GrupoNueva has established an ambitious goal: by 2008, 10% of its sales will come from “socially inclusive business”, by which we seek to offer our customers opportunities to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

Masisa is developing pilot “socially inclusive business” projects with low-income segments of the market. The company established the goal that 12% of total sales in 2010 would come from the base of the pyramid and socially inclusive businesses. To this end, Masisa is creating partnerships with more than 300 of its retail outlets licensed in Latin America so as to train carpenters in producing improved furniture that meets the needs of the poor; and in order to create a new sales force for these products it is contracting and training women from low-income segments of society. It is also helping carpenters, with the collaboration of other civil society organizations, to become micro-entrepreneurs and thus participate in the formal economy. This is a situation in which all parties benefit: Masisa, its customers, low-income people, and society in general.

Such experiences have taught us that in order to adequately meet the needs of low-income segments of society, our companies should learn to build alliances with, among others, civil society organizations, institutions offering micro credit, international organizations, and local and national authorities.