Why Job Creation Is King in Africa, Just Like Everywhere Else
At the recent Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town, one of the themes of debate was the ‘post 2015’ goals, which the United Nations community will set itself when the existing Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015. I spoke at an event hosted by Business Fights Poverty where the audience seemed divided over whether these […]
Business, the MDGs and Beyond, May 2013, Cape Town
On 8 May 2013, Business Fights Poverty and the Overseas Development Institute convened an event in Cape Town to explore the role of the private sector in shaping and delivering the post-2015 development agenda. As the world starts to explore what framework might replace the MDGs, it is important to integrate the views of those […]
The Power Of Partnership And The Complexity Of Creating Meaningful Change
It started with people and the idea that we, at Coca-Cola, could marry our business interests and expertise to make our products available, acceptable and affordable with the ever growing potential of African agriculture. It seems like a simple transaction for farmers to grow, buy and sell food. However, the reality is a complex one […]
TechnoServe: Laying The Foundation For Sustainable Change
In eastern Uganda, the members of the Kainja Mango Farmers Association once let their mangoes fall to the ground and rot. Buyers considered the local variety, the Sena, to be too low-quality for pulping and juicing. As a result, farmers never cultivated mangoes as a cash crop. Project Nurture, a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, […]
Using education to sustain Africa’s growth
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report tells us that sustained economic growth across Africa is due, at least in part, to institutional reforms in the health and primary education sectors. Education increases economic growth, helps families and communities to prosper, and empowers people to gain employment and live healthier, more fulfilling lives. In the […]
Business and the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda: Where next?
On 17 April, Business Fights Poverty, the Overseas Development Institute and Stakeholder Forum convened an event in London on “Business and a Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda: Where next?“. Speakers included Louise Haigh, Public Policy Manager, Aviva; Marianne Mwaniki, Senior Manager, Group Public Affairs, Standard Chartered; Alice Allan, Head of Advocacy, CARE International UK; Dominic White, […]
Ending Poverty through Partnership
Back in 2000, the international community took the unprecedented step of setting itself some ambitious goals to tackle world poverty. With only a few years left to meet these Millennium Development Goals, much has been achieved but much remains to be done. While it is right that we do everything in our power to ensure […]
Ian Lobo: From good to great – how to scale up successful programmes
One of the challenges in the international development sector relates to what is sometimes described as “pilot paralysis”. If that’s an unfair description of the fact that many successful development programmes seem to get stuck at a relatively small scale, then perhaps we can agree it’s a cause for concern that not enough impactful programmes […]
Linzi Moore: The ‘HOW’ behind Cross-Sector Partnerships
Richard Bostock, IMA International The challenge I have been a big believer in the power of cross-sector partnerships to positively impact development for a while now. However, the more research I did on the subject, the more complex the whole thing became. I wanted to find out the practicalities of HOW to make partnerships work… […]
Launch Of The BCtA In Sweden And Announcement Of IKEA’s Commitment
Sahba Sobhani, Program Manager, Business Call to Action, UNDP and Carolina Benedictsson, Program Manager, Global Cooperation Unit, Sida Developing business models that offer both commercial success and development impact has been at the core of the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a worthwhile initiative supported by UNDP and other partners since 2008 to assists companies […]
Barbara Crowther: Making international supply chains work for smallholder farmers
Fairtrade Foundation In the wake of recent food scandals, the need to increase focus on building more transparent and accountable food supply chains has once again been in the spotlight. Seeking greater transparency between trading partners, from consumer to retailer to small farmer organisations will also be one of the themes under discussion at a […]
Development in Transition
This morning the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, gave a major speech on international development, setting out her priorities for the Department for International Development (DFID). The event was hosted by ONE Campaign UK. Below is a transcript of the speech: I’ve been privileged to head up DFID now as Secretary […]
Melanne Verveer and Kris M. Balderston, U.S. Department of State: Celebrating the Power of Collaboration
Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted over 200 representatives from business, non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups to celebrate the power of collaboration. As one of the last events the Secretary hosted, the meeting was momentous. Not only for the more than $80 million in public-private partnerships announced but also because it showcased […]
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 […]
Building an inclusive businessmovement in the Asia-Pacific
How can corporate Australia do more to address global poverty? This was the question that in 2006 brought together a group of leading and progressive Australian companies, and soon after, led to the formation of Business for Millennium Development (previously named Business for Poverty Relief Alliance). Founded as a collaboration between government, business and charity, […]
Beyond the MDGs: Business and the New Development Agenda
At a recent event in New York held to coincide with UN General Assembly week, I joined senior representatives from the private sector, development organisations, NGOs and academia to discuss the role for business in developing and delivering a new development framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. In defining a role […]
The Role of Business and Post-2015
Business plays a crucial role in the development process. Without small businesses creating jobs, or large business innovating and creating products that can transform the lives of poor people, we would not have witnessed such remarkable progress toward the current Millennium Development Goals. Business was largely an afterthought in the development of the MDG framework. […]
DFID, Business and the Post-2015 Agenda
Last week members of the UN High Level Panel met in London to discuss the successor to the Millennium Development Goal framework. The meetings, co-chaired by PM Cameron, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, represent a unique opportunity to reflect on what new framework could drive poverty eradication when the […]
DFID, Business and the Post-2015 Development Agenda
Last week members of the UN High Level Panel met in London to discuss the successor to the Millennium Development Goal framework. The meetings, co-chaired by PM Cameron, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, represent a unique opportunity to reflect on what new framework could drive poverty eradication when the […]
What is the role of business in achieving development goals post-2015?
In the period since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established business has made a considerable impact on poverty reduction. In the second edition of ‘Business and the MDGs: A Framework for Action’, published in 2008, IBLF identified the three spheres of influence though which the positive impacts of business occur: core business, community investment […]