Climate Resilience for Micro-Retailers: Why this is Your Next Strategic Priority
Across Southeast Asia, millions of micro-retailers keep communities supplied with food, medicine and everyday essentials. They are the last link in value chains, the face of brands in low-income neighbourhoods, and a vital source of jobs particularly for women and young people. Yet many of these entrepreneurs run on razor-thin margins and face repeated disruption […]
Embedding a Commitment to Responsible Purchasing Practices
Industry purchasing practices The purchasing practices of brands and retailers can have a significant impact on workers in the supply chain. The way in which a company engages with supply chain partners to plan products, negotiate costs and pay for orders has a bearing on the supplier’s ability to invest in good working conditions, manage […]
Women Entrepreneurs: The Untapped Engine of Global Economic Growth
On Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we should recognise an often-overlooked truth: women entrepreneurs are not just good for advancing equality – they are essential to the world’s economic future. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that if women participated in economies equally to men, some countries could boost GDP by up to 40 per cent. Yet, […]
Strengthening Supply Chains by Tackling Gender Inequality and the Climate Crisis
Across low- and middle-income countries, gender and economic inequalities are fuelling hunger and deepening the impacts of climate change. As climate shocks intensify, inequalities are magnified, keeping families trapped in cycles of hunger and poverty. Diageo and CARE set out to address these challenges together in Tanzania – demonstrating that empowering women farmers and people […]
Investing in Women-Led Organisations to Fight Climate Impacts in Global Supply Chain Communities
The human toll of climate impacts is not the same for men and women. It impacts women in unique ways, amplifying existing inequalities and threatening their health, well-being, and economic resilience. As world leaders, researchers, activists, and advocates prepare to gather for COP30, it’s time to recognize and respond to the impacts of climate risks which present specific challenges for women workers and their communities, especially in climate-vulnerable countries. In Bangladesh, migration to Dhaka due to […]
Help Shape the UK’s Approach to Business and Human Rights: Take Part in the National Baseline Assessment
Take Part in the Survey The UK Government has launched a National Baseline Assessment (NBA) to evaluate how well the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) are being implemented across the UK. This marks a pivotal moment to help shape future policy and practice on human rights. Commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth […]
Young Leaders Driving Environmental Change Win The Iris Prize 2025
Winners have been announced for The Iris Prize 2025, a global award supporting young environmental leaders aged 14-24 with funding, expert mentorship, and bespoke skill-building opportunities. This year’s winners include Breathe Mongolia, Viaje al Microcosmos de Nuevo León (Mexico), and Project Lawud (the Philippines), each demonstrating how youth-led innovation is driving real change for people […]
Views from the Global Goals Summit on Business Fights Poverty’s New Report: Making the Five Bridges to 2045 a Reality
The Business Fights Poverty community felt broadly positive about the future despite the challenging headwinds (from geopolitical uncertainty to pushback on ESG funds and everything in between). It is probably fair to say that most felt in agreement with the recent Accenture survey ,which found that 88% of CEOs see the business case for sustainability […]
Collaborative Climate Action Starts with Workers
Fatema, a garment operator in Dhaka, Bangladesh, got no sleep before her shift that day. With floodwater seeping into her family’s home, she spent hours moving her family’s belongings onto their bed. When she arrived at work exhausted and with muddy clothes from walking to the factory, the lack of soap and clean water combined […]
What Happens When Women Entrepreneurs Are Left Out of Business Growth Strategies?
What we risk if low-income women are left out of acceleration With aid budgets shrinking and governments under pressure to raise more tax revenue, the private sector plays an important role in delivering jobs, growth and opportunity. One approach gaining ground is business acceleration: intensive programmes that help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access finance, […]
Inclusive Advertising: The Case for Marcomms for a Better World
Most – perhaps all – of the world’s challenges are founded in large part on problematic attitudes and beliefs. Among these challenges, discrimination based on race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation and more is arguably the most pernicious. It exacts huge economic costs and, more fundamentally, ruins and even ends lives. It robs us all […]
Open Source, Open Learning: Unlocking Innovation for Social Impact
Innovation is often associated with the resources of large corporations—dedicated research teams, big budgets, and formal labs. But real progress has never been confined to institutions. Across history, innovation has come from people sharing what they know, testing ideas together, and building on each other’s insights. Today, digital technology makes knowledge more accessible than ever […]
Progress Has Stalled in Closing the Mobile Internet Gender Gap; Why Does it Matter, and What Can We Do?
In today’s increasingly connected world, mobile phones and mobile internet can transform lives by providing connectivity, information, healthcare, education, e-commerce, financial services and income opportunities from anywhere. Mobile remains the primary – and often only – way that people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) access the internet, especially women.The mobile internet gender gap. While more […]
Unlocking the “Missing Middle”: A New Agenda to De-risk Youth Entrepreneurship and Drive Economic Growth
Youth Entrepreneurship: A Missed Opportunity for Sustainable Economic Growth Across the world, young entrepreneurs are building businesses with the potential to transform economies — creating jobs, driving innovation, and strengthening resilience. Yet far too many are stuck in the “missing middle”: too big for microfinance, too small or risky for mainstream investors. The result? Their […]
Turning Potential into Prosperity – How Business Can Help Refugees Thrive
Europe is home to 25.6 million forcibly displaced people, including 13.6 million refugees (1). With the intensification of climate change and the persistence of conflict and instability in the world, the number of refugees and forcibly displaced people is only going to grow. The business case for integrating migrants more broadly into the global economy […]
Online Gender-Based Violence Limits Global Economic Growth, Research Reveals.
Read the full report “Empowered or Undermined: Women Entrepreneurs & the Digital Economy” The business world is now online, but so is men’s violence. In a time where customers, suppliers, and financiers are increasingly connecting through digital platforms, businesses simply can’t afford to stay offline. However, women business owners often encounter gendered barriers that hold […]
How Garment, Footwear and Textile Businesses Can Improve Women Workers’ Career Advancement
The global garment, footwear, and textiles industry is facing a growing wave of disruption—from climate change and automation to shifting trade patterns and increasing demands for equity and transparency. As these pressures reshape the future of work, they present not only significant challenges but also an opportunity to reimagine advancement and leadership in the sector […]
Reducing Child Labour in Palm Oil: A Model for Business-NGO Collaboration
How a unique collaboration between a palm oil Business and two NGOs, one in the UK, the other in Sierra Leone, has seen child labour plummet. Over the past three years, APT Action on Poverty (APT), a UK‐based NGO with extensive experience in addressing rural poverty, has worked in partnership with Planting Naturals, a Dutch […]
Closing the Healthcare Gap: Scaling Hybrid Solutions for Low-income Communities
Primary healthcare is the foundation of any resilient health system. Yet, in many low- and middle-income countries, that foundation remains dangerously thin. Clinics are too few as there are just 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people in lower-income countries, compared to 5.6 in high-income ones. Additionally, for many people, cost and distance put even basic […]
Power Through Partnerships: How Learning Networks Drive Success for Women Entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs are playing an increasingly pivotal role in driving global economic growth. Their innovation, resilience, and determination continue to shape industries and communities alike. Yet despite their growing impact, women-owned small businesses often face persistent barriers – particularly when it comes to accessing finance. Addressing these systemic challenges demands collaboration across sectors, and one powerful approach […]