Clean water: a conduit for a healthier society and better business
As we prepare to publish our annual Global Sustainability Report next week*, I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight the importance of water, the most important ingredient in all of our brands, and underline our drive to improve water efficiency around the globe, particularly at our production sites in ‘water-stressed’ areas – predominantly in […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Keeping it Simple: Innovations in Mobile Health Technology
When people hear the word “innovation” in health, they often think of the kinds of things that are newly developed in laboratories—things like machines and medicines that have the power to diagnose and treat health challenges. Those advancements are certainly important, but some of the most interesting innovations these days are about finding ways to […]
Keeping it Simple
When people hear the word “innovation” in health, they often think of the kinds of things that are newly developed in laboratories—things like machines and medicines that have the power to diagnose and treat health challenges. Those advancements are certainly important, but some of the most interesting innovations these days are about finding ways to […]
Corporate Volunteerism Bubbles Up for P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water
Across the globe, businesses are recognizing the expanding importance of corporate volunteer programs as an effective way to support their communities while increasing employee retention and engagement. The workforce of tomorrow demands corporate social responsibility. Millennials number 60 million in the U.S. and an estimated 86% want their work to make a positive impact on […]
Corporate Volunteerism Bubbles Up for P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water
Across the globe, businesses are recognizing the expanding importance of corporate volunteer programs as an effective way to support their communities while increasing employee retention and engagement. The workforce of tomorrow demands corporate social responsibility. Millennials number 60 million in the U.S. and an estimated 86% want their work to make a positive impact on […]
Rio+20: Enabling Green and Inclusive Markets – A Case for Public-private Collaboration
Twenty years after the first Earth Summit, the international community will gather again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20-22 June for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference will attempt to develop a road map that will provide a framework in which we can enjoy growth today, but not at the expense of […]
Rio+20: Business Opportunities at the BoP
The private sector has a critical role to play in engendering sustainable economic development. Business investments can stimulate job creation, promote entrepreneurship, and improve living conditions for those living in poverty. At the same time, there is growing recognition among private sector companies of the untapped market potential among the several billion people living on […]
IBLF – Gone are the days of ‘command and control’ says J.P. Morgan’s India Gary-Martin
IBLF – Gone are the days of ‘command and control’ says J.P. Morgan’… from Business Fights Poverty on Vimeo. In an exclusive video interview released today, India Gary-Martin, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Investment Banking Technology and Operations at top tier financial services firm J.P. Morgan emphasised that diversity is “both a business […]