Category: Gender

Best Practices from a Small Nonprofit on the Big CSR Trend

Can tea and running shoes help the poorest of the poor? Well, no. Not exactly. But if you put corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the mix, you have a recipe for a unique business strategy that supports sustainable development. Trickle Up, a U.S.-based, nonprofit, global poverty alleviation organization focused on helping the poorest of the […]

What your BOP strategy is Missing: A Gender Lens

Debate on the possibilities at the base of the pyramid (BOP) is ubiquitous; nonetheless, too often regulated to a post-script is that frequently when we refer to the BOP what we actually mean is women at the BOP. It’s time to stop discussing the BOP as a single, homogenous entity and start looking more specifically […]

The Latest Tool for Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania

Mama Muze, a widow in Dar es Salaam, has always had an interest in producing her own food products. After retiring as a banker, she set up her own food processing business, making chilli sauce and packaging it in jars with her own personalised labels. The primary challenge she faces is getting more customers. She […]

The Hunger Alliance: Investing in Small-Scale Women Farmers

There’s already enough food in the world for everyone, but one person in eight goes hungry every night, and 2.3 million children die needlessly each year from malnutrition. What can be done about it? A report published by the Hunger Alliance suggests investing more in small-scale women farmers would be a good start. Three quarters […]

Empowering women at scale requires a strong business case and partnership

Coca-Cola, like many other businesses, recognises that our business growth journey in emerging economies will only be sustainable if the benefits of growth reach all members of society, especially those who traditionally have been marginalised, including women and young people. As a business, we believe that there is no better investment than women, both to […]

Event Audio: Empowering Women through Business -Bridging the Financing Gap, Cape Town

On 10 May 2013, The Coca-Cola Company and Business Fights Poverty convened a breakfast event, taking place in the margins of the Africa World Economic Forum, to explore how to strengthen support for women entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on enabling access to finance. A compelling social, economic and business case for investing in the […]

Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business in Uganda

On 2 March, 2013, as part of the 2013 Series, a group of inspiring people came together in Kampala to talk about “Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business”. The event was livestreamed here on Business Fights Poverty, and the focus of a blog by one of the event’s lead organisers, Ida Horner. Hope […]

Igniting a culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa

“Often businesses are not focused on the future – they think small and I encourage them to dream big,” says Olga Lutz. Dignified and determined, Lutz knows the power of big thinking. Despite her modest roots in Zwelihle township outside Hermanus in South Africa, she has developed a small consulting business and skills centre – […]

Arafa: The Tanzanian Solar Engineer Leading the Way for Other Women in Her Village

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by women in some of the poorest communities in the world and to recognise the impact economic empowerment and increased participation in public life can have on their lives. Arafa, a mother of four from a rural community in Southern Tanzania, was chosen by […]

Arafa- the Tanzanian solar engineer leading the way for other women in her village

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by women in some of the poorest communities in the world and to recognise the impact economic empowerment and increased participation in public life can have on their lives. Arafa, a mother of four from a rural community in Southern Tanzania, was chosen by […]

Empowering women through skills development in Tanzania’s oil and gas industry

BG Group entered Tanzania in 2010 with a genuine commitment to making a positive contribution to the lives of the Tanzanian people as much as to the country’s economy. As a world leader in natural gas with activities in more than 20 countries, we understand the importance of investing in sustainable development to ensure the […]

Cocoa Life- the project empowering women in Ghana’s cocoa growing communities

Cocoa has been grown in Ghana for over one hundred years and it is the second export crop for my country after gold. However we found that the supply of cocoa was dwindling because of many challenges. Young people were not getting involved in cocoa farming leaving such labour-intensive farming like cocoa farming in the […]

Is there a business case for women as part of global supply chains?

Research commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that many international food companies could improve crop productivity and quality, grow the smallholder supply base and improve access to high value markets when they increase women participation. However, in spite of such evidence problems for African women in business persist and the same research […]

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 […]

The challenges facing women micro entrepreneurs

Lendwithcare.org, CARE International Women microentrepreneurs face many difficulties in developing their businesses: lack of appropriate skills, lack of mobility and lack of infrastructure may all pose significant challenges. In such instances the provision of microfinance to address the problem of lack of capital may have a limited effect unless steps are taken to address other […]

Fashioning Sustainability With Style

Photo: Sougha Designer Training Emirati Artisan Saima Al Mansoori Ayesha Mustafa, Founder and Director, Fashion ComPassion Fashion ComPassion was created as a retail platform for socially responsible fashion labels. Through a combination of online sales and distribution, pop-up shops and boutique exhibitions, a global marketplace is given access to the brands we work with and, […]