Ghanaian company proves that fighting poverty is good for business

Accra, Sept. 25, GNA - A small Ghanaian family-owned business that has built a profitable soybean processing plant and developed new soy products, 3K&A, was honoured on Wednesday at the United Nations in New York for helping generate income among poor farmers. 3K&A's commercial success has been reliant on the rapid growth and improvement in the local production of raw materials, particularly soybean, made possible by investing in farming techniques, planning and commercial skills.

A statement from the company said this was facilitated by a grant under British Department for International Development's Business Linkages Challenge Fund that is managed by Emerging Markets Group (Ltd) in the UK.

It said in an area of Ghana where more than 80 per cent of the population had never had access to cash, more than 2,800 farmers are now earning an average income of 981 dollars per agricultural season. "Such high awards give people like me from Third World countries the impetus and the courage to fight on and achieve for our communities," said 3k&A Chief Executive Officer, Mr Yaw Poku. Held under the patronage of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade, the Award Ceremony was part of the special focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during the opening week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 3K&A was among 10 private companies recognized for their work in improving the lives of the world's most disadvantaged people, proving that making a profit and "doing the right thing" are not mutually exclusive.

"As the world becomes more interdependent, doing business with the poor has shown not only to be a potential boost to a company's competiveness but also - with the right business model - to be a force in the fight against poverty," said Kemal Dervi, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "We are presenting a new approach to develop long-term business initiatives to harness the resources and talents that are the central strength of global business. This is a potent demonstration of our collective commitment to being a strong partner to the private sector in furthering shared aims," he said. This year's award winners included projects that provide Nigerian farmers with commercial finance and technical assistance to produce higher quality crops, expand electricity to the poorest neighbourhoods of Brazil and provide credit services to the poor through mobile phones in Kenya.