The Case Study. About fifteen years ago, a Dutch Unilever manager rediscovered an edible oil that could be abstracted from the nuts of the African Allanblackia tree. After profound research in the laboratory, it seemed that the oil from the Allanblackia seed had very good characteristics for margarines and all kinds of other food products produced by Unilever. However, Unilever found that the Allanblackia tree only grows in difficult-to-access areas in African countries and was therefore hard to obtain. Hence, it was decided to try to develop a supply chain for this oil, in which they would collabo- rate closely with the people in these remote areas where the Allanblackia tree grows. At first to have them collect, dry and sell the nuts, but nowa- days also to manage nurseries where techniques are explored on how to grow the Allanblackia tree as quickly as possible. In the near future, farmers in the communities can have the Allanblackia tree as a new crop on their farmland. As a multinational, Unilever has the advantage that it has offices all around the world. Therefore it was possible to involve local Tanzanian Unilever employees in the Allanblackia activities in Tanzania. In addition, Unilever’s strategy is to organize supply chains in a sustainable manner, which means that activities should not have a negative impact on people or the environment. Consequently, one of the first steps taken was the 66 Strategic challenges for the Base of the Pyramid involvement of an international NGO. This NGO worked with commu- nities through local NGOs and defines its task as “connecting people’s capacities”. In this case, it meant that they deployed several NGOs to reach the communities located in the areas where Allanblackia trees grow. Unilever also involved an NGO that promotes the conservation of forests in Tanzania and is connected to the government. Communities were approached by a team of representatives from all the partners, and local people were involved to create the supply chain. The local people were trained in all kind of aspects related to Allanblackia, but also in more general business subjects. At this very moment in Tanzania, the Allanblackia supply chain is managed and executed solely by Tanzanian people. The supply chain is beneficial to all parties. On the one hand, it creates businesses for people in remote villages and hence eradicates poverty in poor African countries. On the other hand, it creates an efficient way for Unilever to obtain essential ingredients...
