Women’s Financial Inclusion in West Africa: From Policy to Practice
The Decade of African Women – launched in 2010 by the African Union – has seen significant strides made by African countries to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Notable within West Africa has been the drive towards women’s economic empowerment. Launched in October 2010 as the Decade of African Women, 2010 to 2020 was […]
An ILO Convention on Gender Based Violence in the Workplace
Why businesses should support the proposed ILO Convention on Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work The ILO is now in a process of considering whether to establish a new instrument or instruments on “Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work”. This is […]
Driving Inclusivity in African Agriculture
Concordia recently participated in the Inaugural International Congress for African Agribusiness and Trade (ICAAT) at Rutgers University, an event that brought together African agricultural and political leaders with bilateral and multilateral institutions, overseas development organizations, U.S. agribusiness, agricultural investors, technical and policy experts, and African civil society representatives. The conference highlighted the importance of aligning […]
Translating the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment into Action
Business Fights Poverty welcomed the creation early last year of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Not surprisingly, women’s empowerment is an issue of great importance to many members of the Business Fights Poverty community. In support of the Panel’s work we crafted a Challenge on Women’s Economic Empowerment, in partnership with […]
Financial Education for Girls: Breaking Cycles of Poverty
On September 13, 2017, we will be holding an event with guest speakers Eva Halper from Credit Suisse Global Education Initiative and Aukje te Kaat from Aflatoun International to discuss the Credit Suisse initiative around financial education for girls. In addition, two Plan International managers from China and Brazil who are directly implementing the program […]
Empowering Women in the Economy: Major Event for Business Leaders and Global Experts, London 6 Sept 2017
On Wednesday 6 September, business leaders and global experts will convene in London to discuss how the private sector can advance the 2017 recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Why does it matter, and what will it mean for women – and for business? CARE is really pleased to be […]
Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship in West Africa
An Interview with Isaac Aggrey, CEO, African Social Entrepreneurs Network BFP: First of all, please introduce yourself to the Business Fights Poverty community. I am passionate about providing effective financial solutions to benefit local entrepreneurs, social impact investors, and most importantly, people at all levels of society, especially women entrepreneurs. I am the CEO of […]
The Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Searches for Innovative, New and Scalable Solutions for the Rural Poor
The Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity has just launched its 2017 competition. The Fund is a US$ 50 million facility established by the Mastercard Foundation in 2015 with the aim of spurring financial systems development in rural and agricultural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund supports innovative financial solutions for design, pilot and testing […]
Making ‘People Are Our Greatest Asset’ Ring True in Company Workforces
Young women working in Myanmar’s garment sector feel very far from being their employer’s ‘greatest asset’. ‘Disclosure’ is a hot topic at present, with the BBC dealing with the fall-out from disclosing the gender pay-gap amongst top presenters, the prime minister of Pakistan resigning following disclosure about his family wealth via the Panama Papers, and […]
Scaling Inclusive Business Models at the Nexus of Poverty and Environment
Scaling Inclusive Business Models at the Nexus of Poverty And Environment: Case Studies from the Philippines To date, many actors involved in poverty alleviation and environmental protection have operated in silos. Although both sectors follow ecosystem approaches, in the first, impact is seen as positive and desirable, and in the latter, impact is seen as […]
Creating a Climate for Risk and Innovation in Humanitarian Delivery
How CARE International empowered rural families in Zimbabwe through the delivery of humanitarian aid in partnership with private sector mobile network operators ECONET and NETONE. In August 2015, CARE International, in partnership with World Vision, started a Cash Transfer Programme in Zimbabwe, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID). The programme ran until 31st […]
Shining a Bright Light on the Role of Digital Payments in Expanding Energy for All
In an age of evolving technology and development, there may be an extraordinary disconnect in addressing the problem of energy access. Consider Vivian who lives in the Western Region of Ghana, about an hour’s drive north of Takoradi. She has a farm but most of her income is derived from buying and selling cooking oil. […]
Embedding the Sustainable Development Goals into Business
The general consensus is that the only way to meet the scale of the ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to bridge the estimated funding gap of $2.5 trillion per year is to fully mobilise business investment, innovation and expertise. For companies, there are good reasons to engage with the SDGs. There are […]
Bridging the Gap – Supporting Youth Employability
By Hester le Roux, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty We are pleased to announce the launch of a new guide to business support for youth skills development. “Bridging the Gap: Supporting Youth Employability” was produced as part of the Business Fights Poverty Challenge on Youth Employability, which is supported by Anglo American, Barclays, BRAC, Citi, […]
Family Planning – It’s Everyone’s Business
To achieve the ambitious and urgent goal of reaching 120 million women with family planning will take significant political and financial will by governments – which is why the forthcoming Family Planning Summit is so welcome. But what about the role of business? How do we convince them that family planning is something that directly […]
Contributing to the SDGs through Advocacy Partnerships
The contribution of business to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is often viewed through the lens of core business, social investment, and public advocacy and policy engagement, a framework first introduced by Jane Nelson[1]. Whilst core business and social investment have received much attention over the years, there has been little focus on the positive […]
Empowering Smallholder Farmers to Improve their Incomes
By David Norman, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty Millions of smallholders live in poverty, unable to meet basic needs. Smallholder farmers need to improve their incomes and competitiveness if they are to achieve and sustain a decent standard of living, reinvest in their farms, and continue to supply a sustainable crop to multinational companies. The […]
Working with the Private Sector to Further Global Health
Photo Credit: Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust CEO, THET and Ian Walker, Director, Johnson & Johnson Global Community Impact “I was caring for an elderly man with cardiac failure. He had multiple pressure sores and dirty sheets. He was depressed. I dressed the pressure sores and showed the family how to do the same, in […]
Why Water Conservation Can Help Businesses Tap into Global Goals
Sustainable Development Goal 6 recognises the importance of access to clean and safe water. It’s an issue that’s particularly important in India, where long and short term factors have led to an increase in demand while supplies have been strained. Since the 1930s, water use in India has increased at a greater rate than its […]
Using Technical Assistance to Build Impactful Businesses
In late 2012, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) launched the Impact Programme, an initiative aimed at developing new ways to foster the market for impact investment in Africa and South Asia. There are two investment vehicles under the programme: the Impact Fund (IF) and the Impact Accelerator (IA). The Impact Programme’s Technical Assistance […]