Can Social Enterprises Fill the Aid Gap?
The scale of social enterprises varies around the world, and there is no place where they have had such a long history or have grown to be quite as sophisticated as in Bangladesh[1] and largely without a supportive policy framework. With the country moving towards middle income status and aid money expected to dry up, […]
Refugee Crisis, Business and Partnerships
When a natural disaster happens we look to the government, public services, NGOs and charitable organisations to come to our rescue. But as the current European refugee crisis has shown, governments can be slow to react. While bodies of drowned refugees wash up on the shores of Greece and Turkey, the EU country representatives are […]
The State of Responsible Investment
Women Advancing Microfinance UK are hosting a dinner on Tuesday 12th April in London on responsible investment, specifically looking at how we can influence the way global companies act and impact the world. Tickets to the event are available here. On the evening Martina Macpherson will be accompanied by Natacha Dimitrijevic, Associate Director at Hermes […]
SDGs and Corporate Strategy – Putting the Two Together
Novozymes is a world leader in the industrial biotechnology space, head quartered in Denmark and providing B2B solutions (enzymes and micro-organisms) that on average save customers 100kg CO2 for every 1kg of product applied. As such, sustainability and positive societal impact are embedded in the corporation’s DNA. That was true 10 years ago, when the […]
Inclusive Innovation: From Idea to Impact
In the next months, BoPInc experts will share insights on their inclusive innovation journey via blog posts on their experience of developing new products and services in BoP markets. 1. What is inclusive innovation? Inclusive Innovation is the entrepreneurial development of something new with impact together with low-income groups. Inclusive innovations create impact whether incremental […]
The Paradox of Partnership
At the heart of every partnership lies a paradox, an inherent contradiction that cannot be ignored in the process of building a successful collaboration. A primary goal of cross-sector partnership is to bring together organisations with different but complementary attributes and to achieve something together that neither organisation can achieve independently. That is what most […]
Connecting Impact Investors with SMEs
Last week Christian Aid joined forces with four of our peer NGO’s (Traidcraft, Practical Action, Twin and Challenges Worldwide) to launch ACRE (Access To Capital For Rural Enterprises) – a new platform to link investors with SMEs needing long-term capital to expand and benefit their communities in rural Africa, Asia and Latin America. We have […]
Inclusive Innovation – Context Matters
Image: How can wearable technologies become relevant for the BoP context? Check UNICEF’s Wearable for Good Challenge for some inspiration. In this second post of our blog series on Inclusive Innovation we focus on the challenges that lie in the adaptation of global (technological) innovations to specific markets and users in emerging economies. In the […]
5 Ways for Smart Businesses to Invest in Sustainability
The global economy is under pressure from the planet. This year, falling oil prices and stagnant growth, especially in emerging markets, is coinciding with extreme droughts and floods triggered by one of the most powerful El Niño events in the past 50 years. The severity of this naturally occurring shock is amplified by global warming, […]
Bringing Your Company’s Values to Life
I have been farming organically at Riverford since 1987. The concept of combining good food, good farming and good business was inherited from my father and is at the heart of everything we do. In the 1990s, as my skills improved at home, I wanted to disprove the naysayers who claimed organic farming was a […]
Scientific Research for Gender Equality
This year on International Women’s Day, efforts to advance gender equality and sustainable development go hand in hand. The UN is commemorating the day under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it Up for Gender Equality,” highlighting the importance of closing the gap in gender equality while building momentum to implement the Sustainable Development […]
Collaborations Expand Tech Uses to Aid Refugees
Technology is playing an unprecedented role in addressing the global refugee crisis. In part, this is due to a level of collaboration that is new to the traditionally competitive, independent tech community. The massive numbers of people fleeing war and deprivation – over 82,000 refugees sought refuge in the first two months of 2016 alone, […]
Engaging Diaspora in Development and Diplomacy
Diaspora means “to scatter” in Greek, but today we use the term to describe a community of people who live outside their shared country of origin or ancestry but maintain active connections with it. With the rise of globalization, the number of people leaving their home countries to seek education and employment opportunities has skyrocketed. […]
Connecting Corporations and Social Enterprises
By Sheena Raikundalia, Senior Consultant, Intellecap Kenya-focused entrepreneur Moka Lantum, Founder and Managing Director of Microclinics, is preparing for pitch to a large pharmaceutical company. The Nairobi-based healthcare management company provides patient and clinic management systems to peri-urban and rural clinics. The software developed by his company, tracks commodities in clinics and enhances, availability, accessibility, […]
Cross-sector Approaches in Countering Violent Extremism
In the spirit of this year’s Global Partnerships Week (GPW) theme of “Leveraging Innovation in Partnerships”, Concordia has long been a proponent of innovative and collaborative efforts that advance global security agendas combating violent extremism (CVE). Many of the GPW partners, and a number of the affiliated organizations and events this week, have dedicated significant […]
How USAID Views the Future of Partnership
By Chris Jurgens, Director, Center for Transformational Partnerships, U.S. Global Development Lab, U.S. Agency of International Development Today, new economic powers have emerged, private investment to developing countries has soared, and new technologies have opened opportunities as never before. The nature of development is changing, with collaboration across diverse stakeholders now a central feature of […]
US State Department Celebrates Collaboration
By Andrew O’Brien, Special Representative, Global Partnerships The word “partnership” seems to be everywhere these days — and the U.S. Department of State is proud to be at the center of it. While public-private partnerships (P3s) have been around for years, they are increasingly becoming a primary way to achieve our objectives in diplomacy and […]
Reaching the SDGS – New Alliances in Digital Development
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on all of us to work as partners to end extreme poverty, fight inequality, and address climate change. Digital technologies enable government and citizen action towards these global goals. The rising ubiquity of mobile phones, the increased global use of communication and social media applications such as WhatsApp and […]
Business Impacts – Action Where It Matters
The UN’s Global Goals herald a new era where companies are being asked to play their part in solving some big global challenges. They require more action; collaboration; scaled impact; faster change. Business now has to step up. But where should companies focus their efforts? Which impacts matter most for development? In today’s fast-changing world, […]
A New Model for Gender Lens Partnerships
By Suzanne Biegel, Investment Director, SPRING, and Founder/Chief Catalyst, Women Effect On this 2016 International Women’s Day, it pays to reflect on the global partnership efforts achieved since 1975 – the International Women’s Year, when the United Nations (UN) officially started to commemorate the accomplishments towards women’s empowerment and gender equality. The theme set by […]