Four companies set up by internally displaced persons have seen
their monthly sales rise by as much as 20 per cent, thanks to an
agreement signed in May of 2007 by IOM and the French retailer
Carrefour.

The agreement was designed to provide support for the social and
economic reinsertion of the internally displaced by promoting and
marketing their products.  The Colombians benefitting from
this initiative include not only the displaced, but also young
people who have been demobilized from illegal armed groups, victims
of human trafficking, Afro-Colombians and other indigenous
populations that are receiving support through IOM programmes.

This joint effort has directly benefitted more than 760
entrepreneurs whose products are being marketed at 15 Carrefour
stores in Colombia. 

Luz y Vida, Raferlo, Fundación Anei and CDP del Cuero are
just four of the companies that have seen their sales increase by
20 per cent.  Products manufactured by these companies include
home decor, office supplies, handicrafts and clothing.

"For Carrefour, marketing these products is a priority because
our company wants to help vulnerable communities in Colombia,"
explains Ximena Botero, Carrefour Colombia Director of Marketing
and External Communications.

José Angel Oropeza, IOM Chief of Mission in Colombia,
adds: "Carrefour customers who buy these products in the
supermarkets know that they are helping these vulnerable
populations and that their purchases provide an opportunity for
peace and life." 

"Paz y Vida" or "Peace and Life", is the advertising slogan used
to identify the products manufactured for the IOM/Carrefour social
marketing campaign.

For more information please contact:

Jorge Andrés Gallo

IOM Colombia

Tel (57 1) 59 46 410 Ext 142

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@iom.int">jgallo@iom.int