The Business of Care: Anglo American Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Unilever Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
The Business of Care: Primark Interview
The interviews with five Business Fights Poverty Lead Partners, Primark, Unilever, Anglo American, Standard Chartered and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, focussed on two areas. Firstly, how their companies are currently supporting social entrepreneurs and secondly if and how their companies are addressing the care economy through workplace policies. These lines of questioning led to […]
Improving Health Financing and Health Outcomes
According to the report published by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of the world’s vulnerable population including women, children, and adolescents did not have access to essential and quality health services at the point of 2021. THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2023 estimates that 287,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes in 2020 and […]
Business’s Role in Advancing Women, Children, and Adolescents’ Wellbeing
Delivering a Healthier Future: Business’s Strategic Role in Advancing Women, Children, and Adolescents’ Wellbeing A clear link exists between economic prosperity and the health of women, children, and adolescents. For business, engaging in global health is not only a moral obligation but also aligns with strategic economic decisions that promote gender equality, enhance economic growth, and […]
Changing Attitudes and Empowering Young Girls in Senegal
“I can see now that I have prospects. I want to become someone and help lift my family out of poverty. Only then I will think about marriage.” Mariama, Senegal. This is the personal impact that the Invest in Maternal and Child Health – ISMEA pilot project had on Mariama, a 13-year-old girl living in Goudiry, Senegal. […]
Mainstreaming Gender to Power Sustainable Business Growth
Gender equality is one of the essential pieces of the global prosperity puzzle. Women represent almost half of the global population and thus, also possess half of its potential. Yet inequalities faced by women are so deeply rooted and persistent, that we are lagging behind in our progress towards the gender equality targets set out […]
Gender Equality Depends on Business Becoming Co-Responsible for Care Work
A new Business Fights Poverty report illustrates that opportunities exist across the value chain for business to play a key role in supporting social innovation in this area and become co-responsible care actors. What is care? The global economic system is underpinned by many thousands of hours of “invisible” care work that is often unpaid, underpaid […]
10 Businesses Making the SDGs their Business
Some of the best ideas and boldest actions are coming from entrepreneurs and start-ups embedded in low-income communities. These disruptors are driving innovations that are tackling environmental challenges, improving people’s health and building inclusive economies. Investing and learning from them is one of the best ways to accelerate sustainable development. This is the purpose of […]
Five Reasons Why Businesses Should Prioritise Supporting Women in Global Garment Supply Chains
As governments, businesses, civil society and NGOs take stock of global progress towards to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is important to recognize that investing in women in global garment supply chains can act as a lever to achieving the SDGs. RISE: Reimagining Industry to Support Equality is an initiative to support collaborative industry […]
Empowering Women in Cotton Farming: Building Resilience Amid Climate Change Challenges
In cotton, women play a significant role in building sustainable, productive and resilient farms. From planting seeds to nurturing and harvesting crops, women are at the beating heart of smallholder farming that is the source of much high-quality raw material supplied to global retail buyers and made into the cotton clothes we love to buy […]
Beyond Doing Good: Why ESG Makes Great Business Sense for African Fintechs
If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance you’re already familiar with the acronym ESG. Standing for “environmental”, “social”, and “governance”, it’s a constantly evolving standard that emphasises the importance of doing business in a way that positively impacts the environment, society and stakeholders. In essence, it’s the idea that companies can grow and […]
Catalysing Investment in the Health of Women, Children, and Adolescents
Global progress to reduce preventable deaths of pregnant women, mothers and babies has flatlined for the last eight years, according to the WHO. It is high time to recognise that investing in the health of women, children and adolescents is not only a moral imperative and a human rights requirement; it’s an essential investment in […]
Improving Human Wellbeing in the Coffee Supply Chain
Improving Human Wellbeing in the Coffee Supply chain: The Need for Better Data and Benchmarks Ahh a freshly-brewed cup of coffee…if just the smell of it brings you comfort at the promise of a caffeine-hit each morning, you’re not alone. Globally, we consume over two billion cups of coffee every day. And yet, how often […]
Weathering COVID-19: Small and Micro Businesses in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a wave of disruption, leaving no corner untouched. While the world focused on the health crisis, a quieter battle unfolded on the streets of Pakistan. Small and micro enterprises, the lifeblood of the nation’s economy, faced an unprecedented challenge. As we delve into the depths of their struggles, it becomes evident […]
Achieving Decent Work and Economic Growth by 2030
Achieving Decent Work and Economic Growth by 2030: How Are Companies Making a Difference Through Payment Digitization? Responsible digitization of payments is helping companies around the world make progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set to be achieved in less than seven years. This is particularly important for small retailers, smallholder farmers and low-income workers with limited […]
Eco-Green Teens Project: Empowering Nigerian Youth for Sustainable Agriculture
The Covid-19 pandemic had a socio-economic impact on the Nigerian economy, which led to increased food prices making basic staple foods (maize, cowpea, green leafy vegetable etc.) difficult to access for both low and middle-income classes [1]. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also predicted that over 19 million Nigerians would face food insecurity in […]
Why Doesn’t the Private Sector Talk More About Socio-Economic Inequality?
The private sector has a responsibility – and, in the long term, arguably a commercial imperative – to tackle inequalities through the levers that it can pull directly: improving pay and working conditions, tackling inequalities in recruitment and promotion, encouraging workers to unionise, ensuring that their products and services are produced and priced fairly, and […]
Prevention is Better Than Cure: €450,000 to Tackle Child Labour in Fairtrade Cocoa Supply Chains
It’s no secret that cocoa farmers in West Africa sometimes resort to child labour. Spiralling inflation, ever-higher production and wage costs and unsustainably low prices mean growers sometimes rely on children – who should be in school or playing with friends – as cheap or free labour. It’s an increasingly uphill battle. According to a […]
What Loss and Damage Means for Human Rights and Your Business
Skyrocketing prices and empty shelves have made headlines again this year and a standout factor is the escalating impact of climate change. This is bad for businesses and customers, but worst for the world’s poorest communities who produce food and goods for the local and global economy. One key issue is ‘Loss and Damage’: the […]