For Sustainable Solutions to the Refugee Crisis, Business will be Key
Anyone who follows the news is well aware that we are in the midst of a global refugee crisis of massive proportions. What may be less apparent from the coverage is that this crisis is long-term in nature. According to the UN Refugee Agency, by the end of 2015, there were 21.3 million refugees around […]
Why Should We Care About Menstrual Hygiene?
The theme of this year’s International Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) was education. The founders of MHD argue that education on menstrual hygiene changes everything. They call for improved information and menstrual hygiene education for boys, men, teachers, health workers and other professionals so that they can break down negative social norms and provide accurate information […]
Can Technology Make Africa Happy?
The phenomenal growth of mobile technology in Africa with apps such as M-Pesa and Eco-Cash has made banking possible even for my 91-year-old grandmother, who lives in a Zimbabwean village. This grassroots approach to innovation has opened up tailored and useful apps to mobile phone users across the African continent. My grandmother now even has […]
Emerging Trends in Digital Delivery of Agri-finance
This is the first in a series of three blogs on the role of technology in the rural finance projects supported by The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity (FRP). In this first blog, we explore the major trends in digital delivery that the Fund is seeing in its portfolio. In the second blog, we […]
Building Efficiency for Farmers in Kenya – Replacing Cash with Digital Repayments
The shift to digital payments has enormous potential for eliminating rural poverty. Success stories from places like Kenya show that potential can turn into real-life impact, as mobile payments help to boost productivity for smallholder farmers. Just this week, a new case study by the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance presents how the agriculture […]
Respect for Human Rights: Creating a Holistic Framework for Business Contributions to the SDGs
This short framework for analysis and action offers a straightforward way for any company to work out how it should and can contribute to sustainable development. What’s the current problem with the way some organizations are talking about business contributions to sustainable development – and what’s a better path forward? 1. The problem: misunderstanding the […]
The UPS International Disaster Relief and Resilience Award – Meet the Shortlist
The frequency, intensity and complexity of disasters will increase over the coming decades. Globalisation means the impacts of those disasters on business and communities are increasingly evident, and businesses are being called upon to scale up their response to such events by internal and external stakeholders. Through their actions, businesses have demonstrated that business and […]
Q&A with MCC Resident Country Director for Niger: Bolstering Niger’s Agricultural Sector
In July 2016, MCC signed a $437 million compact with the Government of Niger to improve access to water for agriculture and livestock and expand access to markets. In this interview, MCC Resident Country Director for Niger Kristin Penn discusses how, together with the Government of Niger, MCC is building stronger institutions and making foundational […]
Empowering Women through Corporate Value Chains: Getting the Data to Drive Scale
In certain circles, it is taken virtually as given these days that business culture and practices will need to change to achieve gender equality and empower women. Companies have become more open in acknowledging that unconscious bias and other, structural factors make it harder for women to succeed, and at the same time, they are […]
How Ethiopia’s Nascent Apparel Industry Can Build a Strong, Empowered Workforce
“In today’s global economy, brands must understand the industry needs in the new countries they source from. At The Children’s Place, our aim is to support the development of the new garment workforce in Ethiopia and do our part to bring sustainable business practices to the region.” —The Children’s Place Today, Ethiopia is a small […]
Why Greater Financial Inclusion for Africa’s Women is Smart Policymaking
This blog is published as part of the 2017 WEE Global Learning Forum Blog Series. Join Winrock International, ACI and USAID at the 2017 WEE Forum for the Peer Learning Session, Different Perspectives, Shared Goal: Accelerating Women’s Financial Inclusion in Africa Imagine that you are unable to open a bank account or access a loan […]
Why Do So Few Companies Invest in Gender Equality?
Businesses that invest in gender equality often see notable returns. Take Banco BHD León (BHDL) for example in the Dominical Republic. In the bank’s home market, women make up 70 percent of university graduates and more than half of all primary household providers but remain underserved in the financial sector. By targeting women’s specific needs […]
How Can Microfinance Contribute to Women’s Empowerment?
An Interview with Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender and Development at the Gender Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science Gateway: From the very beginnings of microfinance, women’s empowerment has been discussed as one of its main social goals. In your experience, have you seen that microfinance initiatives can achieve this goal? Naila: One […]
Eliminating Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in Supply Chains
By Norma Tregurtha, Policy & Outreach Director, ISEAL Two years have passed since the UK Government passed the Modern Slavery Act (2015), designed to prevent slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. It is currently estimated that 13,000 men, women and children suffer modern slavery or forced labour in the UK. Globally, an […]
Meet the Shortlist: Unilever Global Development Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty
Adopted on 25 September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. Businesses are a key enabler of global sustainable development […]
New BSR Guidance Integrates Gender Equality into Supply Chain Codes of Conduct
With women holding 60 to 90 percent of jobs in the labor-intensive stages of the apparel and fresh produce global supply chains, it would make sense for companies in those industries to consider women’s specific challenges when focusing on ethical supply chain management. However, until now, women have rarely been a focus of such strategies, […]
Women’s Empowerment Beyond the Paid Economy
The advancement of women’s rights and economic empowerment in market systems contributes to the economic well-being of families, communities, and nations. We are all working towards this goal and agree with the opening statement for the WEE Global Learning Forum 2017. How can we do this better? Market systems programs are increasingly targeting women’s economic […]
#GBCtalksmalaria with Julie Essiam of Ecobank Foundation
Interview with Julie Essiam, Ecobank Foundation This interview is part of a series in which experts discuss key aspects of the malaria challenge– innovation, program implementation, finance and policy. We hope the series sparks conversation and encourages others to determine how they can best contribute to the fight to end malaria for good. Follow the […]
Growing SMEs and Young People, Together
We know the statistics – worldwide more than 1 billion young people will enter the job market between now and 2030, 600 million jobs are needed globally over 15 years to keep current employment rate, 71 million young people are unemployed globally, the youth population in Africa will double to over 830 million by 2050, […]
Corporate Leadership in the Fight to End Malaria
Tremendous progress has been made in the fight to end malaria. Seventeen countries have reduced malaria cases to the point where it is no longer endemic – and eight of these have fully eliminated malaria. Since 2000, malaria prevention and treatment programs have saved an estimated 4.3 million lives. Companies have helped to both accelerate […]