Hanging By A Thread: Workers’ Rights And Lives
Campaigning On Workers’ Rights In One Sector Can Bring Important Gains – But In Doing So, We Must Not Ignore The Needs Of Vulnerable Workers In Other Sectors I was working in my room on the fourth floor of a hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s busy capital, when I saw a man hanging by a rope. […]
Banking on Africa: Social and Economic Impact
All eyes are on Africa. Over the past decade, the continent has consistently grown faster than the world as a whole. And unlike previous resource-driven booms, this time Africa’s success is built on foundations that should be sustainable for the long term. A new and confident African middle class is emerging, and trade is expanding […]
A Networked Approach to International Development
The ever increasing – and much delayed – focus on impact measurement in international development is leading to some hard questions about how best the industry needs to be shaped. We all know that international development needs to become more responsive to local needs, less dependent on large head offices and in short, more effective. […]
Want to campaign for change with the private sector
Want to campaign for change with the private sector…read on Increasingly, NGOs are moving towards an approach to campaigning for social change that works with business. CARE, Barclays and Plan are recruiting for a strategic campaigner to help develop an alliance built around new international principles to responsibly link informal savings groups to financial institutions […]
The Challenge of Scale – It’s about Markets
The SEEP Network is a global network of practitioner organizations dedicated to combating poverty through promoting inclusive markets and financial systems. Members are active in 170 countries and engage with nearly 100 million households worldwide. From September 22-25, practitioners and thought-leaders from around the world will gather outside Washington, DC to discuss the challenges and […]
Want to Campaign for Change with the Private Sector?
Want to campaign for change with the private sector…read on Increasingly, NGOs are moving towards an approach to campaigning for social change that works with business. CARE, Barclays and Plan are recruiting for a strategic campaigner to help develop an alliance built around new international principles to responsibly link informal savings groups to financial institutions […]
The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist
An illuminating read, Christine Bader’s new book, The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil is particularly valuable to anyone who has wondered what it would be like to promote sustainability or respect for human rights from within a multinational corporation. By recounting her own experiences and weaving in stories from other Corporate […]
Building an Impact Investing Market
When the UK’s Department for International Development launched the Impact Programme, just over a year ago, we knew we were moving into new territory. Today, the Impact Programme launches two new reports: The Annual Report 2013 and The Impact Programme Market Baseline Study. The 13 Year Programme is at the vanguard of the UK Government’s […]
Getting Confused Over How to Support Social Enterprises
Although a community of organisations and actors unites around the loosely defined and variously understood concept of ‘social enterprise’, providing tighter definition is important in order for government and donors to offer targeted support. As part of a recent project reviewing social enterprise activities in Kenya and Vietnam, we at ODI used the following definition […]
Multinational Mining: Think Global, Procure Local
Last week, the global mining community gathered in Toronto for the 80th annual PDAC Convention. When PDAC first hosted the CSR Event Series, it reflected the growing focus of the international mining sector on corporate social responsibility. This year, however, marked the first time that the subject of local procurement was discussed, mirroring a shift […]
Making Use of Social and Environmental Performance Data
Last month, ANDE welcomed the 200th member to our network of organizations that support small and growing businesses (SGBs) in emerging markets. Our members provide direct investment, capacity development services, and a host of related ecosystem-building services that support the growth of small businesses. This was an important milestone for ANDE, and we think it […]
Moving India Toward Universal Financial Inclusion
As the Nachiket Mor committee report on financial inclusion in India continues to make headlines, we spoke with Mor to discuss its recommendations in detail. In part two of our Q&A, he covers issues that include: Why India needs to move toward a cashless economy; How India’s regulatory systems will need to evolve as more […]
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, […]
A Visionary Approach to Financial Inclusion
The words “banking committee report” and “excitement” aren’t often found in the same sentence. But there’s no other way to describe the reception the Nachiket Mor committee report on financial inclusion has received – both in India and globally. Commissioned by the Reserve Bank of India and released earlier this year, the report garnered headlines […]
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 […]
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 […]
Investments to End Poverty
A Call for More and Better Data
The debate is no longer is about whether the private sector has a role to play in ending poverty but how. Over the course of this week, we have explored where business can do more to end poverty. What we haven’t discussed in detail up until now is how the private sector can achieve this. […]
Collaboration to Maximise Impact on Poverty Reduction
At a recent meeting in Paris, a German government representative took us through their approach to blending public money with private investment and development finance institutions (DFIs). Germany recently spent €40,000 of official development assistance (ODA) to leverage €300,000 of private sector funding to scale-up water and sanitation programmes. The investment reached 9.5 million people, […]
How Can Donors Help Mobilise Investment?
The Investments to End Poverty report revealed dramatic change in the global financial landscape. It underlines the need to get beyond the sterile argument about whether developing countries need aid or private investment to promote prosperity and end poverty by 2030. The clear answer is both. A mix of resources is necessary to meet the […]