Cilantro, Eqypt's cafe with a conscience
Filed in archive Social Enterprise by mstandaert on July 12, 2006
Cilantro, which is bracing for the launch of Starbucks in Egypt, has already made inroads as a socially conscious social enterprise.
Despite his ultra-low profile, El-Sewedy is a well known philanthropist and social entrepreneur whose other business ventures include Hayah International Academy, the first non-profit international school in Egypt. His social consciousness has carried over to Cilantro, upping its hipness a notch or two.
"We as El-Sewedy Group have always been social entrepreneurs," he says. "We are always thinking about how we can add value to the community with each new venture that we undertake. In addition to charity work and community service projects - which are a given - we try to utilize local production whenever possible, even if it means that it will cost us a little more. As long as the quality is not compromised, we will always go for local sourcing."
Many of Cilantro's pastries
and food products are sourced from small suppliers. "The people we source from usually end up becoming much more than just suppliers: They develop into partners." Beshir notes. "We even help them to finance expansions, develop new recipes and carry out quality auditing. Some suppliers who started out really small with us now have factories." In an effort to connect with the community on a deeper level, Cilantro has started publishing its own magazine, Cilantro Central.
More food-related social enterprise news ...
*In the Shetland Islands, students will compete in the annual FutureChef competition with the help of Shetland Enterprise.
*Yorkshire Cider transforms fruit picked by adults with learning disabilities into a social enterprise.
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