Author: Webmaster Business Fights Poverty

A “Like” for Mark Zuckerberg

“India is personally very important to the history of our company.” Who would have thought that the path of spiritual discovery through India would be so well-trodden by so many among the global mighty? Allen Ginsburg, George Harrison, Steve Jobs; and, with that admission, Mark Zuckerberg follows in their footsteps. India can legitimately take credit […]

How Science Can Inform Business Climate Commitments

Big business can make a big difference to tackle climate change in agriculture, but needs a strong scientific base to guide and monitor investments, says Sonja Vermeulen When the world’s biggest agribusinesses, with collective revenues of over $800 billion, come together to announce their intentions to reduce food emissions by almost a third in the […]

How Do We Get Businesses Working Towards the SDGs

“Let us put aside what divides us and overcome narrow self-interest in favor of working together for the common well-being of humanity.” With those inspiring words, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kicked off last week’s Addis Ababa conference on Financing for Development. It was the first of a series of major events that could make […]

What Businesses Need to Know About the SDGs

The UN General Assembly held its regular meeting in New York this fall. But this year its purpose was different – and with significant implications for the future of the human condition. More than 190 member countries committed to “eliminate poverty in all its forms everywhere” by 2030, together with 16 other “big, hairy, audacious […]

Climate Action Opportunities: An Industry Lens

By Serena Brown, KPMG International As the great and the good met in Paris to reach an historic international climate change agreement, we saw a flurry of announcements from businesses. These included collective calls to action, individual and collective commitments, and a multitude of new multi-stakeholder collaborations to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and […]

Global Goals Could Trigger a Burst of Innovation

Leaders from 193 nations are converging on New York for the U.N. General Assembly. They are expected to adopt the sustainable development goals, which are not short on ambition. Beginning with a goal to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” they cover gender equality, food security, peace, health, clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities, […]

Responsible Taxation is Key to Financing SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been estimated to require an additional $2.5 trillion a year of financing in developing countries. Matti Kohonen, PhD, describes how responsible tax behaviour by businesses, supported by investors, forms a critical part of ensuring that taxes are fairly paid and accountably used to fight poverty. The UN’s Sustainable Development […]

Why I’m Optimistic About Climate Change

Only a few days into the UN climate summit, and it is already time to sing the Paris blues. The path to Paris was, unfortunately, paved with pessimism and imperfect accords: Rio, Kyoto, Copenhagen. In the meantime, carbon dioxide in the air has increased, raising the world’s average temperature by one degree Celsius relative to […]

Regional Integration: ‘If You Build It, They Will Come’

Sub-Saharan Africa trades with itself far less than it does with other regions of the world, but intra-regional economic integration could be a way to drive job creation and inclusive growth. When DHL found that the roads through Northern Nigeria linking the economic and political hubs of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt to the Cameroonian […]

The Cross Section of Climate and Food Security

As the U.N. climate talks are underway in Paris, the global spotlight is on how business can offer solutions for addressing climate change. With this in mind, the fertilizer industry is strongly committed to continue reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer related GHG emissions can be substantially mitigated as a result of enhancing crop intensity […]

Africa’s Resource Governance in Flux

A fall in the prices for several of Africa’s major export commodities has created short-term headwinds for many economies. How weaker export earnings will impact on resource management and transparency will, however, have a far longer-term impact. For all that Africa’s new narrative of growth is driven by discussions of its demographic potential and consuming […]

Bringing Smallholders into The Global Market

Investing in smallholders has the most immediate impact on poverty reduction and employment in Africa, but how can larger businesses bring smallholder development into their business models? Smallholder farmers produce the majority of Africa’s food, and the sector as a whole is responsible for the greatest number of jobs in the continent by far. At […]

Local Content Regulations: Lessons Learned

Local content regulations are likely to remain firmly in place across the continent, as governments struggle to find an answer to their demographic challenges. Year-by-year, Africa’s oil producing club is becoming less exclusive, as discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea, the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean excite investors. However, in development circles these […]

Leveraging Supply Chains to Deliver Sustainable Development

Consumer goods companies are increasingly looking to leverage their supply chains to deliver broad-based, sustainable development in emerging markets. Pier Luigi Sigismondi has a straightforward explanation for why his company is focusing on sustainability throughout its operations and its supply chains. “It’s about doing the right thing by our planet and our people because you […]

Cashless Africa: The Barriers to Mobile Inclusion

Interoperability and innovation in mobile wallets are likely to drive the next wave of financial inclusion in Africa. Africa runs on cash. An estimated eight out of 10 transactions on the continent takes place in paper currency; only 34 per cent of adults have a bank account, and only 16 per cent have any formal […]

How Banks Can Grow Profitably By Being Inclusive

Within Reach, a new report launched by CARE and Accenture, the global consulting firm, sets out how banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being inclusive. At CARE we know that providing access to basic formal bank accounts has a transformative effect for those living in poverty, especially women. Decades of working in this […]