DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH to provide EUR 200,000 from develoPPP.de programme funds to train street vendors in Ivory Coast

• Training for female street vendors in Ivory Coast
• HIV treatment for young children in Namibia

COLOGNE, 30-11-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Companies that implement measures with positive impacts in developing countries can utilise funds for such measures from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (BMZ) develoPPP.de programme through DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH.

Currently, DEG is providing EUR 200,000 from develoPPP.de programme funds to train street vendors in Ivory Coast. French cheesemaker, Fromageries Bel S.A. (Bel), is the private partner in this project and is funding the programme with an additional EUR 300,000. The aim of the measure is to offer a comprehensive range of seminars which will pave the way for vendors to enter the formal sector, and thus improve their social and economic status in the long term.

Street vending is an important source of income in Abidjan – the economic capital of the country, home to over a million people – with around 120,000 people earning their living in this way, approx. 80 percent of whom are women. Many vendors work on an informal basis, without access to insurance, loans or other tools to help them expand their businesses.

This is where Bel comes into play. Firstly, the female street vendors will receive support for establishing a common organisation. Seminars on running small businesses, food safety and hygiene will then help them meet the requirements for shifting their vending activities into the formal sector. An improved sales network is also to be set up to increase sales volumes and income. The project aims to support up to 1,000 vendors in Abidjan.

Following on from a successful develoPPP.de project in Namibia, the infrastructure for a health care programme has been handed over to local organisations. The objective of the programme was to assure the rapid treatment of HIV positive babies and young children in outlying areas with the necessary antiretroviral therapies.

Blood samples of children in rural regions of Namibia are tested centrally in Windhoek. Previously it took several months until the results were reported back to the local health care clinics. A mobile technology platform and simple SMS printers in the health care clinics for printing laboratory results now mean that the turnaround time has been reduced to 30 days. In this way more children can be reached, and less time is lost until the necessary therapy can begin.

The private partner in this project was the South African company, Roche Products (Pty) Ltd. DEG provided EUR 160,000 from develoPPP.de programme funds; Roche added a further EUR 160,000.

Besides long-term financing for investments, DEG also offers promotional programmes such as develoPPP.de to support companies undertaking projects with development character, and to boost development impacts. Funds for feasibility studies and various business support services are also part of these additional measures.

Contact

DEG Press Office
Barbara Schrahe-Timera

Phone +49 (0) 221 4986-1855
Fax +49 (0) 221 4986-1843
eMail presse@deginvest.de

SOURCE: DEG