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BASF Grameen Ltd launched

BASF SE Chairman Hambrecht, Grameen Bank Managing Director Dr Yunus sign agreement

Metro Desk
BASF SE and Grameen Healthcare Trust announced the establishment of a joint venture social business company 'BASF Grameen Ltd' in Ludwigshafen, Germany on March 5 as part of a social commitment with an entrepreneurial twist.
Dr Jurgen Hambrecht, chairman of the board of executive directors of BASF SE, and Dr Muhammad Yunus, Nobel laureate and managing director of Grameen Bank, signed an agreement in Ludwigshafen to establish the joint venture.
The purpose of the company is to improve health and business opportunities of the Bangladeshi poor. BASF Grameen 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.
Given the substantial need for dietary supplements and mosquito nets, BASF and Grameen have decided to locate their joint venture with these two products in Bangladesh.
"Our social business joint venture is intended to empower people to take part
successfully in business life,” said Hambrecht, adding, "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 responsibil-ity”
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.
Dr Yunus said, “BASF Grameen Ltd is not a charity. It combines business sense with social needs.”
According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2008, Bangladesh hdd an estimated 2.9 million cases of malaria in 2006 and 72 percent 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 State of the World's Children Report 2008. Approximately eight million children under the age of five 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 the Nobel laureate.
The joint venture will initially operate from the BASF’s site in Dhaka. Alongside an initial investment of 200,000, it will contribute the funds for one million sachets of vitamins and micronutrients and 100,000 mosquito nets to the joint venture. Grameen's contribution includes its knowledge of the market, distribution structures and networks in Bangladesh.