BASF-Grameen joint venture to promote health
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
BASF SE and Grameen Healthcare Trust will launch a joint social business venture BASF Grameen Ltd soon for better nutrition and protection against insect-borne disease, says a press release.
Dr Jurgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, signed an agreement in Ludwigshafen in Germany.
The purpose of the company is to improve the health and business opportunities of the poor of Bangladeshis. BASF Grameen Ltd will start by utilising two products from BASF's portfolio: Dietary supplement sachets containing vitamins and micronutrients, and impregnated mosquito nets that offer protection against insect-borne disease.
"Our social business joint venture is intended to empower people to take part successfully in business life," said Jurgen Hambrecht on the occasion. "The more people who do so - be they business partners, customers or employees - the better the economic and social development of a country and its population. Investing in people's entrepreneurial skills is therefore part of corporate responsibility," he added.
Social business is a new business model for BASF. The idea is for a business venture to serve a social purpose, cover its own costs and recoup the partners' initial investment. Any additional profits are reinvested fully in the company.
"BASF Grameen Ltd is not a charity. It combines business sense with social needs," stressed Muhammad Yunus. According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2008, Bangladesh had an estimated 2.9 million cases of malaria in 2006 and 72 per cent of the population is at risk of the disease.
Bangladesh also has some of the highest child and maternal malnutrition rates according to the UNICEF's State of the World's Children Report 2008. Approximately 8 million children under the age of 5 years are malnourished.
"In the long term, we can better help these people through a business model that offers them beneficial products and services at affordable prices rather than through charitable donations," said Yunus.
The joint venture will initially operate from the BASF's site in the capital city. Alongside an initial investment of euro 200,000, BASF will contribute the funds for one million sachets of vitamins and micronutrients and 100,000 mosquito nets to the joint venture.
Dr Jurgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, signed an agreement in Ludwigshafen in Germany.
The purpose of the company is to improve the health and business opportunities of the poor of Bangladeshis. BASF Grameen Ltd will start by utilising two products from BASF's portfolio: Dietary supplement sachets containing vitamins and micronutrients, and impregnated mosquito nets that offer protection against insect-borne disease.
"Our social business joint venture is intended to empower people to take part successfully in business life," said Jurgen Hambrecht on the occasion. "The more people who do so - be they business partners, customers or employees - the better the economic and social development of a country and its population. Investing in people's entrepreneurial skills is therefore part of corporate responsibility," he added.
Social business is a new business model for BASF. The idea is for a business venture to serve a social purpose, cover its own costs and recoup the partners' initial investment. Any additional profits are reinvested fully in the company.
"BASF Grameen Ltd is not a charity. It combines business sense with social needs," stressed Muhammad Yunus. According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2008, Bangladesh had an estimated 2.9 million cases of malaria in 2006 and 72 per cent of the population is at risk of the disease.
Bangladesh also has some of the highest child and maternal malnutrition rates according to the UNICEF's State of the World's Children Report 2008. Approximately 8 million children under the age of 5 years are malnourished.
"In the long term, we can better help these people through a business model that offers them beneficial products and services at affordable prices rather than through charitable donations," said Yunus.
The joint venture will initially operate from the BASF's site in the capital city. Alongside an initial investment of euro 200,000, BASF will contribute the funds for one million sachets of vitamins and micronutrients and 100,000 mosquito nets to the joint venture.