Our Mission
Endeavour to protect human dignity
Respect & Dignity
Each person is the foundation of any inclusive community
Ambition & Humility
Grow by putting aside what we know to gain knowledge
Through the screening and proofing of projects generating social and environmental impact, BACKBONE contributes to the provision of essential services to people in need with a focus on 4 specific sectors : sustainable agri-business ; education ; medical care ; community & social inclusion.
BACKBONE believes that reasonably-sized entities such as SMEs or cooperatives are ideally positioned to provide products and services meeting local populations' needs.
As implied by the principle of subsidiarity, small to medium-sized entities provide the strongest foundation for human fulfilment and talent development.
THE SME-MARKET OPPORTUNITY
CREATE STABLE AND DECENT JOBS
Formal SMEs are the pillars of job creation in emerging countries. • Formal jobs offer higher wages than informal ones for the same work (e.g. 50% to 60% higher as observed in Ghana and Tanzania) • Formal jobs are safer, provide access to training and social security. • A regular private income allows families to anticipate the future, save, thus improve its access to credit, housing and education.
PROVIDE GROWTH POTENTIAL GOOD ABOVE AVERAGE
• SMEs often suffer from low return and face major obstacles to growth, but well-funded and accompanied, SMEs have a strong growth potential. • Demographics of working population in low and middle-income countries shows highest growth in the world, driving demand for SME financial services
BUILDING AND STRUCTURING THE FABRIC OF LOCAL LIVELIHOODS
• SMEs are generally created and managed by local entrepreneurs, thus stimulating local growth, livelihoods and community development • SMEs typically source locally and help to structure local value chains
IMPROVE ACCESS TO GOODS AND SERVICES IN DOMESTIC MARKETS
• Essential products and services are often unavailable or difficult to access in developing countries. Mainly focused on domestic markets, SMEs are trying to fill these market gaps. • SMEs cater for a wide variety of local needs, many of which are essential, such as water, health, housing, education, energy, etc. all which represents significant market potential.
Geographical expansion
BACKBONE measures the level of social inclusion generated by its recommended projects using the IRIS Catalog of Metrics as developped by the GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network) for impact reporting
The main SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) addressed by BACKBONE recommended projects are:
After 4 years of running investment operations that support value for people in emerging countries, and of measuring its social impact ex-post … BACKBONE has become a Signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2020. This illustrates BACKBONE’s continuing commitment to making a difference in people’s lives.
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