Dangerous Ideas Wanted: 20 years of Fairtrade in the UK
The ever-quotable Oscar Wilde said: ‘An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all’. Twenty years ago, Fairtrade burst onto Britain’s shop shelves with just such a dangerous idea: that farmers and workers in developing countries should be paid a fair price, that they needed a better deal – […]
New Corporate Volunteering Hub to Fight Poverty
At the recent Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, the UK Development Minister Justine Greening announced that she is backing a new volunteering initiative for businesses and the development community. The Hub, set to launch in early 2015, will be run by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). Speaking during Economic Development day alongside World […]
A Roadmap for the Base of the Pyramid Domain
More than ever, business and market-based approaches in general are seen as critical parts of the solution to global poverty. Governments, NGOs and businesses – from startups to multinationals – have largely accepted this premise. Now, it is time to start talking more about how we, as a sector, can collectively share – and debate […]
Harnessing Markets to Enhance Access to Nutritious Food
Herbert Smorenburg, Senior Manager Netherlands Office, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition The IFC estimates that the 4.5 billion people at the “base of the pyramid” (BoP) spend $2.3 trillion a year on food and beverages. Even farmers are net purchasers of foods, particularly during the lean season before the next crop is harvested. Yet, this […]
Partnerships for Good Growth: Improving Crop Efficiency
Vegetables and Specialty Crops, Syngenta We all know that, globally, our population is growing. To put it into perspective, we are adding over 200,000 people to our planet every day. The good news is that infant mortality is down to the lowest rate in history in many countries, and many people are living longer, fuller […]
How Do We Achieve Scale in Markets for Nutritious Food?
There is unprecedented interest in building value chains and market-based solutions to make nutritious foods more accessible to the people who need the most, and drive better nutrition. Efforts are spanning conventional sectorial divisions: agricultural development programs are introducing nutrition targets, national-level fortification programs are being scaled up and enterprises are developing specially-formulated supplementary foods […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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, […]
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 […]
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 […]