Empowering Women in the Economy – Take-aways and Next Steps
CARE was delighted to host yesterday’s event to a full house of business leaders, global experts, and civil society actors to talk about how the private sector can empower women in the economy, including by implementing the UN High Level Panel (HLP) on Women’s Economic Empowerment’s new recommendations. Thank you to all the panellists and […]
Empower a Woman and a Whole Cocoa Community will Thrive
Do you know where chocolate comes from? Do you wonder who produced the cocoa in your chocolate and under what circumstances? Do you care if the chocolate you buy is sourced in a responsible way, with equal access and opportunity for women? Without cocoa there is no chocolate, and without the next generation of cocoa […]
Supporting Corporate Social Innovation to Bring Mobile Services to Smallholder Farmers
Interview with Tegan Palmer, Business Intelligence Manager, mAgri program, GSMA. Q: Tegan, you are the Business Intelligence Manager at the mAgri program at GSMA. What does the mAgri program do? A: We catalyze scalable, commercial mobile services that improve the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers and benefit the agriculture sector in emerging markets. We […]
Using Customer Data to Crack the Last-mile Distribution Challenge
You can’t manage what you don’t know. While we’d probably all subscribe to that maxim, it’s one that rings especially true for organizations seeking to serve the more than four billion low-income people living at the base of the pyramid (BoP). BoP markets have long been heralded for their potential to drive economic growth and […]
Women’s Financial Inclusion in West Africa: From Policy to Practice
The Decade of African Women – launched in 2010 by the African Union – has seen significant strides made by African countries to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Notable within West Africa has been the drive towards women’s economic empowerment. Launched in October 2010 as the Decade of African Women, 2010 to 2020 was […]
An ILO Convention on Gender Based Violence in the Workplace
Why businesses should support the proposed ILO Convention on Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work The ILO is now in a process of considering whether to establish a new instrument or instruments on “Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work”. This is […]
Translating the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment into Action
Business Fights Poverty welcomed the creation early last year of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Not surprisingly, women’s empowerment is an issue of great importance to many members of the Business Fights Poverty community. In support of the Panel’s work we crafted a Challenge on Women’s Economic Empowerment, in partnership with […]
Financial Education for Girls: Breaking Cycles of Poverty
On September 13, 2017, we will be holding an event with guest speakers Eva Halper from Credit Suisse Global Education Initiative and Aukje te Kaat from Aflatoun International to discuss the Credit Suisse initiative around financial education for girls. In addition, two Plan International managers from China and Brazil who are directly implementing the program […]
A New Way of Working with SMEs to Tackle the Refugee Crisis
By Kathryn Taetzsch, Senior Relief Coordinator & Private Sector Engagement Lead, Global Humanitarian Operations, World Vision International The scope of the challenge… a people-centered approach with “new actors” Out of about 65.3 Mio people who have been forcibly displaced, 21.3 Mio refugees worldwide require humanitarian assistance in recurrent or protracted crises. The international community is […]
Empowering Women in the Economy: Major Event for Business Leaders and Global Experts, London 6 Sept 2017
On Wednesday 6 September, business leaders and global experts will convene in London to discuss how the private sector can advance the 2017 recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Why does it matter, and what will it mean for women – and for business? CARE is really pleased to be […]
Enabling Youth Entrepreneurship in West Africa
An Interview with Isaac Aggrey, CEO, African Social Entrepreneurs Network BFP: First of all, please introduce yourself to the Business Fights Poverty community. I am passionate about providing effective financial solutions to benefit local entrepreneurs, social impact investors, and most importantly, people at all levels of society, especially women entrepreneurs. I am the CEO of […]
The Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Searches for Innovative, New and Scalable Solutions for the Rural Poor
The Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity has just launched its 2017 competition. The Fund is a US$ 50 million facility established by the Mastercard Foundation in 2015 with the aim of spurring financial systems development in rural and agricultural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund supports innovative financial solutions for design, pilot and testing […]
Rethinking Collaboration: Research Perspectives
On July 10 and 11, over 300 people came together for our annual flagship event, Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2017 at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The headline sponsor for the event was Mars Inc. It was held in association with the Center for Business and Poverty at the University of Wisconsin Madison and […]
Scaling Inclusive Business Models at the Nexus of Poverty and Environment
Scaling Inclusive Business Models at the Nexus of Poverty And Environment: Case Studies from the Philippines To date, many actors involved in poverty alleviation and environmental protection have operated in silos. Although both sectors follow ecosystem approaches, in the first, impact is seen as positive and desirable, and in the latter, impact is seen as […]
Shining a Bright Light on the Role of Digital Payments in Expanding Energy for All
In an age of evolving technology and development, there may be an extraordinary disconnect in addressing the problem of energy access. Consider Vivian who lives in the Western Region of Ghana, about an hour’s drive north of Takoradi. She has a farm but most of her income is derived from buying and selling cooking oil. […]
Bridging the Gap – Supporting Youth Employability
By Hester le Roux, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty We are pleased to announce the launch of a new guide to business support for youth skills development. “Bridging the Gap: Supporting Youth Employability” was produced as part of the Business Fights Poverty Challenge on Youth Employability, which is supported by Anglo American, Barclays, BRAC, Citi, […]
Family Planning – It’s Everyone’s Business
To achieve the ambitious and urgent goal of reaching 120 million women with family planning will take significant political and financial will by governments – which is why the forthcoming Family Planning Summit is so welcome. But what about the role of business? How do we convince them that family planning is something that directly […]
Contributing to the SDGs through Advocacy Partnerships
The contribution of business to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is often viewed through the lens of core business, social investment, and public advocacy and policy engagement, a framework first introduced by Jane Nelson[1]. Whilst core business and social investment have received much attention over the years, there has been little focus on the positive […]
Empowering Smallholder Farmers to Improve their Incomes
By David Norman, Challenge Director, Business Fights Poverty Millions of smallholders live in poverty, unable to meet basic needs. Smallholder farmers need to improve their incomes and competitiveness if they are to achieve and sustain a decent standard of living, reinvest in their farms, and continue to supply a sustainable crop to multinational companies. The […]
Unlocking Private Sector Investment to Deliver the SDGs in Challenging Places
There is an estimated $2.5 trillion financing gap needed to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Should the gap not be filled, it is possible that we will fail in the attempt to realise the global ambition to “end poverty and hunger, and achieve sustainable development”. The debate around the most effective models for […]