Micro-marketing - One Step Beyond Micro-Finance

Much has been made of micro-finance as an economic development tool.  One challenge in micro-finance is that the businesses created with micro-loans are often service businesses that do not create new wealth within communities.  They simply move the wealth from one person to another.

Some community development organizations have created a different model.  Micro-marketing.  This concept creates jobs and wealth by teaching marketable skills and providing valuable products to people outside the communities these groups serve.  Cape Town, South Africa is home to two such organizations, the Philani Nutrition Development Project and MonkeyBiz.

The Philani centers, located in the townships of Cape Town teach weaving, beadwork and other artistic skills.  They provide sales, marketing and business education and support.  Two-thirds of the revenue from the artists’ work goes directly to the artists.  The remainder supports the centers’ educational and childhood development programs and provides business assistance to the artists.  The art is sold to tourists and collectors that visit the centers and a number of retail shops throughout Cape Town.

MonkeyBiz provides a similar outlet for local artists via a retail shop in Cape Town, an online shop and partnerships with organizations around the world.  In contrast to the Philani Centers, which focus on township residents, MonkeyBiz artisans largely come from the streets of Cape Town.  MonkeyBiz provides a broad range of skills training, involving artisans in every aspect of the retail business and community outreach programs.

Like micro-finance programs, these micro-marketing initiatives create new economic opportunities for underprivileged communities.  By creating goods for art collectors and tourists, projects like MonkeyBiz and the Philani Centers go one step farther.  They attract new wealth into the communities.