In 2023, the 456 companies we supported provided 47,235 jobs (full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs). This equates to 28,641 FTE jobs, an increase compared to 2022 (26,587 FTE jobs).
The number of companies we supported is about the same as in 2022. The average number of jobs per company was higher due to the newly selected companies in the Egypt Textile project.
Within our projects, we try to support and increase job opportunities for women. In 2023, women were employed in 56% of the jobs at SMEs we support. This equates to 26,560 jobs and 51% FTE jobs. The FTE equivalent is lower than the percentage of women in employment due to the distribution of women in full-time positions (42%) and part-time positions (72%).
Women entrepreneurs led 115 of the SMEs we supported (24%). Women also have leadership positions at several other companies, particularly in the textile sector. However, these companies are not formally classified as 'women-led.'
All projects that started in 2023 have been positively evaluated for gender-awareness. This means that at least local women and women's organisations were consulted and opportunities for collaboration were explored during the inception phase of new projects.
Of the total FTEs we supported in 2023, youth employment represented 36%. This is 2% more than in 2022 (34%). Of the SMEs we supported, 64 were led by young entrepreneurs. In 2023, we started many projects focusing on youth employment, such as our IT Outsourcing project in Morocco. Also, our other projects are becoming more inclusive, involving and consulting more young people. An example is the Morocco Olive Oil project, which has a human-centred design approach, and the Egypt ITO project, which involves a youth assembly committee. To build knowledge on supporting youth employment, we have joined the Netherlands Food Partnership's Community of Practice Youth Agripreneurship. This will help us learn from other organisations and young people in our target countries.
Nigeria leads in global shea nut production and employs many women. Yet, the position of these women is vulnerable. CBI's project aims to improve gender equality and create safer, more sustainable, and more economically rewarding work for these women.
Often referred to as 'women's gold' due to its golden colour, shea butter provides an income for millions of Nigerian women. However, these women face many challenges due to a lack of education, land rights issues, gender issues, and climate change. CBI uses the 'Train the Trainer' approach in this project to target these issues. CBI does this in collaboration with the Nigerian government and the Shea Women's Association of Nigeria. By providing training on leadership, quality control, safety and finance, CBI helps women apply sustainable production practices and become established in the global export market.
The skills and knowledge shared in this project have been passed on to nearly 1,000 more women. This is not just about shea; it is about transforming lives and fighting poverty, one woman at a time.
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In 2023, we supported 456 companies and helped many achieve sustainability certifications. We assessed 65 companies in 5 countries using the Corporate Social Responsibility Assessment Tool (CCAT). 60 SMEs now meet the standards of sustainability certification schemes. 6% of the companies we have assessed (11 out of 187) offer decent jobs according to the CCAT baseline measurement. 97 companies created a CSR roadmap this year, and we helped 23 companies finalise their export strategy.
CBI focuses on strengthening the economic, social and environmental sustainability of SMEs that export value-added products and services to European and regional markets. In 2023, the companies we supported achieved a total export value of 299 million euros. Sustainable products and services accounted for 30% of exports.
In 2023, our portfolio included 43 projects in the implementation phase. We added 6 new projects to our portfolio and completed 1 project. A total of 5 projects focused on regional business. All of our projects focused on agriculture, services (tourism and outsourcing) and consumer goods (apparel, home decoration and home textiles). One of our projects had a multi-sector approach. We currently carry out projects in East Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia.
Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading exporter of raw cashew nuts. The country also has the potential to process the raw nuts into cashew kernels locally and meet EU demand for traceable, high-quality products.
Working in partnership with the government of Côte d'Ivoire, CBI coached cashew processing companies. This helped them transform their operations to meet Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards. Through workshops and using tailored CSR tools, these companies made significant technical and social changes. This resulted in a remarkable increase in cashew kernel exports, making Côte d'Ivoire the second-largest cashew kernel exporter in the world.
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We collaborate with business support organisations (BSOs) and other partners to achieve more sustainable and inclusive sectors. Partners include governments, trade promotion organisations, export promotion agencies and sector associations.
Our collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) progressed this year, resulting in a parallel project for the IT sector in Senegal. Besides this, our collaboration with IPD and SIPPO in the European context continues under the Trade Promotion Collaboration (TPC) framework. This partnership has been expanded to include British, Belgian and Swedish organisations. In 2023, the Partners in Focus initiative helped map our partner network in our target countries.
We provide information on markets and their requirements via our market information platform. In 2023, we published 202 market information studies on the CBI website and 19 news items. This resulted in more than 740,000 unique visitors and almost 1.7 million page views. We also organised 12 webinars. In 2023, we published new studies with tips on how to go green and tips on how to become more socially responsible.
In 2023, we actively implemented our 'digital and local first' approach. Our goal is to reduce our annual CO2 emissions by 25% compared to our emissions in 2019. To do this, we predetermine activities requiring staff, consultants, and participants to travel in our annual project plans. In 2023, we reduced our emissions by 33% by flying less and travelling more often by train in Europe. We share knowledge and our experience with this approach within RVO. We also launched the CBI Training Portal in 2023. This portal provides access to e-learning courses for participating companies and CBI experts. We encourage the increased use of digital and hybrid tools and innovations within our projects.