Social Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets Show the Way

Egypt's Sekem company is revolutionazing the organic farming business locally, while pioneering sustainable methods of working the land and protecting the habitat. Since its establishment in 1977, the company has expanded its business from farming to the manufacture of foods, textiles, and health products.

By 1993, three years after Sekem began working with the Egyptian government to encourage the use of organic methods to control pests and improve crop yields, Egypt banned crop dusting. Meanwhile, the local rural communities where Sekem operates have access to the schools, vocational training, clinics, and cultural services the company established. The Sekem example and others are featured in the International Herald Tribune article "Good Works: A Lesson from Small Businesses".

The IHT title underlines the fact that small businesses in emerging markets are the ones providing lessons on how to embed sustainable environmental and social practices in profitable business practices. Sekem has partnered with IFC on several projects. The most recent was IFC's 2003 investment in Sekem's organic farming project. Click here for details.