Producer-led businesses

Nearly two years ago, we made an ambitious pledge – to support 1000 producer-led businesses by 2030.

It might sound counterintuitive – supporting a business, rather than individual people. But we know it works - when a local business thrives, the benefits cascade throughout the community. Workers fund their children’s education and farmers earn higher wages which they can reinvest in expanding their operations. Both create an upward spiral which continues to grow long into the future.

We want to shine a spotlight on three of the biggest businesses we work closely with – and give a taste of the progress they’re making in their communities.

A tea plantation in Nyeri County, Kenya.

Nyeri Chai Farmers Association

NCFA represents over 2000 farmers in the Central Highlands of Kenya. The terrain is ideal for tea cultivation – but access to markets can be limited. In 2025, NCFA worked with local county officials, successfully advocating for access roads to tea collection centres to be rehabilitated. These farmers’ voices were more powerful because they were raised together, and this improvement in infrastructure has reduced losses of tea leaves post harvest enabling them to more efficiently get their produce to market.

Tanzania Delicious Cashews

TDC is also empowering farmers to influence local officials; they recently trained 88 farmer leaders in evidence-based advocacy, so they can influence local agricultural policies. TDC’s advocacy work is already yielding results - they successfully advocated for greater transparency in the issuing of local government loans, so that a proportion of the funds are reserved for youth, women and persons with disabilities.

Sadhna

Sadhna is investing in widening their reach – developing business relationships and accessing customers in large metro areas – so they can provide more work and employment to their artisans. The financial independence women gain from working for Sadhna is often life-changing, as Leela explained:

“Sadhna made two important rules early on: that every woman should know how to write her name,
and that she must have a bank account. These might seem like small things, but they changed a lot. Many of us—around 80%—didn’t even know how to sign our names when we joined. But now we can. And at the end of each month, when we receive our earnings, it feels like a result of our own effort—our own name, our own work.”

Leela, artisan, Sadhna

Becoming a Producer Sponsor

£18 a month is all it takes to follow the journey of a Producer Group as they live out fair trade principles – you’ll receive regular updates on the progress these businesses are making and personally follow the innovation of their workers and leaders.

Together, we’re building a movement of inspirational businesses who are changing everything for their communities - and showing the world a better way of doing business is possible.