Category: Business

A SIDA Perspective on the Private Sector

An Interview with Lena Ingelstam, Director of Partnerships and Innovations, SIDA – the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The interview was conducted by the Business Call to Action. Lena Ingelstam is director of partnerships and innovations for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). She has been working in Sida in a number of positions, […]

Business and Development – A Leap of Faith?

Have you ever wondered what is really driving the many initiatives and investments that are taking place in the name of business and development? It was the first question I grappled with when I entered this field over 10 years ago. Yet despite the work of a great many organisations to better understand and quantify […]

Moving Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility

In 2009, in the middle of the economic crisis, Danone CEO Franck Riboud made the following statement: “It is a common sense observation that no living organism can grow and develop in a deprived environment or a desert. It is in a company’s best interests to take good care of its economic and social environment, […]

Fairtrade: Celebrating the First 20 years. What’s Next?

The Fairtrade Foundation launched its first products – coffee, chocolate and tea – 20 years ago. As one of the Oxfam types who sat around in the late 80s debating whether UK supermarkets would ever stock ‘alternative trade’ products, this is a moment to savour. We’ve come a long way. Sales in 2013 were £1.78 […]

Creating What’s Next for ICTs and Development

In less than a decade’s time, the majority of the world’s poor now own or regularly have access to a mobile phone. As a result, the internet and communications technology (ICTs) industry offers the newest and most relevant platform to reach the poor with essential services such as information, social networking, education, healthcare, employment opportunities, […]

Looking for Local Solutions that Make a Difference

By Anais Mangin, Project Manager adelphi The emergence of the green economy and social and environmental entrepreneurship is now viewed more broadly as a road to economic development. By integrating social and environmental benefits in their business model, entrepreneurs at the grassroots can provide promising solutions to local sustainable development issues, including environmental protection, sustainable […]

A Manifesto for Social Intrapreneurs

We define social intrapreneurs as ‘people within a large corporation who take direct initiative for innovations that address social or environmental challenges while also creating commercial value for the company’. Social intrapreneurs are typically, “going against the grain,” challenging their organisation, questioning the status quo to develop and implement commercially attractive sustainability solutions. Hence another […]

Will Ending Poverty Require Endless Economic Growth?

What is Progress? If you ask this question of most Americans, they’ll probably say something that implies continuing growth in material wealth — more stuff for more people, in other words. The overwhelming majority of professional economists would agree: progress means ever-higher economic output, which in turn means increasing use of natural resources and ever-bigger […]

How to Overcome the Fear of Working with the BOP

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 […]

Creating Shared Value Transparently

I have spoken in the past about the importance – and challenges – of being more transparent and sharing progress in meeting our societal commitments at Nestlé. For this reason, I am proud to share our 2013 Creating Shared Value report, published this week. In this year’s report we have taken another step forward in […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Economic Inclusion – Accelerating Impact Collectively

Social Entrepreneurs with proven models for including low-income populations convene to refine their impact scaling strategies and collectively overcome ecosystem barriers. Great business ideas go global to serve customers around the world. Great social innovations, however, too often remain local or national because market forces do not work as efficiently in low-income markets. Although many […]

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 […]