supplier: https://lnkd.in/ekewAafJ Read more in QR 133: https://lnkd.in/e2mtxjvS #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface

Situated on Lake Titicaca, one of South America's largest lakes and the world's highest navigable waterway, lie some of Peru’s most disadvantaged communities, where farmers are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. This region is also home to Quality Supplier Foods (Quality Supplier). Founded in 2020, Quality Supplier provides an opportunity for these communities to improve their income through the sale of quinoa, fava beans and other indigenous seeds and grains. Shared Interest and Quality Supplier 🌱 Earlier this year, Quality Supplier approached Shared Interest for finance to support them to purchase higher volumes of quinoa and gain a more competitive price for farmers. Speaking about the impact of the finance, Quality Supplier CEO, Gonzalo Yesang Merino, said: “Shared Interest helps us continue to expand our reach and the commitment we have to the development of farmers in the education and quality of life in their families." Explore this story and more in our autumn member magazine, QR 133, available to read or download now on our website. Read QR 133: https://lght.ly/9pfejbd Invest with us and build a fairer world: https://lght.ly/02ekbm5 #investinafairerworld #forjusticenotprofit #fairtrade #financewithahumanface