venture | dairy is a newly launched organization that will work with partners around the globe to build sustainable, thriving dairy enterprises that support healthy, prosperous communities. Founded by Trevor Tomkins, Ph.D., the recently retired chief executive officer of Milk Specialties Global and a 38-year veteran of the dairy industry. venture | dairy knows that thriving, sustainable, locally-owned dairy enterprises will have a profound impact on a developing community by generating income, improving nutrition-especially among children, involving women and improving the environment—truly creating healthy, sustainable communities.
“venture | dairy was founded to empower dairy entrepreneurs to establish sustainable business practices that can improve their lives and the lives of their families, and better their communities,” commented Tomkins. “This is the driving force behind our organization.”
Structured to produce measurable outcomes, venture | dairy is both a non-for-profit organization and a social investment fund. The non-for-profit operation prepares dairy enterprises to thrive by supporting technology advancement and training in dairy production, and coaching those involved through the fundamentals of business and value-chain development. The social investment fund provides access to affordable, patient capital in the form of loans or equity that can be used to procure equipment, purchase feed, build infrastructure and oversee operations. Combining the strengths of a non-for-profit organization and an impact-driven social investment fund, venture | dairy allows donors and investors to support the organization’s initiatives in ways that best meet their financial and philanthropic goals.
The organization’s inaugural project in Nicaragua is the formation of a Dairy Hub that will work with Nicaraguan farmers to improve milk production and farm profitability. The Nicaraguan dairy company, Centrolac, is one of the partners in the project, and will have the Tetra Laval Food for Development Office as an advisor. Currently,venture | dairy is also undertaking a feasibility study in Rwanda to determine whether its developing dairy industry can be helped by construction of a dairy processing plant.
Source: venture | dairy