Uniting David & Goliath to Accelerate Agri-Development
Having worked across public, private and non-profit sectors in agricultural development for over 25 years, I have seen first-hand the benefits of successfully engaging with small-scale farmers in emerging economies. There is a clear link between the development of a viable agricultural sector, inclusive economic growth and food security in emerging markets. Research by Imperial […]
Climate Change: Fact-Checking Food Production
A recent report that astronomers have identified billions of planets with the potential to possess earth-like environments has sparked new interest in the interstellar search for alien worlds. But climate scientists might suggest that if it’s alien environments you’re after, you might one day find what you’re looking for right here on earth. That’s because […]
Can Business Help Combat Hunger and Malnutrition?
Has the past month seen real green shoots around engaging the private sector in the struggle to end malnutrition in the world? Perhaps. The World Economic Forum meeting in Davos was a step change with business and political leaders signing up to the UN Secretary General’s “Zero Hunger” challenge to eliminate hunger in our lifetimes. […]
Local Banks and Success in Smallholder Finance
Current local bank lending to smallholder farmers meets only 3% of the global demand, but the sector presents enormous opportunities for growth, innovation, and investment. Expansion of this lending market would support the livelihoods of two billion of the world’s rural poor. In the first briefing document in this series, the Initiative for Smallholder Finance […]
Smart Aid – Why it's All About Jobs
Today, the UK Development Secretary, Justine Greening, delivered a speech at the London Stock Exchange on the role of business in economic growth: “Smart aid: Why it’s all about jobs”. Below is a transcript of the speech. It’s a great pleasure to be here with everyone this morning. And I want to say a massive […]
Smart Aid – Why it’s All About Jobs
Today, the UK Development Secretary, Justine Greening, delivered a speech at the London Stock Exchange on the role of business in economic growth: “Smart aid: Why it’s all about jobs”. Below is a transcript of the speech. It’s a great pleasure to be here with everyone this morning. And I want to say a massive […]
How Can We Ensure Food Security for the Future?
As we join fellow chief executives and global leaders at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2014 in Davos-Klosters, one of the top issues on our minds is global food security. Ensuring that we have enough to feed our current and future populations, and providing sustainable livelihoods to farmers and rural communities, are pressing challenges. […]
How to Build Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
Sustaining and Scaling the Impact of Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
M-PESA: Innovating New Business Models at the BoP
M-Pesa is one of the biggest success stories in the history of serving customers at the economic bottom of the pyramid–the world’s poorest. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, it quickly dominated the cash transfer market, and grew at an astounding rate, capturing more than two-thirds of Kenya’s adult population as customers. Users who subscribe to […]
How M-PESA Innovates New Business Models for its Base of the Pyramid Customers
M-Pesa is one of the biggest success stories in the history of serving customers at the economic bottom of the pyramid–the world’s poorest. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, it quickly dominated the cash transfer market, and grew at an astounding rate, capturing more than two-thirds of Kenya’s adult population as customers. Users who subscribe to […]
Innovations Against Poverty: Systemic Impacts
Systemic impacts are the ultimate goal of almost any donor-funded initiative that supports business in development. In the case of Sida’s Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) programme, that means that Sida’s money not only supports the individual inclusive businesses that receive grant funding (helping them to reach the poor with their products, services and business models), […]
Systemic Impacts: Early signs from the Innovations Against Poverty programme
Systemic impacts are the ultimate goal of almost any donor-funded initiative that supports business in development. In the case of Sida’s Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) programme, that means that Sida’s money not only supports the individual inclusive businesses that receive grant funding (helping them to reach the poor with their products, services and business models), […]
Improving Access to Financial Services
2.5 billion people around the world lack access to financial services such as savings accounts, access to loans, insurance and bank transfers. According to the Centre for Financial Inclusion: “Access to a range of quality financial services at affordable prices, delivered with convenience and dignity, can change the course of an individual’s, family’s, or business’s […]
Bringing ‘Smart Insurance’ to India´s Poor
Anjali Devi has come a long way from her home in rural Punjab to the public hospital in Mohali, the capital of the district. The three hour bus ride to the hospital has led her and her husband get up early in the morning to make sure that they can make it back home the […]
Creating Lasting Change Through Public Private Partnerships
Swisscontact promotes economic, social and environmental sustainability by supporting people to develop the skills they need to contribute to local commercial life. For over fifty years, we’ve found that people possessing relevant market skills are those who have the greatest capacity to succeed in, and help transform, local economies. As an organisation we’re best known […]
Disrupted: The Future INGO
“Some of the routine service activities that INGOs have historically implemented–health care, food delivery –can now be carried out by local operators at a lower cost. The question now is: What do we bring to the picture that others cannot?” —Carolyn Woo, CEO, Catholic Relief Services Today’s international NGOs or INGOs stand at an important […]
Local Bank Financing for Smallholder Farmers
Over two billion of the world’s poorest people live in households that depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The 450 million smallholder farmers within that group are a linchpin to global poverty-reduction. Yet most smallholders lack access to finance, holding them back from producing larger crop yields of higher quality to propel both economic growth […]
81 Pro-Poor Health Innovations
From her light-flooded office in central Mumbai, Sweta Mangal oversees a fast-growing emergency transport company. In the last year, Ziqitza Healthcare Limited nearly doubled the number of ambulances it operates from 460 to more than 850. Many of these ambulances respond to emergency calls across three states through the government-funded hotline Dial 108. The Center […]
Education: An Untapped Investment Opportunity?
My mother was an English teacher. My Father an art teacher. My sister is a modern languages teacher. One could say that the ABCs are my DNA. Yet I opted for a career in business – not education. I chose to pursue the lure of success in the private sector over service in the public […]