Eco-Entrepreneurship and the Post-2015 Agenda
The Millennium Development Goals have shaped development cooperation in the last 15 years, and there has been progress towards eliminating poverty worldwide. Nevertheless, much remains to be done. The post-2015 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals will set ambitious targets not only to end poverty, but also to promote growth and well-being for all, protect the […]
The Role of Finance Leaders in Managing Climate Change
“Follow the money” was the famous advice of Deep Throat – the whistle-blower who helped the journalists Bernstein and Woodward to unravel the Watergate scandal and end the Nixon presidency. “Follow the money”, or at least “engage the money”, would also be good advice for advocates of corporate sustainability and sustainable development. Thanks to the […]
A Call for Activism Around the SDGs at WEF Africa
“The generations to come will never forgive us if we fail to take responsibility.” This was the message shared passionately by Graça Machel during an event entitled Survive, Thrive, Transform: Ensuring Citizen Engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals held on Friday 5 June alongside side the WEF Africa Forum in Cape Town. Co-convened by the […]
Climate Resilience in Action in Nepal
“I remember when I was younger the water in fish pond outside my house came up to my waist – now it is dried up” – Manbir Khadka Manbir is a smallholder farmer from Kwanga village in the Rolpa District of Nepal. He says that increasing community income is critical to combat climate change. Without […]
Designing Programs that Work in Diverse Settings
Rice farmers on the hot, dry plains of northern Ghana would seem to have little in common with dairy and maize farmers in Kenya’s verdant Rift Valley: they live in different environments, sell different crops, and draw on different resources. Is it possible to design a program that has a positive impact on both groups? […]
Could You Be A Business Mentor to a Ghanaian SME?
Finding credible local suppliers that can deliver goods and services to time, quality and scale is a challenge that businesses experience everyday in Africa. Yet on the other hand, sourcing locally remains critical to the long-term success of any business on the continent. As a result of this gap, significant investment and job creating opportunities […]
Post-2015 Development Agenda: Platforms for Partnership
This September, world leaders will adopt a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by the year 2030. Reaching these ambitious goals will require multi-stakeholder partnerships between business, NGO, government, the UN and communities to function at a scale and quality that dwarf current efforts. The question of how countries can systematically […]
The Politics of Power
Sub-Saharan Africa has a long-term need for power infrastructure. The investment need is estimated at $40bn per year – a need that has to be filled so that the region can achieve sustainable economic development as there is a clear correlation between growth and electricity use. Members of our management have operated in the independent […]
Power Africa Partnerships for Development
It is clear that Africa has a very large shortfall in its power infrastructure. Although the continent accounts for a sixth of the world’s population, it generates only 4 per cent of its electricity. As many as 600 million people are without electricity, and 30 countries face routine power shortages. This has a huge impact […]
Using Platinum to Power Off-Grid Communities
South Africa like many developing countries faces an acute power shortage. The lack of reliable access to electricity is an impediment on economic growth, investment and development. Anglo American Platinum is deeply rooted in South Africa, where much of the world’s mineable supply of platinum is found. As a mining company, we are aware of […]
Developing Sustainable Power Projects
When you look at infrastructure investments in Africa, it seems that you often see this phenomenon – the London Bus Syndrome. You wait half an hour for a bus, then three come along at once. Things come together – the financial markets are more receptive, governments move forward on projects and suddenly everything is moving. […]
The Early-Stage Bottleneck
The spotlight on the investment opportunities created by Africa’s glaring infrastructure deficit has been getting ever brighter. Due to decades of under-investment in core infrastructure sectors, demand for infrastructure now massively outstrips supply, and that demand is forecast to continue. The United Nations estimates that the population of Africa is set to more than double […]
A Problem of Delivery: How to Power a Continent
On the one hand sits an urgent need for the electrification of Africa, with power infrastructure alone requiring an estimated $27bn a year in capital investment. On the other hand sits the stark reality: only around 30 large-scale (over 40MW) grid-connected independent power projects (IPPs) are in operation across the whole of the continent. Plenty […]
The Inspiring Possibility of Baobab
Twelve years ago I was working in the advertising industry, creating and launching brands for big multinational companies; investing all my energy promoting products l didn’t particularly believe in (like nasal decongestants and frozen ready meals) for people who were largely unappreciative. And I was thinking – what am I doing with my life? At […]
Using Power to Close the Equality Gap
Dr. Mima S. Nedelcovych, President & CEO of the Initiative for Global Development Last year 1.2 billion people in the world lived without electricity, half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. A lack of reliable and accessible power often has debilitating social and economic impacts. Businesses cannot efficiently expand while hospitals and schools are unable to […]
Closing Africa’s Energy Gap
The International Energy Agency estimates that more than 620 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity. In two-thirds of sub-Saharan African countries, less than 50 per cent of the population has access to power, while the average energy consumption per capita of the region is not enough to continuously power a single 50-watt lightbulb. […]
Investing Directly in Water Resource Management
This leadership perspective is part of a series on the theme of creating business value and development impact in the WASH sector. The series and accompanying discussion paper are co-produced by Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and Business Fights Poverty. Water is central to The Coca-Cola Company’s business. Of course, water is the […]
Using Mobile Apps and “Big Data” to Combat Water Losses
This leadership perspective is part of a series on the theme of creating business value and development impact in the WASH sector. The series and accompanying discussion paper are co-produced by Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and Business Fights Poverty. As social technology becomes more prevalent, governments are looking for ways to be […]
Making Collective Governance Work
Collective governance In a world characterised by globalisation, governments increasingly find themselves unable to govern. Corruption is everywhere, natural resources are being exploited, the environment damaged, markets distorted, and the fight against poverty is often ineffective. Certain challenges cannot be addressed by governments alone. Increasingly, collective governance “beyond governments” is seen as part of the […]
Engaging Employees to Deliver on WASH Goals
This leadership perspective is part of a series on the theme of creating business value and development impact in the WASH sector. The series and accompanying discussion paper are co-produced by Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and Business Fights Poverty. In 2008, Diageo announced a slate of sustainability targets that cut across carbon […]