Demand is growing for goods that help contribute to positive social outcomes. However, developing quality product lines that appeal to consumers with sophisticated tastes is challenging, particularly for socially-minded entrepreneurs bridging the gap between small producers and Western markets. To support these social enterprises – and the people they employ – the USAID Competitiveness and Trade Expansion program (USAID/COMPETE) provides marketing assistance to fashion and home décor businesses throughout East Africa.
Recently USAID/COMPETE partnered with U.S.-based Indego Africa, whose Rwandan operations employ women artisan cooperatives to produce unique products for sale in the U.S. Indego Africa reinvests 100 percent of its profits for cooperative training and educational programs. To expand Indego Africa’s business operations, USAID/COMPETE recommended it strengthen its production capacity and develop relationships with international buyers of socially conscious products.
USAID consultants visited the 127-member Ingenzi Knit Union to assess the cooperative’s product quality, vital for winning repeat orders. Ingenzi provides knit scarves that Indego Africa sells through the U.S. high-end chain, Anthropologie.
In 2011, USAID sponsored Indego Africa’s participation in the San Francisco International Gift Fair attended by U.S. retailers and wholesalers, as part of USAID/COMPETE’s “Origin Africa” campaign to promote products made in Africa.
Indego Africa scored record sales-- 25 percent over previous shows and made connections with new buyers. “The San Francisco Gift Show allowed us to get great exposure on the West Coast,” said Deirdre McGuigan, Indego Africa’s associate general counsel and retail manager. Indego Africa’s success in Rwanda will translate into steady employment for the women artisans who make their products. “And that,” she notes, “is the most important part.”
Since 2008 USAID/COMPETE has helped 150 companies in eight African countries market their goods and expand their products resulting in over $50 million in exports to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).