Stop Talking and Start Listening: Women Respond in Crisis
There are few certainties in life, but one I have come to recognize, is that women in crisis will always take incredible action – whether there is outside intervention or not. As we release the latest findings of our Women Respond survey – a major listening exercise with thousands of women in our Village Savings […]
Why Empowering Women is Smart Economics
A 34-year-old mother of five, Mestawet lives in the town of Wendo Genet, in Ethiopia’s forested highlands. She had long earned a small income for her family by handwashing other people’s clothes. But her life changed for the better when she became a sales agent for Kidame Mart – a social enterprise that empowers female […]
Evidence-Based Decision Making: Programs for Women-Owned Small Businesses
Despite its value, evidence-based decision-making may often be overlooked due to its complexity. It requires a lot of thoughtful consideration. For instance, to use evidence effectively, we need to understand the impact of research designs on the quality of the results, recognize potential biases that may lead to over-reliance on a single perspective, and learn […]
Supply Chain Decarbonisation with a Gender Lens
The urgency of the climate crisis means that a growing number of companies are investing resources to better understand and reduce emissions across their supply chains, including indirect or Scope 3 emissions. Frameworks – such as the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard – have been developed to help support this process; however, […]
Social Entrepreneurs Advancing the SDGs Through Systems Change Strategies
How Social Entrepreneurs Advance Sustainable Development Goals in Africa Through Systems Change Strategies Despite significant progress in the alleviation of poverty and in promoting health and education, recent reports indicate that the international community seems far from achieving the SDGs by 2030. In the 2022 SDG report, the United Nations Secretary General has called for […]
Navigating Leadership and Governance on Sustainability
Navigating Leadership and Governance on Sustainability: Insights from The Sustainability Boards’ 2023 Annual ESG Preparedness Report In a world increasingly conscious of its footprint, the evolution of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) is a worldwide focus. The Sustainability Board’s 2023 Annual ESG Preparedness Report offers invaluable insights into global boards’ approaches to sustainability governance and director’s […]
Unlocking Women’s Economic Power isn’t Rocket Science
Unlocking Women’s Economic Power What if I told you that the financial sector has been favoring the wrong gender – that often women entrepreneurs are a better credit-risk than men and their businesses have higher returns? Women put their profits back into their families and communities. They create more jobs and bring greater prosperity. In fact, investing […]
Why a Food-Secure Future Means Focusing on Smallholder Farmers
Today, World Children’s Day, is a fitting day for the UK government to host the Global Food Security Summit, an event focused on achieving Zero Hunger and ending malnutrition. Ending hunger by 2030 is the second of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets that were internationally agreed in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, […]
Empowering Ghanaian Women in Sustainable Shea Trading
Shea butter, a natural fat from Shea nuts, comes from Shea trees, indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. Shea trees take 15 years to produce their first nuts. Shea butter is the only natural fat that contains all the nutrients the skin needs and its production is a centuries-old craft practiced by local women for cooking and skincare. […]
Introducing the Strive Community Small Business Evidence Map
Designing and implementing impactful small business support programs requires thoughtful consideration of the decision-making process. Typically, decisions are made based on a combination of existing theories, past experience, and evidence of what does or doesn’t work. While each of these approaches is valuable, evidence-based decision-making may be overlooked due to its complexity. To use evidence […]
The Business of Care: Standard Chartered Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Anglo American Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Unilever Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Primark Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
Capturing Natural Goodness In Hazelnuts From Soil To Snack
As you walk around the villages tucked away in Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea hills, every sight and sound is permeated by hazelnuts, or Findik. They carpet the towering hillsides, they’re in conversations in supermarkets and gas stations, and on display behind glass cabinets in hotels and restaurants. You can understand why this is the world’s […]
Improving Health Financing and Health Outcomes
According to the report published by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of the world’s vulnerable population including women, children, and adolescents did not have access to essential and quality health services at the point of 2021. THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2023 estimates that 287,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes in 2020 and […]
Business’s Role in Advancing Women, Children, and Adolescents’ Wellbeing
Delivering a Healthier Future: Business’s Strategic Role in Advancing Women, Children, and Adolescents’ Wellbeing A clear link exists between economic prosperity and the health of women, children, and adolescents. For business, engaging in global health is not only a moral obligation but also aligns with strategic economic decisions that promote gender equality, enhance economic growth, and […]
Changing Attitudes and Empowering Young Girls in Senegal
“I can see now that I have prospects. I want to become someone and help lift my family out of poverty. Only then I will think about marriage.” Mariama, Senegal. This is the personal impact that the Invest in Maternal and Child Health – ISMEA pilot project had on Mariama, a 13-year-old girl living in Goudiry, Senegal. […]
An Agenda to Address Inequality in Sustainable Finance Decision-Making
The Private Sector and Inequality The private sector can contribute to inequalities in terms of influencing the distribution of risk and return between stakeholders. Workers assume significant risk and likewise contribute to value creation. However, their “social” or “human capital” is often undervalued and therefore rewarded much less than financial capital. Investors can also contribute […]