Economic Empowerment through Enterprise (Innovations Case Narrative: Gone Rural)

Abstract

In Swaziland, one of the most desperately impoverished nations in Africa, a small grass-weaving company has emerged as a ray of hope for the women it works with.This alone would be a worthwhile endeavor, but what is even more fascinating is that this company has the potential to become a model for demonstrating tangible ways to lift millions of the world's poorest citizens out of poverty.The global development community is understandably interested in this kind of company, but why would anyone from the international investment community pay attention to a small handicrafts company with the unassuming name of Gone Rural?After all, a company whose production relies on several hundred women in tiny Swazi villages is an improbable profit-making success story.Gone Rural is located in the heart of a small southern African nation that ranks 123 rd out of 169 on the Human Development Index. 1 HIV/AIDS has reached epidemic proportions in Swaziland, leaving thousands of children orphaned and causing the United Nations Development Program to state that if the current infection rate continues unabated, the "longer term existence of Swaziland as a country will be seriously threatened." 2 On the economic front, Swaziland fares little better.The economy is based primarily on subsistence farming, which employs nearly 80 percent of the population but only represents a little over 8 percent of GDP. 3 Given those numbers, it is not surprising that close to 60 percent of the population lives on less than the equivalent of US$1.25 per day. 4 The 2008 global economic crisis took a large toll on Swaziland's fledgling economy, and the country is dependent on South Africa for its economic well-being.5 Since 2008, demand for Swaziland's largest exports-mostly textiles, sugar, and wood pulp-has decreased.The resulting decline in revenue has pushed the country into a fiscal crisis.Indeed, "with an estimated 40% unemployment rate,

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