Time to View Small-Scale Farming as a Business
How can we feed the world’s growing population? It’s an age-old question that has resurfaced following the economic shocks and environmental stresses of the past decade. According to the latest data, the global population is expected to surpass nine billion by 2050, and much of this growth will take place in developing countries. For instance, […]
30% of Businesses Back Human Rights Legal Requirement
It is a fiction that big business rejects all regulation as a burden. Recent Economist research indicates that nearly a third of business leaders see mandatory reporting on human rights for their companies as a good thing. The fact that companies such as Tesco and Marshalls have been lobbying for UK businesses to disclose the […]
The Unintended Consequences of Inclusive Business
Last week we hosted a two-day conference, Inclusion Inc., at The Fletcher School, where we tested the idea that “the only competitive business is an inclusive business.” Inclusive business, or business that pursues opportunities in traditionally unattractive market segments, ought to be a strategic imperative for corporations and investors. Foregoing such segments would open the […]
Linking savings groups to banks – What works, what doesn’t, what’s next?
Combating The Stigma of Glasses In India
Anna has just returned from staying with families in the urban slums in Kolkata, India. Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Why is it that people in developing countries do not often have convenient access to basic health services or medicines, but that Coca-Cola can be bought even […]
Skills Development in Rural Uganda
According to Uganda’s National Bureau of statics (UBOS) under employment amongst 18-30 year olds is high and that at least 14.1 Million young people in rural areas are unemployed due to lack of skills. Itojo Sub County in Ntungamo district where our charity works, 85% of the population is aged between 15-30 years and the […]
Celebrating World Health Day With Business Ideas
The base of the pyramid as we knew it ten years ago has changed tremendously. Latin America and the Caribbean’s economic growth between 2000 and 2013 benefitted everyone in the region, from top to bottom. Millions of people emerged from poverty, and the segment of those living on $4-10 grew considerably. As their earnings increase, […]
The One Thousand and One Questions on Business Ethics
What is an ethical business? Bernardo Toro, an advisor to the Avina Foundation, said it clearly and with humor during the opening ceremony of the Latin America Impact Investing Forum (FLII) which took place in Mérida, México at the end of February: “It is a business that doesn’t prey on people; one that creates real […]
Women Extension Volunteers in the Cocoa Farms
It took a strong, single young mother of two to bring you the delicious chocolate egg you are biting into this Easter. Just a few years ago Anita, a young, unemployed, single mother of two seemed an unlikely community leader. But her fellow villagers in Ghana’s Odumase District, recognized her strong leadership abilities, recommending her […]
Delivering Impact Beyond Income
Ten years ago I had a moment of disillusionment with the charity sector. I was working on the intractable conflict in Sudan: progress was slow, and I’m not known for my patience. I began to feel that traditional models of aid had limitations and decided it was time to explore different routes to tackling poverty. […]
Shared Value Leadership Summit
Value in Sustainable and Inclusive Business Activities
‘Potential cocoa shortage by 2020’ was an obvious business case for a company like Hershey’s to invest in being resilient to climate change in order to sustain long-term profits. Hershey’s has even surpassed its 2014 goals, announcing that 30% of its globally sourced cocoa is independently certified and verified. Cost reduction strategies by Pacific Rubiales […]
Trader Standards Get a Make-over
Do you have a flattering angle that you prefer for photos? Do you turn your head slightly toward the camera, nose down? Do you like looking wistfully off to the right? Among Fairtrade campaigners, a worryingly large number of people seem to think their best angle is in a banana suit. But at Fairtrade, we […]
Recognizing the Power of Cross-Sector Collaboration
The role of business in society is changing. Philanthropy is no longer the primary way that businesses make the world a better place. Increasingly, through public-private partnerships (P3s), businesses, nonprofits, and governments are working together to address entrenched issues, like poverty and climate change. By pooling funding, assets, and expertise, partnerships are capable of generating […]
An EU Backed Sanitation Stimulus in Poor Countries?
This Sunday (22nd March) is World Water Day. But there is little cause to celebrate. As the twin-track Post-2015 Development Agenda rolls on towards hopeful denouement at the end of this year, it is Millennium Development Goal no.7c (halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation) that is the […]
Water Stewardship: Good for Business and Development
The United Nations is finalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of international goals addressing a wide range of global challenges, including energy, agriculture, governance, and poverty reduction. The SDGs will be implemented when the Millennium Development Goals, the UN’s last set of development targets, expire at the end of 2015 and water-related issues […]
Follow us on Twitter
Improving the Lives of 2.5m Farmers and their Families
More than 90% of farms are run by an individual or a family and they produce about 80% of the world’s food, yet many family farmers face ill health and low productivity as a result of poor diets. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) calculates that around half of the world’s hungry people are from […]
Inclusion, Inc.
Towards Ethically and Sustainably Sourced Cotton
As we bring together buyers and suppliers, manufacturers and NGOs to discuss what is needed for a sustainable supply of cotton, it seems clear we need to address the economic equation of supply and demand. Experience from other sectors suggests that the business proposition for procuring ethically and sustainably sourced cotton will be driven by […]