Topics Worldwide

Book on Value Chain Finance

In large parts of the world, small-scale farmers, traders and processors are constrained in their business operations due to a lack of finance. Farmers want to be paid immediately, but traders do not have the ready cash to buy their produce. Traders need working capital so they can buy and transport produce, but lack the collateral to get loans. Processors cannot get the money they need to buy equipment or ensure a steady supply of inputs.

Book on Value Chain Finance

In large parts of the world, small-scale farmers, traders and processors are constrained in their business operations due to a lack of finance. Farmers want to be paid immediately, but traders do not have the ready cash to buy their produce. Traders need working capital so they can buy and transport produce, but lack the collateral to get loans. Processors cannot get the money they need to buy equipment or ensure a steady supply of inputs.

Claims to Success: ICT based Advocacy for the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

How can the internet be used to promote the advocacy efforts by civil society organizations? In this paper, Caroline Kemp reflects on this question by examining the Solidarity for Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR) and their work towards promoting the Protocol for Women’s rights in Africa. The African Union adopted this protocol in 2005, but to date the ratification, popularization and implementation by member-states has been a slow process. SOAWR been instrumental in civic efforts to promote...

Human rights NGOs have to think more strategically

Do NGOs and other civic actors undertake the most effective measures to hold governments accountable to their international obligations to protect human rights, and in particular to protect vulnerable populations? Jeff Handmaker, ISS lecturer and member of the Hivos/ISS Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme team, explores this question in the book ''Advocating for Accountability, civic-state interactions to Protect Refugees in South Africa". The work of human rights organizations i...

ISS Seminar announcement: From phantom wealth to real wealth by David Korten

On 25 January, David Korten will lead a Special Development Research Seminar about the content if his most recent book "Agenda for a new economy; from phantom wealth to real wealth". In this book, Korten argues the case for a new community-based economy based on different values and new institutions beyond Wall Street and the Washington consensus.

ILEIA focuses on Family Farming

One of the pillars in the global network on sustainable farming is ILEIA based in Netherlands. ILEIA is best known for its magazine that was recently renamed into Farming Matters, produced in 50.000 copies in six languages.

Local democratic governance in fragile states

In late November, Jon Gaventa and Marjoke Oostrom from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) facilitated a PSO hosted workshop about local democratic governance in fragile settings. Dutch NGOs concentrate their discussions on how to adjust their bottom-up strategies to fragile settings to contribute to peace, security and democratic governance, and to reconciliation and justice, but more may be required to (re)build local democracy…

KP “Smallholders Agency” lands in Africa

The initiating team of “Smallholders Agency” (from Hivos, IIED and Mainumby) went to Uganda and Kenya from 20 to 28 November. The aim was to find out how the knowledge program can become embedded in East Africa and to find African members for the Learning Network.