Stories from the Creative Economy: Making the Case for Refugee Artisan Enterprise

Artisan business is an often-overlooked driver of economic growth, especially in developing nations. Second only to agriculture, the artisan sector provides employment for millions of women around the world, while at the same time preserving traditional techniques and culture. The world’s refugee population is exploding. Today there are 68 million refugees whose average length of time as a refugee is 20 years. Refugees have a special status and cannot generally assume formal wage employment in their host country, reliant instead on humanitarian assistance. Many refugees live for decades without the dignity of productive employment and the ability to earn an income for their families.

The Artisan Alliance has travelled across the globe, conducting field visits to learn more about the social and economic impact artisan work has on refugees. In this set of case studies, the Artisan Alliance explores Indego Africa, RefuSHE, and the Jordan River Foundation, three diverse social enterprises working with refugee artisans in Africa and the Middle East. During these field visits, the Artisan Alliance surveyed program participants, conducted in-depth interviews, and documented the insights of relevant stakeholders from the public and private sphere.

While each story is unique, we found many common threads that tie together to create successes working with refugees in the artisan sector. Local staff, the teaching of transferrable skills, psychosocial support, and business and financial literacy training all play a role in the creation of a successful artisan refugee and social enterprise.

After the conclusion of extensive research and field visits, the Artisan Alliance is proud to present this set of case studies: Stories from the Creative Economy: Making the Case for Refugee Artisan Enterprise. It is our hope that these studies build the knowledge base on refugee artisan business and provide actionable new ideas for supporters, investors, and our participating artisan enterprise stakeholders.

To read the full case study report, click here.

For-Profit Humanitarians: IKEA's Partnership with the Jordan River Foundation

”For-Profit Humanitarians: IKEA’s Partnership with the Jordan River Foundation” is a research report published by the Urban Institute in August 2018.

This case study highlights a unique type of private sector engagement in which mainstream business interests align with the needs of refugees and host communities. The IKEA-Jordan River Foundation (JRF) partnership demonstrates how diverse stakeholders can identify synergies, overcome legal and practical barriers, and sustain collaborations through effective management structures. This case study examines the IKEA-JRF partnership in the context of Jordan’s refugee policy, including the government’s priorities, humanitarian strategies, and the for-profit private sector’s response. It describes the partnership in detail, including the incubation phase, business model, investments from each side, risks and lessons learned for possible replication. It offers suggestions for overcoming barriers to forming and expanding similar partnerships.

Download the full report here.

Creativity & The Arts: An Emerging Impact Investing Theme

“Creativity & The Arts: An Emerging Impact Investing Theme” is a new report published in October 2018 by Cornerstone Capital LLC.

The contributions to this report offer impact investors a roadmap for investing directly in the individuals and communities that make creative enterprises possible. Our present era of inequality of opportunity brings with it previously unimagined new products and services that enrich lives. It also brings abuse, exclusion, and inequality. By investing in creativity and the arts, investors can contribute to sustainable innovation that nurtures talent, empowers communities and brings diversity of thought to the market.

Read the full report here.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Impact Investing in the Creative Economy

“Hiding in Plain Sight: Impact Investing in the Creative Economy” is a 2018 report by Upstart Co-Lab.

This new report looks at more than 100 funds with $60 billion of aggregate assets that have been investing in the creative economy over the past 5 years. These include conventional, socially responsible, and impact funds focused on ethical fashion, sustainable food, social impact media, other creative businesses and creative places. Key learnings include how the creative economy offers impact value, commercial viability and innovative edge; how a creativity lens correlates with diversity, equity, inclusion; and how a creativity lens is relevant in both developed and developing markets.

Read the full report here.

Creative Places and Businesses: Catalyzing Growth in Communities

"Creative Places & Businesses: Catalyzing Growth in Communities" is a 2017 research report by Upstart Co-Lab.

Institutions that value the arts, storytelling and creativity and art lovers, art collectors, and artists themselves are looking for opportunities to align their capital with their priorities. Impact investing wealth advisors confirm that their clients are asking for opportunities to invest in the arts and the creative economy. To date, there have been only private opportunities, no products, funds or manager strategies are available.

This report looks at investable opportunities in the Creative Economy with the potential to stabilize threatened communities and benefit regions looking to attract and develop quality jobs. This report suggests that impact investment can be used to shape a Creative Economy that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

Read the full report here. 

2016 Alliance Impact Report

2016 has proved the most impactful and exciting year yet for the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise! We are so grateful for your passion for the artisan sector and dedication to driving more resources and recognition to artisan businesses around the world. 

The Alliance community grew from 55 to 128 members working in 108 countries across the globe. We released a member survey and updated our membership structure, reducing annual fees and improving member communications and benefits. We funded our largest loan to-date on Kiva, and began offering loans up to $20,000 USD with 0% interest, and transformed the Artisan Value Chain Toolkit into the Artisan Innovation Workshop. The Alliance hosted the Global Showcase at TEDWomen and Handmade is Human, and shared learnings at other key events around the world!

Read about all our 2016 activities and impact here.

2014 Alliance Impact Report

In 2014, the Alliance surveyed its member organizations about their work and impact in the global artisan sector. This report is an introduction to the major focus areas of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, including innovative financing, policy, research, learning forums, visits, and the Artisan Value Chain Toolkit. It also reveals data on the scope of job creation, income generation, and financing initiatives in our network of artisan entrepreneurs and partners.

Read the full report here. 

Creative Economy Outlook and Country Profiles

"Creative Economy Outlook and Country Profiles: Trends in international trade in creative industries" is a 2015 report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 

International trade in creative industries showed sustained growth in the last decade. The global market for traded creative goods and services totaled a record $547billion in 2012, as compared to $302 billion in 2003. Exports from developing countries, led by Asian countries, were growing faster than exports from developed countries. 

 
Exports of creative goods from developing economies grew during the period 2003 to 2012, with export earnings rising from $87 billion to $272 billion. Developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in international trade in creative industries.  
 
Creative industries are vibrant sectors of the global economy. Increasing demographics, better access to ICTs and dynamic shifts to new lifestyles associated with creative products and services, makes trade in these sectors a promising avenue for future growth. 

Read full report here. 

Cultural Entrepreneurship: At the Crossroads of People, Place, and Prosperity

"Cultural Entrepreneurship: At the Crossroads of People, Place, and Prosperity" is a 2010 report from the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship. It provides a snapshot to the Cultural Economy in New Mexico. 

Families thrive when communities offers dynamic ecosystems of education, health and culture resources alongside economic opportunities.  More importantly, children prosper and grow into healthy adults when their families are economically and culturally secure.  Previous studies have demonstrated the clear links between health, nutrition, education and family economics. This groundbreaking study is the first to demonstrate the links among a family’s cultural security, economic stability, and social well-being.   

Download the full article here. 

Measuring Traditional Skills: Taking Stock of What We Have Before We Lose It

"Measuring Traditional Skills: Taking Stock of What We Have Before We Lose It" is a research report by UNESCO researcher Simon Ellis, commissioned by the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise and published in 2015. 

"In 2008 a US Aid survey of craft in Aqaba, a Jordan concluded:

‘There is no one central place to find information about handicrafts in Jordan as no database of any kind exists. Information is scattered, segmented, and not organized. This makes it very hard to identify which products are most marketable, where to locate the workshops or businesses, and with whom to cooperate and coordinate’

This is a typical statement that is commonly heard from all countries in the world, but it is completely wrong! The relevant data is collected every three months, almost certainly for many years before 2008, and the latest data shows that in 2013 there were some 20,500 professional ‘crafts’ workers in Jordan. A quick visit to the National Statistics Office in Amman would allow one to verify which kinds of products they produced. Local property registers in Aqaba should enable one to compare this picture with retail outlets and workshops in the town.

In truth data on craft exist in every National Statistics Office (NSO) across the world, but they have no idea what is meant by ‘craft’ in statistical terms, while craft specialists do not know what statistics to ask for! One objective of this paper is to remedy this situation."

Read the full report here. 

Crafting a Livelihood: Building Sustainability for Indian Artisans

"Crafting a Livelihood: Building Sustainability for Indian Artisans" is a 2013 report from Dasra. 

India's industrialization and participation in the modern world economy is decades old. Despite that, millions of Indians still depend on indigenous modes of production, traditional skills and techniques to make a living based on handmade products. Artisans are the backbone of India’s non-farm rural economy, with an estimated 7 million artisans in India according to official figures (up to 200 million according to unofficial sources) engaged in craft production to earn a livelihood. However, propelled by loss of markets, declining skills and difficulty in catering to new markets, the number of Indian artisans has been rapidly decreasing, indicating the urgent need to re-invest in India’s artisans to safeguard history, culture and an important source of livelihood.

Download the full report here. 

Measuring the Economic Contribution of Cultural Industries

"Measuring the Economic Contribution of Cultural Industries: 2009 Framework for Cultural Statistics" is a handbook from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) with an overview of current methods used in different countries worldwide to measure the contribution of cultural industries to the economy. The study was published in 2012. 

Cultural industries are becoming important components of today’s economy, propelling innovation and development. Evidence suggests that cultural industries, which can encompass everything from the performing arts and museums to film production and video games, contribute to gross domestic product and employment, and can improve a country’s foreign trade position and competitiveness. In Germany, enterprise from cultural and creative industries represented 7.4% of the value added to the economy in 2009. In Mali the cultural sector contributed 2.38% to the GDP in 2006. However, there are few cross-nationally comparable statistics and methodologies to quantify the effect of these industries at the global level.

The UIS is seeking to develop new as well as complementary guidelines to measure the contribution of culture to economies, especially in the developing world where data and resources are limited. To this end, the study provides an exhaustive literature review of current methodologies. It compares several approaches, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The report offers an important resource for governments interested in measuring the economic contribution of cultural industries in their countries. The material presented in the study will serve to support the development of a methodological handbook on measuring the contribution of the culture sector.

Download the full handbook here. 

Creative Economy Report 2010: A Feasible Development Option

The 2010 Creative Economy Report from UNCTAD, with a focus on global trends and international trade in creative industries. This report holds the oft-quoted statistic that the international trade in art crafts totaled $32 billion in 2008. The global market for art crafts is expanding and clearly is not negligible; art crafts are the most important creative industry for export earnings in developing countries.

Download and read the full report here. 

Aid to Artisan: Building Profitable Craft Businesses

"Aid to Artisans: Building Profitable Craft Businesses" is a 2009 report by USAID for the Business Growth Initiative Project.

Aid to Artisans (ATA) is a nonprofit organization with 33 years of experience in the craft sector working in over 110 countries, having assisted over 125,000 artisans and generated over $230 million in retail sales in the past ten years. Its mission is to create opportunities for low-income artisans around the world to build profitable businesses inspired by handmade traditions. ATA offers access to new markets, business training, eco-effective processes and design innovation through a network of partners to promote sustainable growth and community well-being.

Download the full report here.

Handicrafts and Employment Generation for the Poorest Youth and Women

Handicrafts and Employment Generation for the Poorest Youth and Women is a 2007 Policy Paper from UNESCO International's Programme on the Cross-Cutting Theme "Poverty Eradication, Especially Extreme Poverty," written by Noëlla Richard. 

The paper is based on a pilot project implemented by UNESCO, in which the organization "developed its approach of poverty eradication through an interesting and original angle: handicrafts. Whether their products are purely functional or highly expressive, artisans answer a specific need in their communities, which in return support the artisans economically through purchasing their craft wares, and socially through recognizing the artists' skills and role in transmitting traditional culture. The rich potential of this sector for poverty eradication is, however, still rarely taken into consideration. As such, UNESCO designed and implemented the project "Handicrafts and Employment Generation for the Poorest Youth and Women" in a broad variety of cultural contexts, in which the development of small handicraft enterprises was used as a poverty eradication tool. In this approach, income and employment generation are the strategies used to address the problems of extreme poverty and hunger."

Read the full report here

Global Market Assessment for Handicrafts, Vol. 1

The "Global Market Assessment for Handicrafts, Vol. 1" is a 2006 study by USAID on the state of the global market for artisan goods.

This study provides an overview and analysis of the global market for handicrafts and the key trends that affect producers in developing countries, with the ultimate objective of offering practical recommendations for the Haitian handicraft sector. This paper represents Volume I of the Global Market Assessment for Handicrafts study and includes Chapters I and II. Chapter I covers the global market for handicrafts and key industry trends and Chapter II focuses on the end-market opportunities for Haitian products. The document is accompanied by a video: Handmade in Haiti: The Perspective of Global Buyers, which presents an overview of the U.S. market for handicrafts and buyer perspectives on Haitian handicraft products. 

Download the full study here. 

Weaving Micro and Small Enterprises Into Global Value Chains: The Case of Guatemalan Textile Handicrafts

"Weaving Micro and Small Enterprises Into Global Value Chains: The Case of Guatemalan Textile Handicrafts" is a 2005 report by Elizabeth Dunn and Lillian Villeda of USAID. 

This paper is part of a series of ongoing research activities that explores industry-based strategies to achieving poverty reduction and broad-based economic growth.

 Drawing from primary research conducted in Guatemala in 2004 -2005, the paper focuses on value chains from the “bottom up,”  It examines the extent to which micro and small enterprises (MSEs) benefit from participation in global and domestic value chains, and various market options – both global and local, and the factors that incentivize small firms to upgrade or not.    

Read the full report here.