International Development Collaborative


The International Development Collaborative is a non-profit group located in Columbus, Ohio that is committed to assisting in the creation of sustainable entrepreneurial micro-enterprises in rural villages of developing countries. Its primary focus is to give villagers the opportunity to sell their textiles at a fair value on an international scale and to afford them the opportunity to raise their standard of living. IDC is based upon the principles of social entrepreneurship.

History

IDC was founded in 2008 after a group of Max M. Fisher College of Business students visited remote rural villages in Bolivia as part of a market based economic development course. After conversing with people in several villages, it became apparent that one of the main obstacles that villagers were facing was that the local markets were saturated with nearly completely undifferentiated products. The group decided that they could help the villagers differentiate themselves by partnering with The Ohio State University to obtain a collegiate license and sell Ohio State University branded handmade textiles. IDC offers the villagers access to expanded markets and provides a fair wage for all textiles.