Why Conventional Methods to End Poverty Have Not Worked
Rather than approach the problem directly, most large-scale, rich-nation efforts to end global poverty have employed indirect methods to eradicate poverty. This is the second in a six-part series on the fight against global poverty adapted from The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services f…, by Paul Polak and Mal Warwick. It’s difficult […]
Lessons for the Bangladesh Garment Sector
In the months since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh sparked a drive to address worker health and safety in the garment sector, I’ve been suffering a severe case of déj? vu. Here’s how it has played out: high-profile exposure of human rights abuses, coupled with intense lobbying by civil society, causes international brands […]
Launching the Intrapreneur Lab
Last year a few of us from Leadership Laboratories, Business Fights Poverty and Accenture Development Partnerships had an idea. We were talking about ‘shared-value’ – business ideas that make a profit through benefitting society. Looking at the success stories, we saw that often, these projects were driven by just a few individuals and sometimes only […]
Microfinance: Helping Shopkeepers in Colombia
Politicians and executives alike know the force of change that lies in the hands of small business owners in Colombia. Many of these are micro-business proprietors, often undervalued entrepreneurs who have established business to help ends meet. People in low socio-economic groups frequently opt to create their own small business in Colombia due to a […]
Innovation in Inclusive Business
The World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation did a detailed study of the BOP around the world and estimated that the market is about $5trillion in purchasing power parity. Is this a large untapped market or a fuzzy mish mash of expectations that just cannot be profitably or sustainably exploited? Is the glass […]
A Vision for Mobile Phone Based Health Education
The critical importance of community healthcare workers (CHWs) in Africa, where there are not enough doctors per person, cannot be overstated. They are the unsung heroes of African healthcare and there is a growing belief that they hold the key to dramatically improving mortality rates. Indeed it’s estimated that nearly 200,000 more CHWs are needed […]
Nutrition in Rural China
President of Amway (China) Co. Ltd.; Executive Vice Chairman of Amway Charity Foundation I’ve lived and worked in China most of my life, and have witnessed firsthand the country’s economic rise. The stories one hears outside of China focus on prosperity, massive infrastructure projects, and an increasing middle class and consumer base. But when I […]
Poverty-Focused Innovation: How to Foster Financial Innovation by Creating Agency for the Poor
Grameen Foundation has a proud heritage rooted in one of the most successful financial innovations of our time – microfinance – as pioneered by Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank. Since Grameen Foundation’s founding in 1997, we have continued to adapt to the needs and capabilities of the global poor, focusing on how financial inclusion […]
7 Trends Shaping Africa’s Youth Employment Challenge
In 2001, Charles Maisel started a social enterprise because he saw potential in the young men who sit on the roadside in South Africa’s townships waiting to be hired for a day’s labor. He then flipped the problem into a solution. Charles understood the barriers: the short-term and unreliable nature of employment in the informal […]
Getting Funds to Those Who Need it Most
When Mariam, a Syrian refugee, enters the Western Union location just outside of Tripoli, Lebanon, she isn’t walking into a typical money exchange. Instead, she is entering one of thousands of locations across the globe enabled with Western Union’s NGO GlobalPay product, through which NGOs can move cash efficiently and directly to those in need. […]
Innovating for Inclusive Business- Introducing the "Innovation Insider"
The World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation did a detailed study of the BOP around the world and estimated that the market is about $5trillion in purchasing power parity. Is this a large untapped market or a fuzzy mish mash of expectations that just cannot be profitably or sustainably exploited? Is the glass […]
Innovating for Inclusive Business- Introducing the “Innovation Insider”
The World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation did a detailed study of the BOP around the world and estimated that the market is about $5trillion in purchasing power parity. Is this a large untapped market or a fuzzy mish mash of expectations that just cannot be profitably or sustainably exploited? Is the glass […]
Backing College Loans To Low-Income Students In Mexico
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mexico has a smaller proportion of college students than other countries on a similar path of growth and progress, and a significantly lower proportion compared to their main trading partners. Although higher education in Mexico grew to record levels this past decade, just over […]
Creating Opportunities for Rural Girls in India
A two-year-old girl named Arshi was one of last people in India to get polio. Her case is remarkable for a number of reasons. First and most obvious, her case – now more than two years old – shows the tremendous strides we’ve made against polio. There has been no case of wild polio in […]
Improving the Entrepreneurial Value Chain in Panama
When Aurora Escalante’s son was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis in 2007 she was forced to leave her job and devote herself full-time to his treatment and recovery. The disease left him with hemiparesis, a weakness on one side of the body, and attention-deficit disorder requiring Aurora to become his full-time carer for several years. Last year, […]
The Business Call to Action Annual Event 2013
The Business Call to Action (BCtA) held this year’s Annual Event on September 19th in New York City, in conjunction with the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit, and in advance of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Event convened close to 150 people—including representatives from BCtA member and non-member companies, […]
Partnerships: The Best Hope of Transforming the Future
Many companies, like those who attended the recent event in New York (watch the video below) on “A New Global Partnership with Business”, are actively thinking about their role in helping deliver the Post-2015 sustainable development agenda. And that contribution is huge. In his speech to the General Assembly, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, recognized […]
The Decade of Design: The Global Urban Solutions Challenge
To architects, it seems self-evident: good design can improve human well-being. But clients and communities are asking for more, including proof of the relationship of design, planning, and public health. In 2012, the American Institute of Architects and partners made a CGI Commitment to Action to establish the Decade of Design: Global Urban Solutions Challenge. […]
Supporting Entrepreneurs in Latin America
SABMiller, has announced the launch of ‘4e, Camino al Progreso’, a major five-year initiative that will benefit over 40,000 entrepreneurs throughout Latin America.The program will provide selected shop owners – or ‘tenderos’ – in six countries (Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Peru) with professional training, advice and assistance to support the growth of […]
It is time for a learning revolution in Africa
Africa’s educational challenges are not fundamentally different from those of the rest of the world, although they are more basic and urgent – and they can, at times, feel more overwhelming. A recent study by the Brookings Institution revealed that more than half of the world’s out-of-school primary-aged children live in Sub-Saharan Africa and only […]