Ethiopia - Konso, Pokada Watershed, Duraite Village  - December 2011
Image Source: treesftf

Member Article

Big business can negatively affect small communities

Meeting the demands of local consumers on an individual basis can be difficult. Without in-depth knowledge of local markets and socio-economic factors, big business can run the risk of negatively impacting small communities.

And, with these businesses so essential to the livelihood of close-knit communities, it’s important to ensure they remain untouched by the negative effects of big business. That’s because they’re not only key to economic growth, they’re vital to drive improvements in innovations also.

Small and micro businesses also provide an important source of employment to men and women - the latter benefiting from significant economic empowerment as a result.

With supply networks spanning several continents, it’s more important than ever to ensure that local custom and business practices are observed and practiced - whilst ensuring systems of commerce are kept efficient at both ends of the supply chain. This comes with adjustments to and improvements on existing infrastructure.

Creating long-lasting, fulfilling relationships with small suppliers is also important to allowing big and small business the opportunity to co-exist profitably. Improvements to infrastructure, development of relationships with small businesses and above all the fostering of a spirit of entrepreneurialism is also fundamental to this.

And this is where SABMiller comes in. They’re passionate about fostering partnerships with small businesses across the world, as well as encouraging the entrepreneurs behind such enterprises to maximise the potential of their businesses.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by SABMiller .

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