Since 1997, 20/20DC has applying lessons learned through decades of work with businesses large and small to develop sustainable business globally. To overcome hurdles that prevent businesses from succeeding in developing economies. 20/20DC applies proven business strategies of market led business development coupled with the “visible hand of assistance” to achieve results that are sustainable, impact families, communities, and entire industries. 20/20DC firmly believes that trade is the best form of aid and we apply our skills learned in the private sector to advance businesses.
Founded on the concept of market linkages opening the door to trade we have continued to let the market drive development with a proven record of achievements in developing sustained businesses. We understand that economic development sustainably achieved when businesses are mutually profiting from a trade relationship, their employees are empowered with skills, vision and freedom to grow with the company. From our start in 1997 as international market linkage specialists, we have expanded our core competencies to integrate our marketing skills with the ability to work with the producers to ensure that they are producing the right product to meet the market demands. Our first expansion was into the area of food processing where our talented team of food process experts can work with the producers to produce the product that the market demands. We realized that it is ineffective to link buyer with seller if the seller does not produce the right product. We then realized that our work was incomplete by stopping with production. We therefore expanded our business to include extensive training to ensure that the company could effectively execute their new business vision and plan. This program of working with the product and the company to move the product efficiently from factory door to consumers is complimented with our ties to the academic world to ensure production at the farm level is of the quality required by the factory and appropriate technology is utilized for the environment that the company is operating.
20/20DC is unique in the developing world as our Team Members work as a team to leverage skills, experiences, and resources rather than independent consultants. Only through this seamless integration of expertise can the benefits of diverse skills achieve sustainable results without gaps or missing links in the process. Our team of Resident Entrepreneurs, Regional Directors and Technical Leads can work with a wide network to identify and capitalize on competitive and comparative advantages identified in a community or company to enhance product development, appropriate technology adoption, training, applying develop strategy and integrate best practices to the project, firm and individual level.
Our comprehensive team covers the agricultural spectrum including individuals with expertise in entrepreneurship (concept developers), development and agricultural economics (quantifiers), technical experts (food processing, packaging, process engineers and food scientists) and marketing experts with diverse global experience. Working as a team, 20/20DC capitalizes upon the proficiencies of individuals with different disciplines that allow us to have a panoramic view of the challenge while still having the expertise on the ground to improve production and teach these skills to a diverse audience. This results in successful businesses utilizing existing and enhanced resources. Our unique blend of talent and resources allows us to apply an integrated solution assisting our clients from soil to shelf™ across multiple disciplines, economies and geographic regions.
Our history and success in applying commercial principles to development projects and their business integration efforts goes back to our roots and our early work on quinoa in Peru. Through the auspices of the USAID funded PRA program our founder, Jim Krigbaum, identified a near extinct variety of red quinoa (Pasankalla). Using his entrepreneurial eye, he identified the opportunity for this new crop to provide a greater opportunity for the producers on the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia. 20/20DC then implemented a program to integrate the largest USA buyer of quinoa into the project. At the time, USAID was unwilling to fund the buyers’ trip to Peru, so 20/20DC invested in the buyers visit to Peru (20/20DC paid for the trip). The investment by 20/20DC paid off for the project and the farmers of Peru. It is estimated that from the 1 kg identified by 20/20DC the resulting red quinoa sales accounting for between $80 and $120 million USD in exports 2015. This increase in exports has had a significant price per kg and a major factor in the rising tide that brought all quinoa exports from the region to record highs.
Through this work and other efforts as diverse as blueberry jam from Mongolia to honey in Ethiopia 20/20DC has been a pioneer and innovator of the business integration models of market expansion for the developing world. We find that driving market-based solutions is the only way to achieve sustainable economic development. We utilize a combination of alliance models allows for the greatest success. We have successfully integrated businesses into development projects through the Resources Model (cost sharing amongst stakeholders) Expertise Model (businesses providing expertise to ensure that product produced is in demand). For more information on 20/20DC’s expertise in business integration please refer to that document from 20/20DC.
After appropriate market (demand) research and coordination with the buyers to ensure that the product they produce is in fact demanded we utilize three tools; tradeshows, trade missions and sales missions to bring seller and buyer together. 20/20DC and our Team Members have supported trade efforts in diverse products and markets. Our affiliates reside in, and are citizens in, 14 countries. This gives us on the ground resources in all key markets where we are not outside consultants but locals who understand the local demand chain and market interactions.
Current projects
Through work directly with EBRD, International Trade Center (ITC), through subcontractors for USAID and directly with producers/exporters 20/20DC currently has the following on-going projects:
20/20 Learning Institute
In 2013, 20/20DC started the 20/20 Learning Institute (20/20LI) to apply the experiences of our team to training the next generation of agriculturalists. For complete details on 20/20LI please refer to our document 20/20LI Course Descriptions 2015.
Download full 2020DC Capability Statement here