Business, the MDGs and Beyond
The world has made more gains against poverty in the last 50 years than in the last 500. Since 1990, over six hundred million people have been lifted out of poverty. The world is within reach of seeing every child enrolled in primary school, and many fewer lives are being lost to hunger and disease. […]
Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Africa
On Tuesday, I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya to attend and participate in the first-ever DEMO Africa event. As the plane was landing, I was struck by how history has a way of turning one on his head. While I was a graduate student in the late 1990s at Virginia Tech, I launched an African-focused web […]
Fostering the Growth of Inclusive Businesses
Doing business with the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) isn’t exactly “business as usual”. From the start-up to the scale-up phases companies doing business with the poor come with their own set of challenges. How to overcome challenges for scaling-up and replicating commercially viable inclusive business modelswas the focus of the first G20 Inclusive Business […]
Is Your Company Doubling Down on its Employee Volunteers?
No matter how much a company praises the corporate volunteering efforts of its employees, it can seem like so much hot air without making a commitment of its own. A photo-op or feature in a company newsletter is one thing, but with the growing importance and visibility of corporate social responsibilityefforts globally, smart companies are […]
Quid Pro Bono: Very Nice and the Business of Volunteering
All too often, corporate citizenship is an afterthought. Sure, Fortune 500 companies frequently offer employee volunteer programs and matching gifts, and contribute pro bono work on a massive scale. However, incorporating corporate social responsibility as a way of life rather than just treating it as an extracurricular activity is more often the exception rather than […]
The Power of We
October 15th is Blog Action Day, and the theme this year is “The Power of We”. That idea is at the very heart of Business Fights Poverty. I am continuously blown away by the energy and innovation of individuals around the world who are pioneering new ways of fighting poverty through business: just take a […]
Catalyzing smallholder agricultural finance
The world’s 450 million smallholder farmers represent a large – and largely unmet – opportunity for agricultural financing. As population growth and rising incomes create unprecedented demand for food, multinational companies increasingly rely on smallholders to secure their supply of agricultural commodities. As a result, smallholders present a compelling opportunity for buyers, lenders, and other […]
Scale Up: How do Social Enterprises Meet the Challenge? 6.30 pm, 24 September, New York
New Resources for Inclusive Business Practitioners
Have you ever asked yourself one, or both, of the following questions? Where can I go to find out who provides finance or technical support for inclusive business? Where can I find information on the practicalities of inclusive business that is accessible, user-friendly and is based on real-life experiences of other entrepreneurs? Ok, so perhaps […]
Bringing Medicines to Low-Income Markets
Prescription medication – it’s all relatively simple, isn’t it? Pharmaceutical companies carry out research and development, produce, and deliver medicines through established distribution channels. We go to a health care professional if something isn’t right with our health or for regular check-ups covered by health insurance, are diagnosed, go to our local pharmacy to fill […]
Is Business the New Charity?
Investing in small business and new ventures is a good thing and vital to our communities, but we must not confuse it with charity or strategic long-term social investment. In my recent interview with Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company), he reflected on the traditional philanthropic activities of his company and peers. […]
Profiting from undernutrition? The challenges of distributing foods through private channels
In my last post, I looked at how businesses are jumping into the marketplace for therapeutic foods, products designed to treat acute malnutrition. Yet the potential market for nutritional foods that can be eaten on a day-to-day basis is much bigger: as large as $5 billion, according to Valid Nutrition, a social enterprise working to […]
Top 5 Issues to Strongly Consider If You Are Thinking About Starting a Socially Conscious Business in a Developing Country
As we may be aware either in practice or theory, it is not easy to start a business. It’s even more complex when a portion of your business operates overseas. My career in international development has exposed me to the complexity of cultural systems around the world. However, Evolvemint has allowed me to understand the […]
The New Volunteering Legacy of September 11th
This past September 11th, representatives of MyGoodDeed rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks 11 years ago. The literal ringing in of the day by this nonprofit served as a clarion call for community service, putting the world on notice that September 11th […]
Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group: Supporting Entrepreneurs in the Caribbean
It was very exciting to be at the opening of our second Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. Following our not-for-profit foundation Virgin Unite’s launch of the first Branson Centre in Johannesburg, 2005, Virgin Unite together with Virgin Holidays have opened the second Centre in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and it was a truly great event. The entrepreneurs […]
Forget poverty. Let’s talk about business
In an article I just finished for How Magazine on the future of design, I used Paul Polak as an example of why generalists are so important to the world right now. I said, “For example, it would be easy to think of global development pioneer Paul Polak as an expert in alleviating poverty, but […]
The key to inclusive business: Getting better at partnering
“Partnering with other sectors is a bit like being a parent. Until you’ve experienced it for yourself, you really can’t appreciate what it’s like” – head of education partnerships of a multinational bank. Inclusive business (IB) projects, by definition, tend to sit in areas outside of companies’ traditional comfort zones. Whether providing incomes to disadvantaged […]
Interview: Chantal Sheehan, President, iOnPoverty
What compelled you to start iOnPoverty? I didn’t actually start it – Jonathan Lewis did. (But I’ve been around virtually since day 1.) I immediately could see the genius in it when Jonathan first told me about the idea. He was searching for a way to fill the knowledge gap that college students have about […]
Grassroots Business Fund Invests in Jaipur Rugs to Drive Economic Development in India
The Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), a global impact investing organization, is proud to announce a $1 million investment in Jaipur Rugs, one of the largest manufacturers of hand-knotted carpets in India. Jaipur Rugs uses a decentralized rug production system, centered on a network of 7,000 low-income home-based weavers and an additional 3,000 wool spinners. Looms […]
Businesses Backing Vets: Skills-Based Volunteering Helps Wounded Warriors
Part of Causecast’s Memorial Day series examining how Corporate America is finding innovative ways to help veterans through its employee engagement programs. This blog originally appeared in The Huffington Post. If you want to get your blood boiling, consider this: many of our country’s servicemen and women who have bravely fought for us in Iraq […]