Gone Rural

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 marketplace. 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.