Microinsurance for microentrepreneurs: Fonkoze helps its clients recover from natural disasters
Tropical Storm Isaac has left at least 24 dead in Haiti and done untold destruction, battering above all the country’s poor. Nevertheless, some will find relief thanks to a unique collaboration spearheaded by Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest microfinance organization. The program is called Kore W—microinsurance for microentrepreneurs. Coming to terms with disaster Fonkoze realized several years […]
The Next Digital Revolution
In May this year I had the pleasure of speaking at Seoul Digital Forum (Korea). I was stimulated and challenged by Steve Ballmer’s keynote address in the morning, especially the description of the new Windows 8 and all its bells and whistles. But I had one problem with it. What Steve talked about has no […]
Girls’ Education: Can the global business community rise to the challenge?
Thirty-two million girls across the world have never been to school. A much larger number are dropping out and/or leaving school without basic literacy and numeracy skills. There are numerous reasons why girls are missing out. Education is expensive – girls and their families simply may not be able to afford uniforms, textbooks and travel. […]
Building Inclusive Markets: Impact through Financial and Enterprise Solutions
“Building Inclusive Markets: Impact through Financial and Enterprise Solutions”: this is the theme of this year’s SEEP Annual Conference – and you are invited! I have been attending SEEP conferences for over ten years, and this will be my second year as Executive Director. It is always inspiring to see the new relationships and projects […]
Inclusive innovation to Fight Hunger
Eradicating hunger is amongst the most pressing societal challenges of our times and the lack of substantial progress a shameful failure of the international governance system. Besides the necessary increase in international development aid, a higher emphasis on promoting inclusive innovation to fight hunger is also necessary. This means that low-income countries most affected by […]
Charting the Change from BPO to BoP: Training the Next Generation of Skilled Labor in India
Before the services industry boom, the choice for a young graduate in India was very limited. You had to be an engineer or doctor to even think of getting into decent salary league, let alone high-paying salary league. No one can deny the business process outsourcing (BPO) boom was the ultimate game changer, as the […]
Sport for Change
Sport has long been recognised as having the potential to play a role in society with intrinsic benefits in terms of physical health and emotional well being, and the ability to contribute to issues such as crime prevention and increased educational attainment. Within the NGO sector, Sport for Change programmes have generally been delivered in […]
Running Across Borders
Malcolm Anderson is the Co-Founder of Running Across Borders, an inspiring organization that seeks to expand economic opportunities to East African youth through running. Malcolm truly is at the intersection of international development and athletics. He holds a Masters degree in African Studies (Oxford 2008) and a MA in International Relations (St Andrews 2006) and […]
When Volunteers Become Voluntold
This blog originally appeared in The Huffington Post. Corporate volunteer programs offer such a multitude of benefits that they sometimes seem beyond reproach. When these programs are executed well, employees get to participate in meaningful work outside of the office that is recognized and supported by their employers; companies earn the appreciation of their employees […]
Empowering Girls: International Inspiration using sport to tackle gender issues
One thing that gives me a buzz is that the significance of International Inspiration, London 2012’s international legacy programme, is not just about opening doors for children and young people to PE, sport and play. Of course this is important in its own right. But what is exciting is that International Inspiration is using sport […]
Interview: Olympic Medallist, Douglas Wakiihuri
Interview by Chris Markl, Founder, Kourage Athletics Douglas and I connected via mutual friends in the Kenyan running community. After exchanging calls and emails, I was on a plane to Las Vegas, Nevada where Douglas had recently relocated. We spent 15-hours together over a period of two-days. We ate incredible sushi together, which Douglas ordered […]
Creating Shared Value in the World’sToughest Places
Over the past few years, for-profit and non-profit partners have been experimenting with new ways of working together, creating what’s often now referred to as ‘shared value’. At its heart this concept is about bringing companies and NGOs together and leveraging the expertise of both, in order to achieve the greatest possible social and economic […]
Moving Capital- Are you investment ready?
Finding the right people and resources can be tough in a climate of austerity, especially if you are a social entrepreneur. However, there are great opportunities in the sector for those willing to put in the hard work. Andrew Stunell, Communities Minister, has recently announced that £30 million in grants will be available for local […]
Getting Google to Gaza: Creating shared value in the world’s toughest places
Over the past few years, for-profit and non-profit partners have been experimenting with new ways of working together, creating what’s often now referred to as ‘shared value’. At its heart this concept is about bringing companies and NGOs together and leveraging the expertise of both, in order to achieve the greatest possible social and economic […]
Paul Polak – At Least a Million
For many years I have been a vocal advocate for what I call the “Don’t Bother Trilogy” in the practice of design, which states: 1. If you haven’t had good conversations with at least 25 customers before you start 2. If the product or service you design doesn’t pay for itself three times in the […]
Kickstarting Youth Entrepreneurship: an answer to youth unemployment?
Youth unemployment is a global problem. A recent OECD report reveals that the average rate of youth unemployment in OECD countries is 16% while the troubled economies of Greece and Spain are struggling with youth jobless rates above 50 per cent. In Africa, an increasingly youthful population needs more opportunities to make a living, an […]
My Journey as a Woman Entrepreneur in India
As a woman who was married at a young age into a conservative family by arranged marriage, starting my own business felt like a miraculous life-time achievement. In my community, it is frowned upon in unwritten, bold lettering for a woman to do anything other than look after the home. After coming so far as […]
Announcing the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation
The 15 winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation were announced on June 18, 2012 at the G20 Leaders Summit in Los Cabos Mexico. Ambassador Mr. Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Secretary of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group presented the awards. Business Fights Poverty first […]
10 Employee Engagement Ideas for Skills Based Volunteering
Charities rely on charity, and most nonprofits will take whatever volunteer help they can get. But what if you’re a busy professional with more useful skills than dumping this week’s lasagna on plastic plates? Time to start looking at your job as the best way to give back. These days, many companies offer corporate volunteer […]
Employee Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility for Generation Twitter
At a time when attention spans are shrinking against the exponential growth of new technology applications and digital tools, maintaining employee engagement is a hard-won commodity, and the notion of uniting employees for a collective activity or cause can seem daunting. With so much information available at any given moment, reaching employees might be easier […]