Seminar Video: What can companies do to help unleash the power of women’s enterprises?
PROFILE Shiela Yabo is a Business Strategist, Venture Builder, and Project Manager with a passion for building inclusive ecosystems. With experience of entrepreneurship from both Africa and recently from Silicon Valley, she has a wealth of experience in new venture launch and support, and systems thinking and leadership through mentorship. She is currently Programme Manager […]
Supporting Women-owned Businesses in the Time of COVID-19
When we think of lifting people out of poverty we generally think of traditional acts of charity: donating to organizations that provide food, water, clothing, shelter and medical supplies to the millions who are in critical need, often as a result of natural disasters or economic calamities. Unfortunately, COVID-19, a global pandemic with an economic […]
Embroidered with empowerment, from mother to mother
My ‘day job’ as an impact measurement consultant in the international development and humanitarian sectors is all about evaluating human consequences of other people’s decisions. But when it comes to starting my own initiative, I’m realising how difficult some of those decisions can be. Khushi Kantha (‘Happy Blanket’ in Bengali) aims to create opportunities for […]
Will you partner with us to help small businesses survive the pandemic, thrive in the aftermath, and build self-reliance?
In late November 2020, a mother, and low-income garment worker in Bangladesh, called the Maya helpline. Her nine-month-old baby had severe stomach pains and she didn’t know the cause or what to do. Amidst the pandemic, the Maya team gave expert medical advice via a free telephone consultation, judged the severity of the issue, and […]
Two Unusual Low-Cost Chicken Feed Options for Some of the World’s Poorest Entrepreneurs
In rural parts of Odisha, India, backyard chickens scavenging on farms and eating kitchen waste are a familiar sight. Scrawny birds patrol gardens freely, snatching up worms and insects, but they often become prey to larger predators. And since they don’t live in a coop, free-range chickens succumb to diseases that could easily be prevented […]
A Love Story Turned Passion Project
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, one can easily recognise it as a purely commercial endeavour that commodifies love. Healthy scepticism aside, there is increasing recognition of commerce as a touchpoint for driving social change. And why not, after all, found a business on such a simple universal principle as love? This is what Richard O’Connor […]
Faced with the COVID-19 Pandemic, Farmers in Ecuador Innovate a Whole New Food System
There was no way for small-scale farmers in Ecuador to anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago when they started diversifying the products they grew and mapping efficient paths to get them to hungry urban markets. But when the coronavirus hit the South American nation hard, these farmers found themselves well-prepared to keep […]
Why we need to radically reimagine leadership to achieve gender equality.
Gender equality matters. You know that right? Not just morally. Not just because all of the world’s people have a right to live on equal terms. Equality has a critical impact on whether economies and societies thrive. It is key to realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals and bringing about a fairer, more resilient future […]
Reflections on the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer: How business can play a key role in restoring trust
After the extraordinary events of 2020 business has emerged as the most trusted institution, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which was released earlier this month. The annual survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 countries asked respondents how much it trusted various institutions to do what is right. Business was the most trusted […]
2020 Hindsight to 2021 Foresight: Driving the Inclusive Digitization of MSMEs
2020 was a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of life, from lives to livelihoods to long-term prospects. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)–the lifeblood of local communities and economies—were hit extremely hard by the lockdowns, shifts in consumer behavior, evaporation of capital and financing and disruptions to supply chains and […]
Inclusive businesses’ insights to staying resilient in times of crisis
Resilience is one of the widest used terms among the global business community in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. An innumerable number of toolkits and guidelines have been prepared by consulting firms and other organisations to support companies in assessing their level of preparedness to confront and survive the pandemic. However, as Ndidi Nwuneli of Sahel […]
The shifting expectations of business: aligning strategy, business model and culture with a sustainable purpose.
These vulnerabilities are likely to be exposed further by global trends that, on our current trajectory, look set to get worse. As Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope put it “the other big problems in the world, things like climate change and inequality, are not going away”. This year UN conferences in Glasgow and Kunming will seek to further the intergovernmental ambitions and […]
Clearing the Air in Darfur
Feeding your family and keeping warm are basic human needs. But in North Darfur, indoor pollution created by smoke from the firewood and charcoal used on household stoves is a major cause of death for women and children. 90% of households rely on wood and charcoal for their fuel. It’s expensive to buy and produces […]
Impact enterprises collaborate with the public sector to provide sanitation services
Access to safely managed sanitation is considered a basic human right, yet 4.2 billion people, over half of the world’s population, are living without access to safe sanitation services. The devastating effects of the global sanitation crisis have deepened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – and at a time when the need for […]
SEMINAR VIDEO: WHY IS THE PANDEMIC DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS?
PROFILE Ute Stephan is Professor of Entrepreneurship at King’s College London, Visiting Professor (Organizational Psychology) at TU Dresden, Germany, Honorary Professor at Aston Business School and at UCL, and a Fellow of the International Association of Applied Psychology. WHAT THIS SESSION COVERS In this session Professor Ute Stephan talks about her research project on Entrepreneurship […]
How Women Farmers and Entrepreneurs Can Build Resilience during COVID-19
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginie Adounon faced significant challenges with her business. In 2017, the 30-year-old mother of five decided to open a beauty salon in Bohicon, a city in southern Benin. Her shop was constructed out of bamboo, and during the rainy season, water would pour in from the ceiling. “I had no […]
How to boost GDP in emerging economies? Invest holistically in girls
When women are given greater opportunity to participate in the labour force, economies grow, and societies prosper. But until now, very little research has gone into the economic potential of girls, in particular, adolescent girls, in achieving growth and prosperity. New research from Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) and Plan International shows that […]
Covid: no ‘great leveller’ when it comes to women workers’ rights
Measures to tackle COVID-19 have exacerbated gender inequality across the globe. That’s the damning verdict of a recent report from the UN Foundation, which highlights the pandemic’s impact on women and girls everywhere. As we mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, it is an opportune time to remember that while we have […]
How the development of women leadership generates positive impact
For more than two years I have been working directly with projects linked to gender equality in multicultural contexts. Explaining inequalities and its structures is crucial to understand how we engage on an agenda of development toward a future where people can thrive in balance with the planet. To comprehend the origins of gender inequality, […]
The COVID-19 Pandemic is Jeopardizing Women’s Ability to Earn a Living. Here’s How We Can Respond.
Elisabeth Atchade’s cashew orchard in central Benin feels like a world away from the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the government instituted lockdowns and travel restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, the impact on the mother of four was very real. “The start of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided […]