In Benin, Young Entrepreneurs are Tackling the Plastic Problem
The room is unassuming, with pale blue walls and sunlight that filters in from the open door. Inside, Babatundé Oguidi meticulously arranges biodegradable bags and boxes on a large wooden table. A massive chalkboard covers one wall, filled with a seemingly endless list of new and completed orders. On the opposite wall, the company’s mission […]
To Boldly Go Where We’ve Not Been Before Doesn’t Need to be a Leap of Faith
Sometimes the future is not hard to predict – it’s totally logical. Widely cited, Star Trek’s Chief of Logic (COL), Spock nailed it when he said that “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” If we are bold and if we act now to change our organisations and our systems we […]
Business as Usual – Or Business with Purpose?
While the debate on business’ social and environmental impacts (both positive and negative) is not new, when the CEO of Blackrock, one of the world’s largest investors, and the head of Oxfam International are both talking about the potential for business to help achieve inclusive and sustainable development, it feels like we’re at a tipping […]
VIDEO: Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Event – Cross-Sector Collaboration for Sustainable Supply Chains
On 9 April, we co-hosted a Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Event with Acumen focused on Cross-Sector Collaboration for Sustainable Supply Chains. The event was sponsored by Hershey, Bayer and Jacobs Foundation, and in delivered in partnership with the League of Intrapreneurs. The event brought together over 100 participants representing leading global corporations, innovative social enterprises, […]
Corporate / Impact Enterprise Partnerships: Still Hard, Still Worth It.
I’ve often worked at the intersection of multinational corporations (MNCs) and smaller, BOP-focused ‘impact enterprises’, some of them led by the most extraordinary entrepreneurs on the planet. Much of the help corporates offer them is time bound investment or technical support to strengthen their businesses. From time to time, though, the opportunity presents itself for […]
Gender Equality: Closing the Gap in the Private Sector Around the World
Let’s be honest, in the world of development, the private sector has not always been our partner of choice in the race to achieve gender equality. There has been a perception that business actions in this area are merely front-line measures or meagre efforts that simply impose quotas on boards of directors. These assumptions are […]
How We Got Our Toilet Business Moving Again
By May 2018, we knew something was missing in the business model for Sama Sama, a toilet business iDE had started in rural Ghana in 2016.1 After two years of knocking on doors, sales were lower than expected or desired. This is a sure sign that another round of design is needed. Prior to starting […]
Giving Women Better Access to Finance Could Unlock $330 Billion in Annual Global Revenue
Lack of access to finance remains one of the major barriers facing women entrepreneurs in marginalised communities across the world. 80 per cent of women-owned businesses with credit needs are either unserved or underserved – a US$1.7 trillion financing gap. CARE International is responding to this injustice by launching our ‘Access Approved’ campaign. We are […]
People Power Fighting Malaria in Tanzania
Comic Relief and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) joined forces in 2015 for a five-year partnership to fight malaria and strengthen health systems in countries worst affected by the disease. The two organisations teamed up in support of global efforts to help improve health systems’ capabilities to fight malaria – a disease which still claims almost half a million […]
We Need a Reskilling Revolution. Here’s How to Make it Happen
As the world faces the transformative economic, social and environmental challenges of Globalization 4.0, it has never been more important to invest in people. Valuing human capital not only serves to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to respond to systemic shifts, it also empowers them to take part in creating a more equal, inclusive and […]
WE SOLVE: A Unique Partnership Creates Jobs for Women and Breaks the Barriers to Clean Energy
The Arusha region is home to Tanzania’s nomadic Maasai and other communities who farm and herd in the plains around Mount Meru. Communities here face life without light as soon as the sun sets, meaning that kids can’t play in the streets or study and families are often dependent on expensive and toxic fuel-powered resources […]
How is Cross-Sector Collaboration Driving Transformative Social Impact in the Luxury Industry?
BFP: How can cross-sector collaboration be harnessed to deliver change in the luxury industry? AL: At Oxfam we look to drive transformative change across the programmes that we run and our focus is on long-term systems change as opposed to short-term “project” work. Our work with the private sector is rooted in this principle because […]
Forests, Farmers and Cococa: Getting the Balance Right
The world needs forests. They are vital to maintain biodiversity and to help combat climate change. At the same time, forests have suffered since the invention of the plough, as people have cut them down to plant crops for food and cash. The bulldozer just made things worse. Over 70% of the world’s cocoa comes […]
Helping Women Thrive: Give a Loan, Create a Community Role Model
Most of these women have simple dreams and plans for themselves, whether it is to provide food for their children, obtain books to go to school or access clean water. And microfinancing organizations and crowdfunding platforms like Kiva are helping women achieve them. Kiva is an international nonprofit based in San Francisco with a mission […]
Why Addressing Gender-Based Violence is an Imperative for Business Today
As part of our latest Challenge project, we are asking our network, and beyond, to contribute important insight into how businesses are, can or should be tackling gender-based violence – whether in the workplace, or supporting employees who are victims and survivors of domestic violence. Your insights will help in the creation of a toolkit, […]
Celebrating IWD 2019: M&S Joins Better Than Cash Alliance
There’s no normal day working as the Global Ethical Trade Manager at M&S. On Monday I might be in Cambodia meeting a programme delivery partner, by Friday I’m back in London running a compliance report on a proposed new supplier or co-ordinating a weekly call with our regional managers based around the world. Since starting […]
Cash Transfers and Gender Equality
At this year’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, IDS researchers highlighted the limitations of social protection policies such as cash transfers in relation to improving the lives of women across the world. Integrating social protection policies with public services and infrastructure They argued that social protection policies can only be truly effective […]
Mind the Gap & Fix the Mix: Gender Equality in Private Equity
With more than $3 trillion in assets under management—nearly $800 billion of which is allocated to emerging markets—private equity can be a powerful source of financing, especially for innovative businesses that cannot access bank loans or capital markets. Investors and funds with stakes in these privately owned companies not only help them expand, they also […]
How Can We Address the Global Sanitation Challenge? Insights from “Make a Splash! Toilets for All”
Japan’s maker of water and housing products, LIXIL, has invested in a sustainable social business – SATO – to help bring affordable toilets to those that need them. In 2018, their work on SATO led them to a new partnership, “Make a Splash! Toilets for All.” with UNICEF to tackle the global sanitation challenge. How […]
Businesses for impact in the spotlight: 4 insights into transforming access to financial services in Nepal
Amit Agrawal is a Nepali tech entrepreneur and CEO of Janaki Technology Pvt Ltd, an award-winning software company that operates the digital wallet Khalti. Amit recently participated in the SPRING Accelerator programme, which helps growth-oriented businesses in East Africa and South Asia develop innovations that transform the lives of adolescent girls through human-centered design (HCD) – a […]