Enterprise Based Initiative for Change Launched
US - Trevor Tomkins, Ph.D., the recently retired chief executive officer of Milk Specialties Global, today announced the launch of the enterprise-based development organization venture | dairy. A 38-year veteran of the dairy industry, Mr Tomkins looked outside of the traditional aid and assistance models to found an organisation that infuses emerging-market dairy enterprises with knowledge, technology and capital for positive social and economic change.
26 April 2012
1 minute read
The launch of venture | dairy comes as the global demand for milk continues to rapidly increase, outpacing supply in much of the developing world.
“venture | dairy was founded to empower dairy entrepreneurs to establish sustainable business practices that can improve their lives and the lives of their families, and better their communities,” commented Mr Tomkins. “This is the driving force behind our organisation.”
Structured to produce measurable outcomes, venture | dairy is both a non-for-profit organisation and a social investment fund. The non-for-profit operation prepares dairy enterprises to thrive by supporting technology advancement and training in dairy production, and coaching those involved through the fundamentals of business and value-chain development.
The social investment fund provides access to affordable, patient capital in the form of loans or equity that can be used to procure equipment, purchase feed, build infrastructure and oversee operations. Combining the strengths of a non-for-profit organisation and an impact-driven social investment fund, venture | dairy allows donors and investors to support the organisation’s initiatives in ways that best meet their financial and philanthropic goals.
“venture | dairy’s impact component is in the quantifiable returns it will provide for investors,” explained Mr Tomkins. “Our fund is designed to benefit the entrepreneurs and the investors who will see real and measureable results.”
The organisation’s inaugural project in Nicaragua is the formation of a Dairy Hub that will work with Nicaraguan farmers to improve milk production and farm profitability. The Nicaraguan dairy company, Centrolac, is one of the partners in the project, and will have the Tetra Laval Food for Development Office as an advisor. Currently, venture | dairy is also undertaking a feasibility study in Rwanda to determine whether its developing dairy industry can be helped by construction of a dairy processing plant.
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