Partnership to Promote Local Economic Development in Mining Communities in Brazil, Chile, and Peru Named Finalist for Prestigious Award
The Beyond Extraction partnership between Anglo American, the Inter-American Development Bank, and TechnoServe is one of five finalists for the P3 Impact Award
NEW YORK, NY (September 14, 2021) – Anglo American, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the IDB Lab, and the international nonprofit TechnoServe announced that their Beyond Extraction partnership has been named one of five finalists for the P3 Impact Award. The award—presented annually by the Office of Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, Concordia, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society—“recognizes exemplary public-private partnerships (P3s) that provide solutions to pressing issues.” The winner will be announced on September 22, 2021.
Beyond Extraction was launched in 2016 to promote sustained, broad-based economic development in communities surrounding Anglo American operations in Brazil, Chile, and Peru. Working in conjunction with a range of local and national stakeholders, the initiative provided training and support to help entrepreneurs grow their local small businesses; built the soft skills of job seekers and created links to employment opportunities; and promoted the growth of diversified value chains that would create economic opportunities in the community. The program had a particular focus on increasing the economic empowerment of women and young people.
In an article published by the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Maggie Morse, Director of Programs at the Institute for Business in Society, and Associate Professor Vidya Mani write, “The Beyond Extraction program highlights the benefits accrued to the community through self-empowerment. This is done through a training program that allows the businesses on the ground to upgrade through the value chain. The success of this project across three different countries — Brazil, Chile and Peru, all of which have different national policies and needs — speaks to the sustaining nature of the training program and its role in future development programs beyond these three sites.”
Over four years, the partnership achieved the following results:
- Directly benefited more than 2,600 participating people and organizations
- Helped to create or support more than 5,400 jobs
- Enabled entrepreneurs who graduated from the program to improve their business’s sales by an average of 32%
- In Brazil, youth who graduated from the partnership’s workforce development program experienced an average income increase of 76%.
In Brazil, vegetable grower Simone Simões participated in Beyond Extraction and used what she learned to transform her business, going from selling vegetables at a small, local market to signing a contract to provide fresh produce for local schools. Her weekly income grew five-fold from $20 to $100. “Now I have money to save, buy clothes, and go to the salon. I love being able to get my hair done—I feel pretty,” she said.
In addition to creating opportunity in the short-term, Beyond Extraction also worked to foster lasting change by engaging the ecosystem, strengthening the capacity of local institutions, and capturing best practices for local economic development. The partnership has been renewed and will continue to support local economic development in Peru and Brazil.
“Working in partnership is at the heart of Anglo American’s approach to sustainability. Our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals that commit us towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. Being shortlisted for the P3 Impact Award is recognition of our Beyond Extraction partnership’s ability to stimulate enduring economic activity around our mining operations – a central focus of our thriving communities objective,” said Jon Samuel, Group Head for Responsible Business Partnerships at Anglo American.
“There is enormous potential for harnessing greater social value from mining investments in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Irene Arias, CEO of IDB Lab. “In line with the IDB´s Vision 2025, Beyond Extraction highlights the fundamental role that innovation and collaboration between stakeholders in mining regions play in generating opportunities for sustainable and inclusive economic development while attracting foreign investment to our region.”
“We are proud to see the success of the Beyond Extraction partnership recognized by the P3 Impact Award,” said William Warshauer, President and CEO of TechnoServe. “As the world strives to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vitally important that we help to generate economic opportunity and employment in local communities, and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners at Anglo American and the IDB to do just that.”
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About Anglo American
Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.
As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank works to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. With a history dating back to 1959, today it is the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB prioritizes social inclusion and equality; productivity and innovation; and regional economic integration in its development work across Latin America and the Caribbean. In doing so, it addresses the cross-cutting issues of gender equality and diversity; climate change and environmental sustainability; and institutional capacity and the rule of law. Learn more about the IDB Institutional Strategy here.
About IDB Lab
IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the leading source of development finance and expertise for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for inclusion in the region, mobilizing financing, knowledge, and connections to test early-stage private sector solutions with the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations affected by economic, social, and environmental conditions. Since 1993, IDB Lab has approved more than US$ 2 billion in projects deployed across 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About TechnoServe
TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A non-profit organization operating in 30 countries, we work with hard-working men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.
Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by an independent charity ratings agency.
More information at: Facebook: @TechnoServe | Twitter: @TechnoServe | LinkedIn: @TechnoServe
