The Year Ahead and the Need to Rethink Collaboration
2016 convinced me of the need to collaborate more deeply than ever: to deliver on the bold future envisioned in the new Sustainable Development Goals; to protect past progress made towards equality—now threatened by the politics of division; to tackle the deep social exclusion that has at least in part driven the political turbulence of […]
A Call for More Entrepreneurs to Focus on Toilets
Entrepreneurs are everywhere these days, not just in the purely for-profit world but also those looking to create social, as well as financial, gain. As the international development community grows, entrepreneurial thinking is becoming ever more mainstream, with social enterprises demonstrating how to create businesses that deliver social benefit. As Naveen Jain, technology and spacecraft […]
Emerging Lessons on Scaling Inclusive Distribution Networks
One of the most difficult and underestimated hurdles to doing business in low-income markets is figuring out how products make their way from production to the final customer. In India, more than 90 percent of all retail purchases are made in 12 million kirana stores and in Mexico, more than 50 percent of retail business […]
Breakthroughs in Fertilizer Can Unlock the Riches in the Soil
Throughout history, the relationship between a farmer and his land has been symbiotic. As long ago as 6,000BC, Neolithic smallholders in Europe used nitrogen-rich manure to maintain the soil’s fertility, understanding that the land provides but it must also be “fed”. Later, soil health became so important that countries were prepared to go to war […]
A Conversation with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Internationally recognized development economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and twice as Nigeria’s Finance Minister — the first woman to hold either post. She has held several key positions at the World Bank, and in 2014, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Currently, […]
Future Perspectives
The Financial Inclusion Forum’s flagship event in 2016 was hosted during Financial Inclusion Week. The gathering, organised with the EBRD, provided an opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of financial inclusion. If you missed the event, you can watch the recording and read highlights below. Technology was a recurring theme during the […]
Employers are Getting Graduates Job-ready in Africa
It is widely recognised that long-term economic growth can only be achieved through investment in a highly skilled workforce, and more than three-quarters of CEOs in Africa believe a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce should be a priority for business.[1] However, employers across the region complain of a lack of basic, technical and transferable skills […]
U.S. Technology Companies, Sovereign States, and the Battle Over Data Protection
Who owns an individual’s electronic communications data, who should have access to it, and what can be done with it? The battle of privacy versus security is currently raging between U.S. technology companies and national security forces. U.S. technology companies are adopting corporate foreign policies to respond to sovereign states’ efforts to access customer data, […]
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance in Food and Agricultural Sectors
With the release in May of the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, GBCHealth has convened a group of global leaders to discuss the potential impact of AMR and their priorities for immediate action. The #GBCtalksAMR series, which will be published over the next three weeks is intended to supplement the […]
Improving Learning for Syrian and host community children and youth in the Middle East
How does a company make a meaningful impact in addressing a major societal challenge? How do we leverage our core expertise and capabilities, and do so in a sustainable way that doesn’t fade away as the media turns its attention to the next big crisis? Over the past couple of years we’ve given this a […]
GBCHealth Talks Antimicrobial Resistance with GE Foundation
Interview with Dr. David M. Barash, Executive Director, Global Health Portfolio & Chief Medical Officer, GE Foundation With the release in May of the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, GBCHealth has convened a group of global leaders to discuss the potential impact of AMR and their priorities for immediate action. […]
One Million Women Missing From the US Tech Sector
Despite an estimated investment by the US technology industry of $0.8bn – $1.2bn in diversity efforts over the past five years, women’s representation at tech firms has actually decreased. In the last 15 years representation of women has fallen a percentage point, to represent just 28 percent of the tech workforce today. Given women are […]
Virtuous Circle: Increasing Productivity and Fighting Poverty
What do engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, shipping company Maersk and Kenyan toilet provider Sanergy all have in common? All three are using the circular economy concept to increase their productivity. In Sanergy’s case, they use the waste from their network of high-quality, low-cost toilets in the slums of Nairobi to produce agricultural inputs and energy. […]
How the Mobile Phone is Enabling a New Social Enterprise Economy
Do you remember that old mobile phone that you traded in years ago? Chances are, your phone may be helping power a new social revolution for millions living in poverty around the world. Most of the phones in use have only basic call and texting functions. But that is enough to enable mobile business models […]
IDB’s SCALA Program Shares Lessons on Engaging Micro-distributors
Small-scale retail, or what is often called the “traditional trade” is essential to reaching low-income consumers. The thousands of shops, kiosks, or tiendas that line the streets in many developing countries often account for the majority of retail sales and are the face of brands in most low-income communities. Although many companies, particularly in the […]
The 2016 SDG Business Forum – A Recap
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held from July 11-20 2016 at United Nations Headquarters in New York is an annual platform for reviewing progress and guiding global efforts on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. During the first HLPF oriented towards the SDGs, the global business community was present […]
Personal Perspectives on the Corporate Response to HIV/AIDS
Interview with Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) This interview is the second in a four-part series in which experts reflect on the progress made since the groundbreaking AIDS 2000 Conference in Durban and the challenges that remain. The 21st International AIDS Conference is being held in Durban, South Africa, […]
Big Opportunities and Inspiring Examples on World Hepatitis Day
A few years ago I had the privilege of leading a team of highly committed health professionals to provide healthcare services to some of the most marginalised people in our world: rural communities in South Sudan who were enduring immeasurable suffering from the 22 year civil war and ongoing ethnic conflicts. We trained nurses, midwives […]
Unleashing Inclusive Business for the SDGs
On 5th June 2016, Business Call to Action (BCtA), in cooperation with The Partnering Initiative (TPI), SNV Netherlands Development Organization, UNDP Bangladesh and Business Fights Poverty hosted an exclusive invite-only event introducing Inclusive Business in Bangladesh to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The primary objective […]
Supporting Research in Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) seriously undermine the physical and cognitive health and economic opportunity of more than one billion people, most of them among the world’s poorest populations and least able to access or advocate for solutions. Although encouraging progress has been made in recent decades, the prevention, control, elimination and eradication of these diseases […]