AAK has joined forces with global confectionery, food, and pet care company Mars, several leading NGOs, and an impact investment fund to create a public-private partnership. This will improve the livelihoods of women working in
Project goals
Stakeholders in the WISH initiative have the common goal to bring economic and social benefits to the 13,000 women in the program and promote environmental improvements for the shea tree parklands while meeting the growing market demand for high-quality shea kernels.
Project goals will be achieved through expanding the women's access to savings and financial credits, improving natural resource management techniques, and reducing the time burden and labor intensity of the work associated with shea kernel collection and processing. Each of these areas will enable the women in impacted communities to gain more from the kernels they collect.
In the long term, the project will also have a positive impact on the quantity and quality of shea kernels, and the overall sustainability of the shea supply chain. AAK supplies Mars with cocoa butter equivalents based on shea butter for chocolate and confectionery applications. The companies have committed to purchasing the shea kernels produced within the WISH initiative for its decade-long duration. The project builds on AAK's existing direct sourcing program, Kolo Nafaso, through which the company sources shea kernels directly from women smallholder farmers in
Common business values
A public and private coalition of partners:
- AAK specializes in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many consumer products. Through its unique co-development approach, the company solves customer-specific needs across many industries - Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice, and Personal Care.
Mars Incorporated is a global leader in the production of confectionery, food and pet care products, and investor partner in theLivelihoods Fund for Family Farming (L3F).
- The
US Agency for International Development (USAID) leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people progress beyond assistance.
The Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming (L3F) is an impact investment fund launched in 2015 together with Mars and Danone, and later joined by Firmenich andVeolia , designed to transform the supply chains of pioneering brands while improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
CARE International is the lead implementing partner for the WISH initiative and has been operating inGhana since 1994. Currently, it works with more than 40 partner organizations to promote integrated program approaches to the fight against extreme poverty and social injustice.
- Presbyterian Agricultural Services (PAS) is a Ghanaian not-for-profit, non-governmental organization with over 50 years' experience of delivering agriculture advisory services to farmer organizations. More than 20,000 women working in the shea value chain have benefited from PAS interventions.
For more information, please contact:
Mobile: +44 7768 822 031
E-mail: tim.stephenson@aak.com
The information was submitted for publication at
About AAK
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK's offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 3,900 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö,
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