Sovereign Seeds: Reclaiming MENA’s Agricultural Future

Sovereign Seeds: Reclaiming MENA’s Agricultural Future

Climate change and food insecurity are among the greatest global challenges of our time. In 2024, the UN Food Systems Summit warned that over 700 million people worldwide face hunger — a crisis “exacerbated by climate extremes, conflict, and economic shocks.” UN...
Closing the Innovation–Capital Gap for Craft-Led Enterprises

Closing the Innovation–Capital Gap for Craft-Led Enterprises

What If the Future of Innovation is Handmade? Craft and climate. Innovation and informality. Creativity and capital. These terms rarely sit side by side in entrepreneurial discourse, let alone in startup or impact investing circles. Yet across India — and...
Hadithi Crafts: Turning Stories of Hope into Lasting Change

Hadithi Crafts: Turning Stories of Hope into Lasting Change

As part of a series of “fireside chats” sponsored by R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund, Lore Defrancq shared her vision as trustee and co-founder of Hadithi Crafts. Hadithi Crafts Support CBO is a community-based artisan enterprise that weaves together wildlife conservation,...
How Investing in Women Artisans Can Catalyze India’s Economy

How Investing in Women Artisans Can Catalyze India’s Economy

Nirupama Patra turned up at Kadam’s office in 2006, looking for a job. A spate of misfortunes had left this master’s degree graduate unable to manage even one square meal a day. With Kadam’s support and training, she is now a Cluster Head, managing a staff of 115...
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