Is Business the New Aid?
Recently I had the opportunity to join a panel discussion organised by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) held in the margins of the just-completed series of UK Political Party Conferences (I spoke at the Liberal Democrat Party and Labour Party Conference Fringe Events; Sue Clark, Corporate Affairs Director of SABMiller, and board member of […]
We Have To Crack The B2B Code
Photo credit: Nicola Corby Business Action for Africa. Reflecting on the events that I was privileged to attend during UN week in New York, I was struck by the immense potential that exists to crack the code for scalable business to business partnerships that directly aim to address the Millennium Development Goals through inclusive business […]
Meeting the Challenge of Expanding Inclusive Business
Opening Plenary New Member Commitments High Level Panel Event Photos Most of us interested in inclusive business have heard the success stories: Coca-Cola has generated $550 million in additional revenues by integrating local entrepreneurs into their beverage distribution chain in markets across Africa. Vodafone – one of the world’s largest telecommunications firm – now reaches […]
The Case for A Global Business Coalition for Education, a new report by the Brookings Institution
According to a Brookings Institution report released this month, the global education crisis in developing countries could be addressed through a coordinated effort undertaken by businesses through a special coalition. In “The Case for A Global Business Coalition for Education”, Dr. Justin W. Van Fleet argues that “as direct stakeholders in the quality of education […]
Monitise Granted Licence to Bring Mobile Money to Nigeria
Monitise plc, the technology company delivering mobile banking, payments and commerce networks worldwide, is set to build Nigeria’s first mobile shared financial services platform after being granted a Mobile Payment System Provider licence to provide mobile money services by the country’s Central Bank. The Monitise technology platform is designed to be shared by various banks […]
The Socio-Economic Impact of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited
Earlier this month, Professor Ethan Kapstein launched his latest report quantifying the impact of business on development – this time on Newmont Mining in Ghana. (See my previous blog about his studies on SABMiller, Standard Chartered and Unilever). The impact of mining on local communities and the wider economy has been the subject of much […]
Africa – Here Comes the Judge
The significant reform of many of the commercial justice systems in Africa means that the economic growth the continent has generated in recent years is likely to accelerate. At a moment when global investors are conducting half-year reviews of where the most promising opportunities are for the next six months and beyond, the implications of […]
Electronic money is pro-poor
Blog written by Ignacio Mas, an independent consultant on technology-enabled models for financial inclusion. He has been senior advisor in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and at the Technology Program at CGAP. Previously he was director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, and a senior […]
A New Business Plan for CDC
Blog post written for Business Fights Poverty by Rod Evison, Acting CEO, CDC Group plc CDC is the world’s oldest development finance institution (DFI), having been established in 1948. Since then it has evolved and operated in a number of different ways, but its fundamental purpose has remained unchanged: to invest in promising business in […]
Hybrid Value Chains: new opportunities for business growth while tackling development challenges?
By Michael Jarvis, World Bank Institute Can social entrepreneurs forge a more productive collaboration with corporations? One that is good for business growth but also tackles development challenges? Bill Drayton and Valeria Budinich suggest just that in a new article in Harvard Business Review. They introduce the concept of hybrid value chains (HVCs) based around […]
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires – the primary means of cooking and heating for nearly three billion people in the developing world – causes 1.9 million premature deaths annually. According to the World Health Organisation, almost all of these deaths are linked to lung health issues, with slightly more than half […]
Supply Chain Risk and Sustainability: Potential for Partnership
Markets and Value Chains, Private Sector and Markets Programme, Overseas Development Institute Uncertainty abounds. The global climate is changing – catastrophic … cropping up with alarming frequency. Weather patterns are increasingly unpredictable; rains fail or floods destroy whole settlements. Commodity prices are rising; energy and fuel costs are increasing, (oil-based) fertiliser is increasingly expensive and […]
The socio-economic impact of SABMiller in Ghana
Last month on this site, we profiled the prolific work of Professor Ethan Kapstein and his quest to tell the story of business’ contribution to development through hard data. For all those who have worked in this field for a while, and who have come to crave more than anecdotes and stories, the significance of […]
DFID's New Paper On The Role Of The Private Sector In Fighting World Poverty
Business Action for Africa Over recent years, the UK has increasingly emphasized the role of the private sector in its international development strategy. The Department for International Development (DFID) has been a pioneer among its peers, championing initiatives such as the Business Call to Action, the Business Innovation Facility and the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. […]
DFID’s New Paper On The Role Of The Private Sector In Fighting World Poverty
Business Action for Africa Over recent years, the UK has increasingly emphasized the role of the private sector in its international development strategy. The Department for International Development (DFID) has been a pioneer among its peers, championing initiatives such as the Business Call to Action, the Business Innovation Facility and the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. […]
Bridging the Worlds of Impact Investing and Inclusive Business
Attending this month’s SOCAP/Europe conference (see my blog about the event), I have been struck by the huge potential for connecting the world’s of impact investing and inclusive business. Both are effectively about using private capital to bring about positive social and environmental change. Very often both are focused on supporting small and medium enterprises […]
Moving Minds, Moving Money: SOCAP/Europe in Amsterdam
On Monday, I attended the launch of SOCAP Europe in Amsterdam. Founded in 2008, as a “multi-platform organization dedicated to the flow of capital towards social good”, SOCAP has already established itself as one of the leading events on the impact investment calendar in the US, but this is the first time the event has […]
Making Broadband Accessible For All
Blog by Matthew Kirk, Group External Affairs Director, Vodafone Group and Steve Bratt, Chief Executive Officer, World Wide Web Foundation, about the twelfth in the Series of Policy Papers, launched on 19 May 2011, from the Vodafone Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile (SIM) Advisory Panel. To download the report, click here. Most governments rightly see getting […]
“Cracking the Code” on Access to new Housing for the BoP in Latin America
Post by Susan Olsen, Lead Specialist, Opportunities for the Majority Initiative, Inter-American Development Bank We know markets often fail the poor. The “Opportunities for the Majority” Initiative (OMJ) of the IDB seeks to develop and promote market-based solutions to help solve the market failures that prevent the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) from accessing quality […]
Standard Chartered's Social and Economic Impact in Indonesia
One of the priorities for all of us interested in harnessing the power of business for development impact is to demonstrate and communicate much more precisely just what that impact is. Stories and anecdotes just won’t do, when we need to demonstrate the case to sceptics in the development community, and within businesses themselves. In […]