1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty with a daily income of only 1.25 USD. A great many of these people are either unemployed or underemployed, and very few have access to savings and loan possibilities.
Economic policies have often worsened the situation for many of those living in extreme poverty. Trade liberalisation, dumping of subsidised goods and limited access to capital make it difficult for people to start up their own businesses and production. At the same time, low prices on raw materials, low wages and low prices on simple industrial goods make it difficult to earn a living from the economic activities in which many people in poor countries are engaged.
When setting up a business or starting production, it is important to concentrate on goods or services that will yield proper dividends and solid profit margins. We see all too often that economic activity in poor countries results in very low profit margins. For example, coffee farmers have seen prices fall so low that production costs exceed income. It is important for Norwegian Church Aid to contribute to sustainable livelihoods for the rights holders we work with.
Our work
Norwegian Church Aid and our local partners have programs for securing people a better livelihood. We help with establishing local save-and-loan groups and train people in how they can start up small businesses or other income-generating activities.
Norwegian Church Aid does not contribute start-up money, as conventional microfinance institutions do. Instead, we offer training and we equip groups to save their own funds and borrow from each other in order to start up businesses.
Norwegian Church Aid and our partners are also engaged in advocacy to secure:
- Just bilateral, regional and global trade agreements
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- Legal frameworks that protect small and informal traders
- National and international market access for fair trade products
Where we work
The following countries are included in the ‘Livelihood and trade’ programme: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Mali, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritania, Burma, Laos, Afghanistan, Palestine, Armenia and Brazil. We have already seen very good results in many of these countries. In Tanzania and Mali, hundreds of save-and-loan groups have been established at the grassroots level.
Partners who are listened to
Norwegian Church Aid works through local partner organisations, mainly faith-based organisations. These are exceedingly well-placed to fight for sustainable livelihood and fair trade. Religious leaders enjoy great trust and have tremendous influence with decision makers in many of our program countries. This is very useful, both in locally based empowerment work and in national advocacy work.