Creating Shared Value in Global Education
Pearson Plc In a 2013 study conducted by the UN Global Compact and Accenture, 40 percent of more than 1,000 chief executives surveyed identified education as one of the top sustainability challenges affecting their core business. A similar study by The Conference Board found that 90 percent of CEOs cite education as a ‘very’ or […]
Making a Difference in Eye Care
Around 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization[i]. Although eye care professionals frequently dedicate their time to visit developing countries and help the local populations, the effects are not long-lasting as their skills often leave with them. The eXcellence in Ophthalmology Vision Award (XOVA), sponsored by […]
The Difference a Day in a Year Makes
We all know time is our most precious commodity. We all struggle to find enough time to dedicate to our families, hobbies, interest, work and friends. So when it comes time to embark on something new, we often get scared by the time commitment involved. “Will I have enough time for it? What is the […]
H&M Creates A New Paradigm For Skilled Labour In Bangladesh
H&M has announced its commitment to the Business Call to Action (BCtA) as part of its goal to make continuous and lasting improvements for the garment industry in Bangladesh. The company will invest in skills training that will benefit an estimated 5000 individuals by 2016. H&M plays an important role in Bangladesh’s economy and is […]
How to Overcome the Fear of Working with the Base of the Pyramid?
One of the reasons why companies and financial institutions fear entering the low-income market segment (the so called base of the pyramid or BOP) is the risk that this entails. The lack of knowledge about the preferences and tastes of this population, as well as their variable income stream are some of the factors that […]
Growing Sweet Prosperity in Peru
TechnoServe’s Simon Winter visits Peru and discovers a burgeoning cocoa industry. On a recent trip to Peru, it was a mouthwatering pleasure to see how the formerly coca-cultivating San Martin region is now home to an emerging cocoa and chocolate industry. At TechnoServe, our mission is to work with enterprising people in the developing world […]
Investing in Tanzania Agribusiness
Hugh Scott, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund Director, explains the latest funding opportunity for businesses to apply if they have an innovative project for Tanzania I am excited to announce that the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is ready to fund for-profit businesses that have innovative, agribusiness related projects for Tanzania that will benefit the rural […]
Behind the Brands: What Progress One Year On?
In February 2013 we launched an ambitious campaign using the power of consumers and investors to hold the world’s biggest food and drinks companies to account for what happens in their supply chains. One year on, private sector adviser Erinch Sahan reveals how the policies of the Big 10 have changed. It’s a year since […]
Innovations to Protect Farmers from Climate Risks
Farmers in India are accustomed to a certain amount of weather extremes. Much of Indian agriculture is oriented around monsoon seasons that regularly feature torrential rains. But reports from the World Bank and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that, as climate change begins to alter weather patterns, growing conditions in the […]
AECF Tanzania Agribusiness Window Accepting Applications for Funding Between US$ 100,000 and $1,000,000.
Hugh Scott, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund Director, explains the latest funding opportunity for businesses to apply if they have an innovative project for Tanzania I am excited to announce that the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is ready to fund for-profit businesses that have innovative, agribusiness related projects for Tanzania that will benefit the rural […]
The Impact of Mobile on the Development Sector
‘Africa is not just a mobile-first continent, it is mobile only’ – CNN[1] While commercial business has taken the lead in optimising the opportunity mobile presents in Africa, the development sector is catching up. Now, every aid and development organisation is being forced to think actively about how mobile relates to its core business. Africans […]
Why Does Healthcare Need ‘Intrapreneurs’?
When most of us think about entrepreneurs, a certain image springs to mind. It is of an individual pursuing their big idea outside of the confines of a large business; of an intrepid individual heading into the ‘Dragon’s Den’ or making their fortune in Silicon Valley. But, that kind of disruptive innovation is not limited […]
Why Cheap Bananas Threaten Farmers Futures
To mark Fairtrade Fortnight and the Make Bananas Fair campaign. Michael Gidney, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation, explains why we need to make sure all bananas are sourced fairly and ethically in the UK. I have just come back from visiting banana producers in Colombia. Along the humid tropical coast bananas seem to be everywhere […]
Investments to End Poverty
A Call for More and Better Data
The debate is no longer is about whether the private sector has a role to play in ending poverty but how. Over the course of this week, we have explored where business can do more to end poverty. What we haven’t discussed in detail up until now is how the private sector can achieve this. […]
Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business
As we get closer to the 2015 deadline, the debate about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is no longer about whether the goals will be met but instead what will replace them. The debates about what the new development agenda should look like have generated wide-ranging opinions and a corpus of literature has been produced […]
How Do We Achieve Pro-Poor Economic Development?
Sarah Montgomery, Economic Justice Analyst, CAFOD The focus of economic development within DFID and other donors internationally is potentially very exciting, and undoubtedly, as the International Development Committee point out, the changing geography of poverty is an important factor affecting the future role and provision of aid. This shift however, does not come without risks. […]
Collaboration to Maximise Impact on Poverty Reduction
At a recent meeting in Paris, a German government representative took us through their approach to blending public money with private investment and development finance institutions (DFIs). Germany recently spent €40,000 of official development assistance (ODA) to leverage €300,000 of private sector funding to scale-up water and sanitation programmes. The investment reached 9.5 million people, […]
DFID’s Increased Focus on Economic Development
DFID’s shift towards a stronger focus on economic development is a top priority for the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening. Last month, she delivered a speech at the London Stock Exchange where she gives the rationale for ramping up our work in this area. A new strategic framework – “Economic development […]
How Can Donors Help Mobilise Investment?
The Investments to End Poverty report revealed dramatic change in the global financial landscape. It underlines the need to get beyond the sterile argument about whether developing countries need aid or private investment to promote prosperity and end poverty by 2030. The clear answer is both. A mix of resources is necessary to meet the […]