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Concern Universal is pioneering innovative and effective partnerships with businesses to meet sustainable development objectives, and is leading learning in this field. 

Read the GIG newsletters here!

The GIG (Gambia Is Good) project, is a unique and highly successful example of Voluntary, Public and Business Sector engagement: Concern Universal and leading horticultural business Haygrove are working together with support from the DFID's Business Linkage Challenge Fund to create a sustainable, pro-poor marketing initiative in The Gambia. Now in its fourth year, GIG is also working with The Travel Foundation, to lever GIG's impact by promoting responsible  practice in the tourism industry.

GIG now purchases from nearly 1,000 growers, 90% of which are women. Of its core suppliers a transition has been made from subsistence agriculture to commercial enterprise. Women in the most rural communities, where they had previously virtually no cash income, are now making up to £150 per month. Recent independent evaluation states that over the last three years, GiG growers have increased their income by an average of 500%.

• See GiG 'on a page' (opens a 68KB PDF file in a new window)
• Read the learning from GIG here
• Read about how GIG is inspiring change in The Gambia and beyond
• Read about the impact GIG is making on beneficiaries here 
• Read about the GiG celebration in February 2009 here
• Read about the awards GiG is winning!

How Concern Universal is helping local growers to beat the imports...


In The Gambia, growers follow the conventions of subsistence farming; using traditional methods to farm traditional crops. The typical result is poor yields, poor quality and seasonal flooding of the market, with growers often completely unable to sell their produce.

But at the same time as tonnes of excess produce is going to waste, the market is being pumped full of imported produce from Holland, France, Las Palmas and Senegal - all destined for consumption within the country's thriving tourist industry.

Concern Universal's response? To join forces with the UK's leading organic fruit producer, Haygrove, and create Gambia is Good (GiG), a pro-poor fresh produce marketing company. By servicing hotels, restaurants and supermarkets directly, GiG has been able to get a firm grip on their needs, and translate these into detailed production plans for growers. Hoteliers, long frustrated by inconsistent supplies, have welcomed the initiative with open arms and are now buying 20 tonnes of produce per month during the tourist season.

Close coordination with Concern Universal's donor-funded horticultural training programmes and local partners has allowed GiG to mobilise over 800 farmers, and replace over-produced produce with in-demand vegetables like courgettes, iceberg lettuce and broccoli - with retail prices as much as 10 times higher.

In 2007, GiG diverted £34,000 of sales away from the importers and into the hands of local, small-scale producers; helping to redress the poverty in rural areas. A further innovation saw GiG join hands with The Travel Foundation to launch their own open farm which is used to demonstrate best-practice and generate additional revenue through produce sales and tourism.

As the majority of goods are now produced locally using specially selected varieties, GiG is able to deliver a fresher, better quality and cheaper product to market - and the hotels are just as delighted as the growers. The overall result is an innovative and holistic project which is going a long way to achieving its ultimate goal - sustainable, improved rural livelihoods in The Gambia.

With the support of GiG, subsistence farmers like Ebrima Jawarra are making the transition to commercial enterprise. Read Ebrima's story

Watch the short film of Ebrima's story here

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 Learning from GIG

The Concern Universal - Haygrove partnership is a unique example of NGO-Business Sector engagement and the subject of a pioneering case study. Read 'An Exploration of Business and NGO Perspectives on CSR, Sustainable Development and Partnership', by Helen Wadham, Division of Human Reource Management and Organisational Behaviour, Manchester Metropolitan Business School, December, 2007.

Oxford University's SAID Business School has recently carried out a full Strategic Review and Business Planning Project. Four MBA students traveled to The Gambia to undertake a detailed audit of the business. The aims of the project are:
1) To facilitate the development of an inspiring and holistic strategic vision for Gambia is Good.
2) To develop a realistic business plan which, if successfully implemented, will lead to full commercial viability
3) To appraise the potential for a new ‘tourism' enterprise
We will publish more information about this later this year.

Read the full report: Harnessing the potential in The Gambia to foster development through sustainable business (opens a 2137KB PDF file in a new window), a strategic consulting report by Zeenith Ebrahim, Mariah Hartman, Mike Quinn, and Jelka Schlagenhauf, SAID Business School, Oxford University. September, 2008. 

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The World Business and Development Awards, September 2008. Haygrove Ltd, based in Ledbury, was announced as one of the ten winners of the 2008 World Business and Development Awards (WBDA) for their part in creating ‘Gambia is Good' (GiG) in partnership with Concern Universal and DFID's Business Linkage Challenge Fund. Read more about it here.