Infrastructure in Africa and How the Private Sector Helps
Infrastructure is an essential foundation of development. Effective, well-regulated systems for the provision of power, transport, water, and the fast-converging world of telecom, media, and technology lie at base of successful economies the world over. There is almost no way to overestimate their impact in raising incomes and improving living standards—whether measured through their contribution […]
2012 Series: Empowering People Through Mobile Technology
Microsoft for Africa
Claire Lee, Head of Partnerships, Emerging Business Team, Microsoft Corporation The latest plan for Microsoft in Africa is all about enabling African youth realize their full potential. AliFaramawy, Corporate VP in MEA area, says: “For years, we have led the way in Africa: we opened many offices, hired hundreds of people, built a partner network, […]
Demo Africa
Six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies over the past decade are in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, Internet usage across Africa has grown faster than on any other continent in the world. The awakening of the African economy provides an opportunity for global and African entrepreneurs and enterprises to forge partnerships for mutual […]
Emerging Africa: Unleashing Africa’s Innovation Potential
By Kris M. Balderston, US Special Representative for Global Partnerships In the last week, I’ve travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town to Addis Ababa. Along the way, I’ve been struck over and over again by the ingenuity, entrepreneurship and innovation of the people I have met from townships to capital cities, from villages to major […]
How Will You Celebrate National Volunteering Week?
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy’s inaugural words will never ring as true than during National Volunteer Week, which this year falls on April 21-27. First instituted in 1974 by President Nixon, National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate […]
Reducing Child Labor & Forced Labor: Best Practices for Responsible Businesses
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), an estimated 215 million children toil in child labor around the world, and another 21 million people are trapped in forced labor. Today’s businesses have a critical role to play in reducing this problem, in partnership with governments and civil society groups. It’s the right thing to do, […]
Reducing Child Labor & Forced Labor: Best Practices for Responsible Businesses
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), an estimated 215 million children toil in child labor around the world, and another 21 million people are trapped in forced labor. Today’s businesses have a critical role to play in reducing this problem, in partnership with governments and civil society groups. It’s the right thing to do, […]
The League of Intrapreneurs: Meet the Winners
April 9 was a day for the unsung heroes driving change within large corporations – either by shifting development challenges up their CEO’s agendas or bringing the expertise (and/or budget) of a multi-national to bear on identifying and solving a specific social problem. These are the Social Intrapreneurs, and at an awards ceremony in London, […]
Recycling Computers and Electronics Sustainably on Earth Day
As evolving technologies keep us hooked to new and updated gadgets, and Americans now own (according to the Environmental Protection Agency) an estimated three billion electronic products, one inconvenient question lurks constantly in the shadows: What are we supposed to do with all of our old gizmos? While responsible businesses and consumers want to recycle […]
Announcing the Winners of the NextBillion Case Writing Competition
In October 2012, the IFC lent Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) $100 million to finance small and micro enterprises, including women entrepreneurs. The financing, which was six times the amount IFC provided to BTPN in 2009, marked a significant milestone for the Indonesian bank. But just a few years earlier, BTPN President Jerry Ng […]
Maximum Aspiration and Minimum Standards- Driving Change in Business Contributions to Poverty Reduction
Justine Greening’s speech on 11 March at the London Stock Exchange on business and development repays careful study. It expands on the commitment to growth and jobs that she made in an earlier, agenda-setting speech on 7 February. In that earlier speech, she committed to ‘ramping up’ DFID’s focus on helping to drive economic growth, […]
Launch Of The BCtA In Sweden And Announcement Of IKEA’s Commitment
Sahba Sobhani, Program Manager, Business Call to Action, UNDP and Carolina Benedictsson, Program Manager, Global Cooperation Unit, Sida Developing business models that offer both commercial success and development impact has been at the core of the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a worthwhile initiative supported by UNDP and other partners since 2008 to assists companies […]
Living Goods – the “Avon of pro-poor products”
Photo credit: Esther Havens By Susannah Hares, Head of Innovation, ARK International Tim Harford, in his quite brilliant book Adapt, said: “Few company bosses would care to admit it, but the market fumbles its way to success, as successful ideas take off and unsuccessful ones die. When we see the survivors of this process – […]
Dan Pallotta: Business Can’t Solve the World’s Problems — But Capitalism Can
Business and capitalism get conflated — in our media, our language and in our thinking. They are not the same thing. One is a sector, the other a methodology. By inextricably linking the two, we confine the practice of real, turbo-charged capitalism to business, and we dangerously limit the capacity of non-business organizations to innovate, […]
Fuelling Botswana’s flourishing entrepreneur scene
There is a strong culture of entrepreneurship in Botswana, a country that stands as one of Africa’s notable economic development success stories over the past two decades. But despite the country’s relative success, unemployment remains a major issue; hence job creation and economic diversification form a central theme for all key stakeholders, including public, private […]
IFC: MICROINSURANCE – A Private Sector Safety Net
When people lack insurance, accidents, disasters, and death can bring financial devastation. And in the developing world, most people lack insurance. But a new IFC investment will help 11 million people obtain it in the coming years. When tragedy strikes, those in low- and middle-income groups often lose their earning power and face immediate hardship, […]
Investing in Growth
This morning, the London Stock Exchange hosted the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development. The Secretary of State gave a speech focusing on how DFID’s investments can drive growth in new and emerging markets, and how this work can support businesses operating in these markets and enhance trade. Below is […]
Investing In Growth -How DFID Works In New And Emerging Markets
This morning, the London Stock Exchange hosted the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development. The Secretary of State gave a speech focusing on how DFID’s investments can drive growth in new and emerging markets, and how this work can support businesses operating in these markets and enhance trade. Below is […]
Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business in Uganda
On 2 March, 2013, as part of the 2013 Series, a group of inspiring people came together in Kampala to talk about “Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business”. The event was livestreamed here on Business Fights Poverty, and the focus of a blog by one of the event’s lead organisers, Ida Horner. Hope […]