Partnerships for Nutrition and Agricultural Development
Every night, 842 million women, children and men go to bed hungry. Every day 8,000 children die needlessly from conditions linked to under-nutrition. Globally, 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition. These statistics are well known, but they bear repeating. The burden of under-nutrition is incalculable, and the ramifications for children are particularly severe. When […]
Technologies and Services for the Base of the Pyramid
, FUNDACIÓN CODESPA In recent years, innovative inclusive economic development strategies have been explored by development agencies, NGOs and business sector. This path has led to the consideration of the poorest and most vulnerable population, the so-called Base of the Pyramid (BoP), as a huge collective with capacity to generate economic dynamics and assume a […]
Closing the SME Finance Gap
Over 90 percent of all jobs are created by the private sector. In emerging economies, small and medium enterprises provide the vast majority of those jobs. Yet every second small and medium sized business remains credit constrained in emerging markets, and is struggling to raise the financing necessary to invest and create new jobs. Some […]
Reducing Risk is Key to Strengthening Access to Finance for SMEs
Manager, Anglo American Over 25 years, Anglo American has invested in enterprise development in host countries to support the development of both the business and local communities. A key priority is to ensure that the economic impact of our enterprise development activities extends beyond the mining sector and encourages more broad-based economic growth in countries […]
African SMEs are Starved of Finance
Of Africa’s 50 million SMEs, over 70% suffer from insufficient financing, leaving a funding gap of USD 140 billion. Less than a quarter of these firms have access to bank loans or lines of credit, compared to 43% in other developing regions. To address this challenge, the African Development Bank launched the Africa SME Program […]
Access to Cash Doesn’t Solve All the Problems
CARE International’s approach to SME development includes access to finance as an important element. But we also believe that it is essential to adopt a systemic view of the market system and of the socio-economic situation of the individuals and communities with whom we work. Our financial inclusion strategy includes the provision of credit, savings, […]
Unleashing Women-led Enterprise
Photo: CDC Back in 2005, Kofi Annan argued that gender equality is the bedrock for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. A decade later, the case for women’s economic empowerment is even more compelling. Equality of employment opportunities means reduced poverty and higher GDP levels; more women in the workforce leads to productivity gains; women are […]
Implementing a Transformative Development Agenda
In September 2015, the international community is expected to agree an ambitious post-2015 development agenda (the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), aiming to combine economic, social and environmental objectives in a balanced manner. At the same time there will be a financing for development conference in Addis Ababa in […]
Meeting the Long-term Financing Needs of SMEs in Uganda
In Uganda, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) contribute around 70% to GDP. But while most of the finance offered by banks is short-term, it is long-term finance which is necessary for the growth of most SMEs. Frequently, this results in SMEs in Uganda using the wrong kind of funding for expansion – for example using […]
Financial Institutions and the SME Financing Gap
Holger Rothenbusch, Managing Director, Debt and Financial Institutions, CDC It’s well known that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have an important role to play in the economic development of developing countries. In Africa, they contribute to around 40% of GDP as well as 50% of overall employment. In some sectors, this level of job creation […]
Shopkeepers with Business and Social Focus
SABMiller is the world’s second-largest brewer with more than 200 beer brands and some 70,000 employees in over 75 countries. The company’s approach to sustainable development is a key element of SABMiller’s business strategy. Its success is based on solid share value strategies: supporting the role that small businesses play in generating economic growth and […]
The Changing Face of African Innovation
Africa has great resources and untapped potential, however, the lack of funding acts as a significant barrier to entrepreneurship and innovation. In order to fully utilise our resources, we need meaningful investments to provide inclusive prosperity on the continent. The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2015 is an annual competition founded by the Africa Innovation […]
The BoP: Are Some Sectors Doing Better than Others?
In which sectors is inclusive business flourishing? Which are showing strongest performance in terms of revenue or reach to the Base of the Pyramid? Why are Health and Energy initiatives reporting slow progress, yet demonstrating high reach? Is Financial Inclusion the easiest success story? It is early days to come up with any conclusive answers, […]
Three Things You Should Know About Broadband
In the past year, MIT and NASA have been working hard to make broadband connectivity available on the moon. The results have been so positive that your connectivity on the moon is actually better than in many countries on Earth, including the United States. And this same year, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, created internet.org, […]
Building Healthier Supply Chains
Undernutrition is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. More than two billion people around the world are deficient in key vitamins and minerals and it is responsible for 11 per cent of the total global disease burden. Because of its direct and indirect impacts, undernutrition is often considered the number one threat […]
Advancing Research on Sustainable & Inclusive Business
Citi Foundation, Tufts University and Business Fights Poverty Launch New Report: Growth for Good or Good for Growth? Study Explores How Sustainable and Inclusive Business Activities are Changing Business The Citi Foundation is excited to announce our partnership with the Institute for Business in the Global Context at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and Business Fights […]
Advancing Research on Sustainable & Inclusive Business
Citi Foundation, Tufts University and Business Fights Poverty Launch New Report: Growth for Good or Good for Growth? Study Explores How Sustainable and Inclusive Business Activities are Changing Business The Citi Foundation is excited to announce our partnership with the Institute for Business in the Global Context at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and Business Fights […]
Going Beyond Multinationals to Scale up Nutrition
When you think of companies getting involved in the worldwide struggle against undernutrition, which ones come to mind? Probably big. Probably multinational. Probably based in Europe or the United States. But there are companies breaking this mold, showing leadership in the fight against malnutrition. Indofood is a $5 billion-a-year Indonesian food manufacturing and distribution firm […]
Reinvesting 20% of profits in poor countries
Five years ago, GSK made a pledge. Our chief executive – Andrew Witty – committed to reinvest 20% of our profits from developing countries back into those countries, using the funds to strengthen their healthcare systems by training frontline workers. It was a bold move, but necessary. The World Health Organization currently estimates a global […]
The Partnership Behind Uganda’s Soybean Industry
One of the main bottlenecks to the development of Africa’s rural economy and agriculture sector is an often divergent agenda from the government, private sector, researchers and NGOs. Someone needs to “connect the dots” to enhance synergy, and avoid contradictory advice for farmers. East and Central Africa face many complex agricultural problems that no single […]