How Can Business Collaborate to Enhance Education for Sustainable Development? A Round-Up of the Latest Business Fights Poverty Online Discussion
A lively online discussion explored some of the themes covered in our report ‘The Role of Business in Education and Training for Sustainable Development”. Contributors to the report joined others from the worlds of business and education to share some deep insights and examples illustrating how collaboration in this area can be taken further. In […]
CARE and Diageo: Tackling Violence and Harassment at Work
Violence and harassment in the workplace – whether in Westminster, Hollywood or McDonalds– continues to make headlines. Its impact on workers and business is increasingly becoming apparent. CARE research in the Cambodian garment sector revealed that there is an estimated US $89 million annual cost to the economy from absenteeism and lost productivity. Legislative changes […]
Making Supply Chains Work for Women
BSR is pleased to launch a new video that sets out why and how companies should work to drive gender equality in global supply chains. We invite you to take a moment to watch it below. There are many opportunities for companies to promote gender equality in supply chains—through their own actions, by enabling business partners, and by influencing industry peers […]
Partnerships – All Talk and No Action?
Partnerships can be costly and complex, and often they don’t deliver their intended goals, but this is not because there is anything inherently wrong with the approach. The usual problem with partnerships is that they are too rarely used effectively. And, they are often over-hyped: they are seen by some as a panacea for the […]
Finance for All: Wedded to Fintech for Better or for Worse
The marriage metaphor appropriately captures the link between technology and financial inclusion as we launch “Finance for All 2018: Wedded to Fintech, for Better or Worse,” a new report on what financial inclusion stakeholders see as crucial risks facing financial service providers in emerging markets who work with those with little or no access to […]
VIDEOS: Business Fights Poverty NYC 2018
During our annual Business Fights Poverty gathering, marking the beginning of the UN General Assembly in New York, we brought together 200 professionals from business and the development community to hear the latest leading insights; discuss the most pressing societal challenges and the ways our organisations can proactively engage; whilst launching three new pieces of research […]
NEW REPORTS: Intrapreneurship, Partnerships, Refugees and Education
Business Fights Poverty continues, as it has done over the past decade, to be the network for the private sector and its partners to unlock new opportunities for social impact. This work continues at pace and over the past month, not only did we host our annual UN General Assembly side event with 200 professionals […]
High ESG Standards in Logistics for Economic Development
The logistics sector in India presents an opportunity for impact focused investors. It’s a vital, enabling industry that is essential to the many manufacturers in the industrial parts of the country. However, the network is expensive and inefficient. For example, logistics costs the equivalent of 14 per cent of GDP – compared with 8-10 per […]
Investing in Africa: The UK announces its ambition to become the leading G7 investor in Africa
This week the UK Government announced its ambition to become the leading G7 investor in Africa, with UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, pledging £4bn to help create jobs for young people across the continent during her trip to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. This came with a welcome confirmation of the UK’s commitment to spending […]
Watch the Videos: Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2018
On 18 July, over 300 individuals from business, civil society and government came together for Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2018 to explore the themes of business, purpose and collaboration. We took the opportunity to celebrate Mandela’s Centenary and this year’s theme for Mandela Day: #ActionAgainstPoverty. The event centred around the stage that Mandela, himself, spoke from […]
Music, Business and Peace: An Overview
Welcome to an ongoing discussion about topics specifically devoted to the relationship among music, business and peace, which will be featured in Business Fights Poverty for the months of June, July, and September. This conversation has been the aim of two conferences on “Music, Business, and Peace” at Indiana University led by scholars at the […]
From Settler Colonialism to Standing Rock: Hearing Native Voices for Peace
The water protectors of the Standing Rock Sioux captured public attention with their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Their actions are only the most recent in a long history of indigenous protests of resource extraction and treaty violations on Native American land. Often these struggles have involved indigenous music and Standing Rock was no exception. An […]
How Music May Serve as a Nudge for More Ethical and Peaceful Business Behavior
Olivier Urbain’s presence in the special issue features as part of the Business Fights Poverty Challenge on Business, Music and Peace, and in the conferences that we held on topic is inspiring and validating. To have someone of Urbain’s stature willing to take time, not only for an appearance for a conference, but to engage […]
Working Together to Enhance the Effectiveness of Musicking in Peacebuilding Activities
Introduction Do you like music? What kind of music do you like? Have you ever wondered how much musical energy is produced on the planet at any given moment? Hundreds of millions of people are participating in musical events today, singing, playing, performing, dancing, clapping hands, stomping feet, listening with headphones while reading or walking […]
Missed our Skoll World Forum 2018 Ecosystem Event on Corporate Social Innovation?
Corporate social intrapreneurs develop profitable new products, services, or business models that create value for society and their company. But being a social intrapreneur is not easy. The “corporate immune system” tends to fight different or unfamiliar ideas and it can be hard to make a convincing investment case. Despite the challenges, social innovation is […]
How Can Business Help Strengthen Provision of High Quality, Low Cost Education for the Poor?
The expansion of choices available to low-income families seeking primary education for their children has been one of the striking changes seen along the uneven path towards quality Education for all. The abolition of tuition fees in government schools in many countries over the past twenty years has often been accompanied by overcrowded classrooms and […]
A New Age of Startups: How Tunisia’s Millennial Entrepreneurs Are Boosting the Economy
Like graduates all over the world, Tunisians leave university and want to find a job. Unlike many others, they can’t. The country’s unemployment rate hovers at around 40%, with one third being university graduates. Traditional jobs are few and far between. This situation has been leading many young people to turn to entrepreneurship as a […]
The Counter-intuitive Nature of ‘recovery’ Lending
Microfinance, where small amounts of money are lent to people to start or grow a business – often in developing countries – is a familiar concept. When delivered responsibly, it helps people to earn an income to support their families. What happens though when disaster strikes a community that is depending on microfinance for its […]
Growing Small Businesses Through Employee Volunteering
By Josh Bicknell, CEO and Co-Founder, Balloon Ventures and Rachael Barber, Head of Community Development, Citi EMEA In April 2016, Citi partnered with Balloon Ventures (Balloon) and VSO to launch the Volunteer Africa programme where bankers work with high potential micro businesses in East Africa, providing support and advice to help them grow. For Citi, […]
5 Steps to Build Trust in Your Organisation
By Rupert Younger, Director, Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation We have been witnessing a collapse in trust in businesses, the media and governments for a number of years now. But Edelman’s recent 2017 global survey shows that trust in NGOs is also in decline. This matters. Trust underpins all NGOs’ interactions, and without it their work costs […]