The ethical agent: fresh flowers in Kenya

Presented here is a case study of ethical agents which, although supported by development project funds, can offer a commercial model for aligning the business models of smallholders, SME suppliers, and demanding modern retailers. In this project to bring Kenyan smallholder flowers into the supermarkets of the UK and US, ethical agents intervened at multiple levels of the chain to create new market opportunities, build capacity of the Kenyan SME aggregator/supplier, negotiate the terms of supply, and enable flexibility at the retailer end.