Hidden Hunger is a Global Killer
As we celebrate the achievements under the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals and look to accelerate progress with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, a silent epidemic is afflicting more than a quarter of humanity — 2 billion people — around the world. It accounts for 11 percent of the global burden of disease. This epidemic disproportionately […]
Rise of the B Corps, and the Revolution they Represent
There is a tangible excitement in the air this week as the international community gathers in New York to usher in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the ambitious new vision for ending poverty and protecting our planet. Beyond the audacious scope of the Goals, something else is happening that is perhaps even more […]
Welcome to GoodCo
Author, “Welcome to GoodCo” and Chair of Trustees, Fair For You 60 of the world’s biggest 100 economic entities are companies, only 40 are countries. This and related facts are often cited in order to attack globalisation, tirade against capitalism generally or illustrate just how hopeless everything is. Despite coming from the left of politics […]
A Productivity Target to Reshape the Development Agenda
Of all the Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 agenda that will be adopted by United Nations (UN) members later this month, the goals that relate to jobs and productivity are amongst the innovative ones that can change the development agenda. It was surprising that it took so long to get these important issues on […]
Reflections on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
Health Programs at Eli Lilly At the UN General Assembly in New York this month, countries will adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide efforts to end poverty and improve lives over the next 15 years. There’s a lot of excitement and buzz around the proposed SDGs—and not just among those involved with global […]
Africa’s Broader Horizons
Africa’s financial flows come from an increasingly diverse range of sources, as public and private investments from Asia, Europe and the Americas compete for the continent’s opportunities. The Bole Lemi industrial park outside of Addis Ababa is a growing line of huge hangars, surrounded by miles of carparks, access roads and the dust from construction […]
Doing Business: A Slow March to Reform
Some African countries are reforming their regulatory environment, but many remain low on international rankings. The World Bank’s Doing Business report has become a standard shorthand of countries’ willingness to reform their business regulations, and every year sub-Saharan African nations feature strongly in its parallel rankings of top reformers. For the second year in a […]
Impact Investing: Growing Outside the Mainstream
A generational shift in investors’ mindsets could drive wider adoption of impact investment, which looks to marry social or environmental outcomes with financial returns. Tony Elumelu is one of Africa’s most recognisable businesspeople, a regular on the whirlwind circuit of economic conferences that has sprung up as the continent’s growth spurt attracts international investors. Elumelu, […]
Africa: Still Rising?
Just as the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative seemed to be winning out in the international media, the ebola outbreak seems to have reversed a trend towards more positive perceptions of the continent. Carlos Lopes waited for years for Africa’s narrative to change from the poverty-ridden, fly-specked images of the 1980s and 1990s to something that more […]
Improving Market Access for the Poor
What is the development issue? More than 80% of Malawi’s 17 million people live in rural areas, and agricultural labourers make up 90% of the total labour force1. Despite the fact that Malawi’s economy is based on agriculture, the country depends primarily on one major export crop – tobacco – which accounts for more than […]
In a Hungry Africa, We Cannot Wait for Pigs to Fly
Poverty and hunger often go hand-in-hand. But in my country of Uganda, farmers are generating a revolution that is overcoming both, and it is based on pigs. In the past 30 years, the number of pigs raised in Uganda has increased from about 200,000 to 3.2 million pigs. Today, more than one million Ugandan farmers […]
The Holy Grail of Inclusive Market Development
There is something satisfying knowing that when you buy your ethically sourced tea or coffee you are making a contribution to a movement that is helping to improve the lives and businesses of millions of poor producers. I can’t say I’ve ever got the same fuzzy feeling whilst serving my kids Malawian pigeon peas for […]
Brewing up Success for Tanzanian Coffee Farmers
By Ciara O’Sullivan, VSO VSO volunteer Joseph Ochuma is an Agronomist working with Karagwe Development and Relief Services (KADERES). KADERES is an NGO based in the Kagera region of North West Tanzania. Joseph started his current placement in 2012, although he was not new to VSO having previously volunteered at VSO Malawi working with the […]
Empowering Women Through Access to Water
By Hanneke Willenborg, VP Global Dishwash, Unilever Access to clean water is both a lifeline and an opportunity. As more and more communities around the world face water scarcity, the burden of collecting water increasingly falls on the shoulders of women and girls. It’s estimated that globally women spend 200 million hours every single day […]
New Generation of Business Leaders for Africa
Do you remember some of your most productive learning moments as an adult? They likely involved solving problems that were relevant to your life or working environment, and in a non-formal teaching environment. I vividly remember some “accelerated” learning experiences like arriving in Rwanda – my first Africa experience – with what I thought was […]
New Tools & Rules for Businesses in Global Development
Addis Ababa hosted the Third UN Financing for Development conference from 13 to 16 July to improve the quantity and quality of financial flows for development. The resulting Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) addressed the right problems, but it provided little tangible and time-bound answers. The follow-up process of the UN FfD Forum will therefore […]
New Tools & Rules for Businesses in Global Development
Addis Ababa hosted the Third UN Financing for Development conference from 13 to 16 July to improve the quantity and quality of financial flows for development. The resulting Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) addressed the right problems, but it provided little tangible and time-bound answers. The follow-up process of the UN FfD Forum will therefore […]
‘100 Under $100′ Tools for Women’s Empowerment
In her new book ‘100 Under $100’, Betsy Teutsch rounds up a hundred innovative yet affordable tools and practices that can make a huge difference in the lives of poor women in low-income countries. Agroforestry is among these innovations. Many of the tools featured, like childhood immunization, handwashing, and clean birth kits—are lifesaving. Others, like […]
Navigating Large Companies: Tips for Practitioners
For the theme on working with large companies on The Practitioner Hub I have assembled some tips from my hard-won experience for anyone working with a company on an inclusive business initiative. I have the perspective of an external practitioner engaging with counterparts from inside the business, but I suspect that company employees may face […]
Low-Income Millennials Present Big Market Opportunities
Hardly a day passes without a new article on how businesses are analyzing the needs, wants and spending trends of millennials. In the US alone, millennials (or Generation Y), those born between 1980 and 2000, represent 30 percent of the population. By 2025 they will be 75 percent of the workforce. The impact that millennials […]