Our Impact

The Artisan Alliance has cultivated a learning community of more than 240 artisan businesses and support organizations, increased access to finance through a first-of-its-kind small loan program for artisan entrepreneurs, and provided targeted technical assistance and trainings to artisan business owners across the globe. Learn more about our work in our 2019-2020 Impact Report and below.

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elevate the importance of the artisan sector

events & publications

  • Brought together more than 600 members, partners, and supporters at key events to support artisan enterprise globally, including keystone meetings at the US Department of State, TED Women Global Showcase, and the Aspen Institute in Washington DC

  • Reached over 6 million social media users with the hashtag #ChooseArtisan and a global multimedia campaign for artisan enterprise

  • Facilitated research and writing 3 case studies documenting the economic and psycho-social impact of artisan employment opportunities for refugee women

  • Hosted 12 hour-long digital learning sessions to facilitate cross-network learning and collaboration

  • Collected research studies on the global artisan sector, value of the creative economy, and best practices in investing in artisan enterprise

support and grow artisan businesses

access to financing

  • Raised $410,035 in Artisan Loan Program funds for 44 artisan entrepreneurs in partnership with Kiva

  • Supported 70% female borrowers and maintained 100% repayment rate

  • Loans impacted more than 20,000 artisans in 17 countries

  • Disbursed $280,000 in small grant funds to build infrastructure to support sustainable artisan tourism practices

technical assistance & training

  • Developed tailored Artisan Innovation Workshop (formerly the Artisan Value Chain Toolkit) which facilitates the mapping of the artisan value chain to uncover key business insights

  • Wrote and designed Artisan Business Coaching: Record Keeping manual in partnership with the International Labor Organization’s SIYB program

  • Piloted the Artisan Value Chain Toolkit and Record Keeping trainings with more than 300 artisan partners in Rwanda, Peru, the Philippines, China, and the United States

share best practices in a collaborative learning community

membership community

  • Engaged 240+ members and partners, including artisan businesses, social enterprises, support organizations, corporations, foundations, and multilateral partners

  • Touched more than 100,000 artisan partners across 127 countries around the world

  • Served 82% women artisans across all member organizations