Mobilizing Private-Sector Investment to Transform Jordan’s Water System
Jordan is one of the driest, most water poor countries in the world, and population growth has put a strain on the country’s already limited water resources and aging infrastructure. The As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant is the primary facility for treating wastewater from Jordan’s Amman and Zarqa Governorates, home to about 5 million people, but […]
Fairtrade Fortnight: Don’t Feed Exploitation
‘Let’s not accept exploitation in industry’, says Fairtrade CEO Despite an increase in global demand for cocoa and the worldwide push to tackle poverty when the Global Goals launched last year, today many farmers who grow the crop live with poverty and exploitation – in Cote D’Ivoire 80% of the population still survive on less […]
Seven Lessons on Business-to-business Partnerships for Social Value from the Barclays GSK Partnership
In 2013, Barclays and GSK came together because we both believe that long-term success is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of the communities in which we operate. We developed a partnership bringing together the skills and expertise of a bank and healthcare company to test new models that would increase access to healthcare and improve […]
Exploring the Accelerator Landscape
Hundreds of accelerators—intensive, short term programs that speed up the development of early stage ventures to succeed, or fail—have emerged around the world. While the concept began in Silicon Valley, international development funders have seen the model as a way to drive growth in emerging markets as well. And beyond just tech companies, accelerators focus […]
Syngenta’s Grow More Model to Increase Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa
nd Samantha Krause, Strategic Initiatives Director, TechnoServe Smallholder farmers across Africa present the largest opportunity and challenge to Syngenta’s business. Limited knowledge of agronomy, cash constraints and very low confidence in produce markets trap farmers in low yield and low income cycles. Translated into numbers, it means that smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa produce around 25% […]
Bridging the Gap between Young People’s Career Aspirations & Ability to Succeed
Young people today make up the largest youth population in history. Their successes and struggles are as diverse as their personalities and aspirations. However, in all corners of the globe, this generation faces a common challenge: persistent, high rates of youth unemployment. Left unaddressed, the consequences reverberate across our cities and affect us all. When […]
SABMiller/ AB InBev’s Local Sourcing in Africa
SABMiller plc, which combined with AB InBev in October 2016, has been a pioneer in promoting local sourcing in Africa. Many of the company’s subsidiaries in Africa have created new brands and brewing processes which incorporate locally grown crops such as sorghum and cassava. This is based on a win-win-win model where: Local businesses can […]
Share your Views: Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the SDGs
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and IPIECA (the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues) have released for public comment a draft report: Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 […]
The Kellogg Company’s Smallholder Sourcing
Kellogg has set bold sustainability and emerging markets growth targets, including supporting the livelihoods of 500,000 farmers and doubling its emerging market sales by 2020. The company recognizes the great potential that developing smallholder-inclusive agricultural supply chains in emerging markets could have in supporting these business and social impact objectives. Sustainability groups across many multinational […]
The Coca-Cola Company and India’s Mango Farmers
A typical smallholder mango farmer in India earns between just $4 and $16 per day. One of the reasons is that they have trouble accessing stable, profitable markets for their crops. Meanwhile, international corporations, like The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), view smallholder sourcing as an important part of their long-term goals; beyond its potential to generate […]
Designing Win-Win Relationships between Business and Smallholders
Around the globe, there are about 200 million smallholder farmers involved in commercial supply chains. And while many multinational corporations have made commitments to increase their investments in sustainable supply chains and distribution models that engage these smallholders, these initiatives have often struggled to gain real traction. That observation spurred a unique partnership: with support […]
Strategic Ideas for Investing in NGOs Innovation
Kickstarting the year for Bond’s Futures and Innovation Group “real world innovation” meeting series, James Whitehead, Oxfam’s global innovation adviser, held a fantastic session on business model innovation at Oxfam GB last week. Breaking the mould of secrecy and competitive thinking among INGOs, James used the session to share Oxfam’s exciting challenge for the next […]
Making DFID’s Economic Development Strategy Work for Women
CARE firmly believes that inclusive economic development is at the core of eliminating extreme poverty and injustice. So we welcome DFID’s focus on this agenda and their long-awaited strategy, published this week. What we are most concerned about now, though, is how it will deliver for the world’s poorest women. We should be cautious about […]
Better Together: Unleashing the Power of the Private Sector to Tackle NCDs
Candid Reflections on How Companies and Donors Collaborate
Are you already collaborating in a business-donor partnership, seeking one, or nursing bruises from one? Such collaborations are increasingly common, but it’s rare that we hear candid views from businesses and donor programmes alike, on what worked, what didn’t, and what tips they can offer others. This month on the Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business, […]
These 5 Innovations Will Transform the Lives of Smallholder Farmers
This article is part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017. From artificial intelligence, to precision agriculture, to the internet of things, emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way food is consumed, handled and produced. But which technologies could most powerfully transform the lives of smallholder farmers? These, after all, are the […]
Three Learnings for the Global Noncommunicable Diseases Fight
Working in global development, it’s impossible to avoid seeing the heavy personal and societal tolls being wrought by cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, heart disease, and mental health. These noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for three out of every five deaths across the world. The impact is even greater in developing countries, where limited resources and […]
What prize awaits Businesses that Embrace the Sustainable Development Goals?
By Sue Adkins, International Director, Business in the Community As the Business Sustainable Development Commission launches its report Better Business, Better World as the World Economic Forum in Davos, marking the first anniversary of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sue Adkins, International Director at BITC looks at how businesses are embracing the SDGs. The […]
Seeing Evidence of Company Action on Modern Slavery
Initiative ETI is recommending that companies place their Modern Slavery Statements in the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre’s Central Registry for Modern Slavery Statements arguing that it provides the only independent, credible, free, open and accessible repository that is accountable to the public interest. In this important blog, Cindy Berman explains why. Go to […]
‘We the People’ for Social and Economic Sustainability
The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union are undergoing dramatic social, economic and cultural change in a volatile political environment. Donald Trump’s victory was the outcome of years of disturbing world events, a turbulent financial system, and economic stagnation in the U.S. In the wake of the election, the political system being scrutinized, […]