The process of globalization presents international corporations and grassroots development organizations with tremendous opportunities and serious challenges. Visible Hand, Inc., based in Berkeley, Ca., and Cairo, Egypt, fills a critical gap in the growing field of corporate social responsibility, by fusing area studies and development expertise with technology to tear down information-barriers to effective, longer-term corporate-community partnership.

VH acts as a hands-on strategic consultant, drafting sustainable, profit-enhancing social investment plans, pre-qualifying local investment opportunities and managing the outsourcing of related services. On the community side, VH uses technology and professional networking to market the activities of organizations and persons "off the radar" of traditional aid agencies to corporations, multilateral aid agencies and foundations. The result is win-win, with grassroots organizations tapping into new revenue sources, and corporations directly involved in initiatives that matter to local communities. Visible Hand is currently working with multinational and grassroots clients to form partnerships in the areas of AIDS outreach, community-based conservation, small business creation, and technology transfer in Ethiopia, Mauritius, Egypt, the Republic of Georgia, Tanzania, Ghana, and Israel.

"Visible Hand is out to become the "outsource facility of choice" for multinational corporations seeking to add a bottom-line consistent approach to community-based development in the Middle East and Africa", says Ethan Chorin, Visible Hand CEO and co-founder. "We are not a farm for CSR initiatives, nor are we a rubber stamping mechanism. Clients come to us for creativity, contacts, and professionalism...to develop a side of business that is rarely a core competence, yet is critical to success in the new economy"

In addition to being a worthwhile goal on humanitarian grounds, says Technoserve's Robert Carraro, "economic development contributes to greater political and social stability and helps increase long-term business prospects and opportunities for the international corporate community. Visible Hand can help corporations and community organizations become more effective partners in this process."

Visible Hand partners include a mix of pioneers in development, technology, and new marketing fields, including CSRwire (www.csrwire.com), TechnoServe (www.tns.org), The Clarence Foundation (theclarencefoundation.org), CityKi (www.cityki.com), TEN (www.techempower.net), e-tractions (www.e-tractions.com), and InCap (www.incap.com). For more information, visit www.vh-digital.net.

Visible Hand

Visible Hand

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