How Can Businesses Support Economic Inclusion for People in Extreme Poverty?
Before COVID-19, over 700 million people worldwide were living in extreme poverty. The pandemic could push an additional 150 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2021. People experiencing extreme poverty already have limited access to health care, food, clean water, and public services. They face obstacles in accessing markets, employment opportunities, and […]
Women entrepreneurs make changing norms the new norm
As we’ve noted before, success in the social sector is usually seen as “scaling out” — as described by Iman Bibars, regional director of Ashoka Arab World. This male-dominated “franchise model” often results in big budgets and large numbers of beneficiaries. But many women take a different, incredibly successful approach: “scaling deep.” “When women adopt a […]
Business Partnerships as a Force for Good
Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programme which invests in partnerships with businesses to test and scale shared value initiatives that support achieving the SDGs. Managed by Mott MacDonald, the programme hosts the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility, a rapid COVID-19 response facility partnering with 20 international agricultural […]
Fighting COVID in Kenya: A New Blueprint for Rapid Collaboration?
Over the past year, we have seen people and organisations come together in new, innovative and inspiring ways against a seismic, global challenge not seen in a generation, the COVID-19 pandemic. Our news feeds are filled with heartfelt examples of human beings helping one another, increased community engagement and volunteerism, and new types of partnership. They […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round-up
Last week, our Rebuild Better Virtual Summit on Gender brought together experts and practitioners from across sectors and continents to ask what business can do to support women, particularly in view of the disastrous impacts of COVID-19 on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Between 9-11 March, we explored three subject areas that […]
Seminar Video: What can companies do to help unleash the power of women’s enterprises?
PROFILE Shiela Yabo is a Business Strategist, Venture Builder, and Project Manager with a passion for building inclusive ecosystems. With experience of entrepreneurship from both Africa and recently from Silicon Valley, she has a wealth of experience in new venture launch and support, and systems thinking and leadership through mentorship. She is currently Programme Manager […]
Supporting Women-owned Businesses in the Time of COVID-19
When we think of lifting people out of poverty we generally think of traditional acts of charity: donating to organizations that provide food, water, clothing, shelter and medical supplies to the millions who are in critical need, often as a result of natural disasters or economic calamities. Unfortunately, COVID-19, a global pandemic with an economic […]
Embroidered with empowerment, from mother to mother
My ‘day job’ as an impact measurement consultant in the international development and humanitarian sectors is all about evaluating human consequences of other people’s decisions. But when it comes to starting my own initiative, I’m realising how difficult some of those decisions can be. Khushi Kantha (‘Happy Blanket’ in Bengali) aims to create opportunities for […]
Will you partner with us to help small businesses survive the pandemic, thrive in the aftermath, and build self-reliance?
In late November 2020, a mother, and low-income garment worker in Bangladesh, called the Maya helpline. Her nine-month-old baby had severe stomach pains and she didn’t know the cause or what to do. Amidst the pandemic, the Maya team gave expert medical advice via a free telephone consultation, judged the severity of the issue, and […]
Two Unusual Low-Cost Chicken Feed Options for Some of the World’s Poorest Entrepreneurs
In rural parts of Odisha, India, backyard chickens scavenging on farms and eating kitchen waste are a familiar sight. Scrawny birds patrol gardens freely, snatching up worms and insects, but they often become prey to larger predators. And since they don’t live in a coop, free-range chickens succumb to diseases that could easily be prevented […]
In finance we trust
With a raging global pandemic, a continuing climate emergency, and widespread unrest, it is clear the current economic and social order is in deep crisis. These issues have been exacerbated by widening inequality and threats to democratic norms that have resulted in a remarkable breakdown of trust in the institutions that govern our world. We […]
A Love Story Turned Passion Project
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, one can easily recognise it as a purely commercial endeavour that commodifies love. Healthy scepticism aside, there is increasing recognition of commerce as a touchpoint for driving social change. And why not, after all, found a business on such a simple universal principle as love? This is what Richard O’Connor […]
Faced with the COVID-19 Pandemic, Farmers in Ecuador Innovate a Whole New Food System
There was no way for small-scale farmers in Ecuador to anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago when they started diversifying the products they grew and mapping efficient paths to get them to hungry urban markets. But when the coronavirus hit the South American nation hard, these farmers found themselves well-prepared to keep […]
Why we need to radically reimagine leadership to achieve gender equality.
Gender equality matters. You know that right? Not just morally. Not just because all of the world’s people have a right to live on equal terms. Equality has a critical impact on whether economies and societies thrive. It is key to realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals and bringing about a fairer, more resilient future […]
Uncovering Vulnerability Inspires Authentic Leadership
What if executive coaching were made available to women early in their careers to increase and deepen their impact in the world? Executive coaching is typically a privilege offered only to the most valued business professionals. After 20 years of working her way into the C-suite, Jane Finette’s employer offered her that opportunity. The experience […]
Reflections on the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer: How business can play a key role in restoring trust
After the extraordinary events of 2020 business has emerged as the most trusted institution, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which was released earlier this month. The annual survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 countries asked respondents how much it trusted various institutions to do what is right. Business was the most trusted […]
2020 Hindsight to 2021 Foresight: Driving the Inclusive Digitization of MSMEs
2020 was a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of life, from lives to livelihoods to long-term prospects. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)–the lifeblood of local communities and economies—were hit extremely hard by the lockdowns, shifts in consumer behavior, evaporation of capital and financing and disruptions to supply chains and […]
Inclusive businesses’ insights to staying resilient in times of crisis
Resilience is one of the widest used terms among the global business community in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. An innumerable number of toolkits and guidelines have been prepared by consulting firms and other organisations to support companies in assessing their level of preparedness to confront and survive the pandemic. However, as Ndidi Nwuneli of Sahel […]
The shifting expectations of business: aligning strategy, business model and culture with a sustainable purpose.
These vulnerabilities are likely to be exposed further by global trends that, on our current trajectory, look set to get worse. As Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope put it “the other big problems in the world, things like climate change and inequality, are not going away”. This year UN conferences in Glasgow and Kunming will seek to further the intergovernmental ambitions and […]
Clearing the Air in Darfur
Feeding your family and keeping warm are basic human needs. But in North Darfur, indoor pollution created by smoke from the firewood and charcoal used on household stoves is a major cause of death for women and children. 90% of households rely on wood and charcoal for their fuel. It’s expensive to buy and produces […]