With our broad network, we help our clients to strengthen and extend their own strategic partnerships: with and among international, national and local institutions, NGOs, science, experts, media and the private sector.
Selected examples of our work are:
Promoting equitable African-European business partnerships in Madagascar
GeoMedia and the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) are consortium partners in supporting the BioInnovation Africa (BIA) project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project is focused on fostering equitable European-African business partnerships that contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in Cameroon, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa. It encourages the private sector to invest in Africa and establish long-term partnerships for biodiversity-based businesses.
The work of UEBT in the project is to facilitate business engagement and provide guidance on ethical sourcing. For example, UEBT works with companies to develop or scale up supply and value chains, which are based on African biodiversity and respect the UNCTAD BioTrade principles. Under the BIA project in Madagascar and in collaboration with local and international private sector partners, UEBT is advancing ethical sourcing practices that respect people and biodiversity in Centella asiatica supply chains. This is done through a variety of activities, including training and capacity building for local people, developing a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) specific to the areas where Centella asiatica is collected, and supporting community projects.
GeoMedia supports BIA in Madagascar at all levels, from local communities and Malagasy partner companies, to government institutions and European companies. One example is the support to the ABS Competent National Authority – the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development – in developing a flow chart of the ABS procedure for users of Malagasy resources. For this, GeoMedia and our in-house partner MediaCompany worked closely together with the Malagasy National Focal Point for ABS. You can download the chart further below.
