Who’s Innovating at the BOP?
Solar-powered milk cooling systems in Ethiopia, bio-gas charges for electric devices in Bangladesh, testing kits for substandard medicines in Kenya; these are just three of the many innovations that served as an anchor for discussion at last month’s “Implementing Inclusive Innovation” conference, hosted by the BoP Innovation Center in Amsterdam. The Business Call to Action […]
Savings-led Microfinance – A Growing Force in Global Development
Savings-led microfinance is today gaining significant traction as a development tool, with a growing number of businesses, financial institutions and NGOs now viewing this method of supporting financial inclusion as best practice. At Barclays we see huge potential in the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA’s) that form the core of savings-led microfinance, and for […]
IFC: What Does It Take to Create Jobs?
By Roland Michelitsch, Manager and Leader of IFC’s Jobs Study, International Finance Corporation (IFC) With so many young workers joining the labor force, more than 600 million jobs must be created by the end of the decade just to maintain today’s employment levels. The vast majority—90 percent, by most estimates—must come from the private sector. […]
Can partnerships feed the world?
Global food systems are increasingly at risk. Rising demand, scarce resources and increased volatility are putting new pressures on agriculture and food systems. More than 870 million people are chronically hungry, many of whom are small farmers. Farmers are not the only ones struggling. Governments, companies, international agencies and civil society groups are looking for […]
Karel De Gucht: Helping developing countries trade their way out of poverty
One thing is for sure: No country has ever lifted itself out of poverty without international trade. Trade is key to help countries develop. So we need to make sure that people in the world’s poorest countries have access to markets, to create jobs and encourage growth as a result. But trade needs the right […]
Aid for Trade- Continued Success in a Rapidly Evolving Environment
“Aid for Trade” has galvanised broad engagement from the international community to support developing countries to make the most of international trade. Successive Global Reviews have provided clear evidence that the Initiative has lead to an integration of trade policies in national development strategies, to an inclusion of trade considerations in planning frameworks and consultations […]
The Importance of Aid for Trade
Photo: WTO Aid for Trade is as relevant today as it was when the Initiative was launched at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005. Developing countries, and in particular Least-Developed Countries (LDCs), have made measurable progress in their participation in the global trading system. But for many, this participation still remains too narrowly focused […]
SolarAid's 'SunnyMoney' becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]
SolarAid’s ‘SunnyMoney’ becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]
Jin-Yong Cai: How to end poverty? The private sector is part of the solution
Four years after the global financial crisis struck, the world still faces major economic challenges. Shocks from Europe, Asia, or the United States could undermine recoveries in many developing countries, hurting the poor the most. The threat is acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half the population still lives in poverty, and many countries remain […]
How to end poverty? The Private Sector is Part of the Solution
Four years after the global financial crisis struck, the world still faces major economic challenges. Shocks from Europe, Asia, or the United States could undermine recoveries in many developing countries, hurting the poor the most. The threat is acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half the population still lives in poverty, and many countries remain […]
Discussion: What advice for achieving success at the BoP?
Discussion: Achieving success at the BoP?
A philanthropic strategy for enhancing the reach and impact of individuals, organizations and nonprofits
What would you do if you found out you were using less than 1% of the resources available to help you achieve your philanthropic goals? Here’s what I did. I have served philanthropic and social good organizations in some capacity for most of my adult life. A common theme I saw along the way was […]
Simon Brown: Corporate volunteering in China – a massive opportunity
Photo credit: Arup The role of the private sector in development is evolving rapidly, nowhere more so than in China where the role of the private sector per se has changed so dramatically in the last decade. With this in mind, VSO China began research into corporate volunteering in China earlier this year. The results, […]
Paul Polak: Achieving Success at the BoP
Question: If you build a better mousetrap will the world beat a path to your door? Answer: Without superb marketing and distribution nobody beats a path to your door. In my work with a multitude of affordable technologies over the past 30 years, one key feature has become abundantly clear: If you have met the […]
The Next Mobile Revolution: Boosting Women's Entrepreneurship via Mobile Money
For Marion, the challenge of starting her own business was not lack of initiative – she had plenty – but rather dearth of start-up capital. At 20-years old, Marion dropped out of school because she didn’t have sufficient school fees. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she lives, this is a common trend for many […]
The Next Mobile Revolution: Boosting Women’s Entrepreneurship via Mobile Money
For Marion, the challenge of starting her own business was not lack of initiative – she had plenty – but rather dearth of start-up capital. At 20-years old, Marion dropped out of school because she didn’t have sufficient school fees. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she lives, this is a common trend for many […]
BBC Three journalist, Stacey Dooley, visits lendwithcare.org entrepreneurs in Bosnia-Herzegovina
In early December BBC Three journalist, Stacey Dooley, accompanied staff from The Co-operative and CARE to visit female entrepreneurs in Bosnia-Herzegovina who have received microloans through lendwithcare.org. DAY ONE So here we are, arrived in Sarajevo. I’ve been given an amazing tour of the city by lendwithcare.org’s local microfinance partner and CARE Bosnia. Then straight […]
What role for Islamic microfinance?
Conventional interest based microfinance has come under increasing scrutiny and its benefits questioned in recent years. Does Islamic microfinance present a viable alternative? Quite possibly. Islamic, more correctly termed Shari’ah compliant’, finance is based on principles that include linking transactions to tangible economic activities, excluding financial speculation and excessive uncertainty, and funding only socially productive […]