There is a Case for NGO Corporate Partnerships for Development Through Inclusive Business
Private Sector Engagement Coordinator, CARE Bangladesh Over the last ten years, as an integral part of CARE’s mission to eradicate poverty in Bangladesh, we have been engaging with the private sector more and more to identify and implement innovative solutions to the most pressing development challenges of our time. To our private sector partners, we […]
Can big business sell nutritious food to poor people?
Groupe Danone, the largest global producer of fresh dairy products, has done something unusual for a massive, global food business: it has experimented with selling nutritious foods to very poor people. This move is part of a growing interest in nutrition by big businesses. If you live in North America or Europe, you’ve probably come […]
Alive & Kicking – Africa’s Ball Maker Enters New Markets
It is increasingly acknowledged that growth in manufacturing is key to reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. The 120 – 150 jobs sustained by stitching sports balls in Kenya and Zambia, with up to 50 more to come in Ghana, is a small but significant part of that crucial trend. With ‘Balls For Africa’ currently on […]
Alive & Kicking – Africa’s Ball Maker Enters New Markets
It is increasingly acknowledged that growth in manufacturing is key to reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. The 120 – 150 jobs sustained by stitching sports balls in Kenya and Zambia, with up to 50 more to come in Ghana, is a small but significant part of that crucial trend. With ‘Balls For Africa’ currently on […]
Fashioning Sustainability With Style
Photo: Sougha Designer Training Emirati Artisan Saima Al Mansoori Ayesha Mustafa, Founder and Director, Fashion ComPassion Fashion ComPassion was created as a retail platform for socially responsible fashion labels. Through a combination of online sales and distribution, pop-up shops and boutique exhibitions, a global marketplace is given access to the brands we work with and, […]
What I learned from Social Investors over Breakfast
I was delighted to have the chance to attend the Investor Breakfast at the ClearlySo SBC12 conference. After a career in the City, being around social entrepreneurs feels so “nourishing”. I love their energy and ideas. But I was curious about the investor experience: what are their concerns and aspirations, where are they satisfied and […]
Scale Up: How do Social Enterprises Meet the Challenge?
Executives from three leading social enterprises—Jaipur Rugs Company, Sproxil, and WaterHealth International—met in New York City on Monday, September 24 to discuss the challenges of scaling up double-bottom line businesses that generate both commercial returns and sustainable development impacts. The Business Call to Action (BCtA), in collaboration with Columbia Business School’s Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center, […]
Helping Corporates achieve Sustainable Development Goals through new funding models
The innovative Carbon for Water programme unlocked private sector finance to deliver safe water to 4.5 million people a year. For 15 years, ClimateCare has worked with large blue chip organisations who, having taken steps to reduce carbon emissions and want to address their residual footprint, by funding external emission reduction projects. Our name is […]
Promoting New Thinking About Collaboration
Millions of Australians will end it comatose, as the annual Melbourne Cup tradition of drinking-your-entire-body-weight-in-beer-before-lunch will ensure that particular country’s collective outputs for 24 hours will be, at best, sub-optimal. As the table-top dancing down under comes to a close, the United States of America will awake to Election Day, with polls still saying the […]
Scale Up: How do Social Enterprises Meet the Challenge? 6.30 pm, 24 September, New York
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 […]
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 […]
Moving Capital- Are you investment ready?
Finding the right people and resources can be tough in a climate of austerity, especially if you are a social entrepreneur. However, there are great opportunities in the sector for those willing to put in the hard work. Andrew Stunell, Communities Minister, has recently announced that £30 million in grants will be available for local […]
THE SOURCE AWARDS – REWARDING OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN FASHION AND SUSTAINABILITY
The SOURCE Awards put the spotlight on the most innovative and inspirational businesses, individuals, and initiatives in the fashion industry, globally. The awards recognise excellence in 12 different categories, from design innovation to brand leadership across women’s, men’s, accessories, and children’s wear, sustainable supply / manufacture, retail, and individual contribution. SOURCE recognises that sustainable practices […]
Access to Food and Improved Nutrition at the BoP: Five business interventions to achieve social impact, financial sustainability and scale
Improving food and nutrition security through better availability, accessibility, and utilization of food and food products is a complex challenge. It involves a sector where key activities – such as the production, distribution and consumption of food and the identification of food markets – are largely in the hands of private enterprises. Interventions by the […]
Rio+20: Business Opportunities at the BoP
The private sector has a critical role to play in engendering sustainable economic development. Business investments can stimulate job creation, promote entrepreneurship, and improve living conditions for those living in poverty. At the same time, there is growing recognition among private sector companies of the untapped market potential among the several billion people living on […]
Expand the Evidence Base at the Bottom of the Pyramid
Photo credit: CARE/Kathryn Richards If we want to differentiate between responsible capitalism and business as usual in market based approaches to international development we need to expand the evidence base at the bottom of the pyramid. This was one of the conclusions drawn by seven panelists from the world of business, strategic management and development […]
The ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ Approach: Responsible Capitalism or Business as Usual?
Yesterday evening I took part in a Public Debate at Saïd Business School, organised by the Centre for New Economies of Development – a collaboration between the Universities of Oxford, Sussex and Edinburgh. The event also saw the launch of a new website to encourage academic discussion and knowledge sharing on the BoP: responsiblebop.com Below […]
Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Companies: Fighting Poverty and Profit at the Same Time
From extractive companies, to financial service firms, multinationals, to small social enterprises, Business Fights Poverty’s blogs capture the trend in how business and the social sector are redefining their relationships to tackle tough social problems. Curiously, multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies are absent from much of the conversation. Yet, it is difficult to find […]