"THE RABOBANK FOUNDATION SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE LOT OF THOSE SHORT ON OPPORTUNITIESBOTH IN THE NETHERLANDS AS FAR ABROAD" Partner banks Rabo Development currently participates in the following financial institutions 14 issue 15 .MUAfiïj THE WORD Because the activities in developing countries of the Rabobank Foundation, Rabo Development and Rabobank International take place in close parallel, their employees also work closely together. 'The Rabobank Foundation organises local farmers and craftsmen to join together to create financial muscle", confirms Bart Jan Krouwel. 'Then Rabo Development provides financing for the co-operatives via their partner banks". At the same time, Rabobank International assists in providing their multinational clients the opportunity to buythe products ofthefarming co-operatives. An interesting synergy; and it is growing. "We deliberately reduced the work domain of the Rabobank Founda tion from 70 to 25 countries so we could concentrate on the areas in which Rabo Development or Rabobank International are operating, and make use of their local staff", explains Krouwel. In the future, the three Rabo operations will increasingly be tackling projects in developing countries together. Success Formula The way in which Rabobank Foundation, Rabo Development and Rabo International usually work together is known as the "Unilever model". The story is as follows: years ago, Rabo International cliënt Unilever wanted to import a special type of soya bean from Indonesia to make a special Soya sauce. Unilever was not in the position to do business directly with the many disparate smaller growers who grew and supplied them. The Rabobank Foundation organised the growers involved into co-operatives with the help of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) on the spot. As a result, Unilever could do volume business with the co-operatives equitably, effïciently and profïtably. Later on, this success formula was extended to numerous products in many other countries. So in areas where it operates, Rabo Development finances the farmer co-operatives through its partner banks. Bank Country Share Offices Staff Balance sheet total million) NMB Tanzania 35 120 1,900 580 URCB China 10 120 1,200 3,500 ZNCB Zambia 49 50 1,100 260 Banco Regional Paraguay 40 15 200 170 Banco Terra 1) Mozambique 30 - - - 1Banco Terra is a new bank that started in October Bart Jan Krouwel, Managing Director Corporate Social Responsibility

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2008 | | pagina 14