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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Gone Rural
by
Andre F. Perold
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Abstract
Gone Rural employs 750 women in rural communities across Swaziland to produce handwoven baskets and other hand-crafted items. The women are mostly grandmothers caring for children orphaned as a result of the country's high AIDS-related death rate. The company has a strong social mission to improve the economic situation of these women and wants to grow rapidly. It has been very successful designing, making, and selling its products in the high-end global market place. It now needs to raise significant external capital to build new facilities. This may be the first time in its 18-year history that the company brings in external profit-minded stakeholders.
Keywords: Social Enterprise;
Financial Management;
Working Capital;
Cost of Capital;
Capital Structure;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Swaziland;
Citation:
Perold, Andre F. "Gone Rural." Harvard Business School Case 211-016, March 2011. (Revised from original September 2010 version.)