A Vision for Mobile Phone Based Health Education
The critical importance of community healthcare workers (CHWs) in Africa, where there are not enough doctors per person, cannot be overstated. They are the unsung heroes of African healthcare and there is a growing belief that they hold the key to dramatically improving mortality rates. Indeed it’s estimated that nearly 200,000 more CHWs are needed […]
Nutrition in Rural China
President of Amway (China) Co. Ltd.; Executive Vice Chairman of Amway Charity Foundation I’ve lived and worked in China most of my life, and have witnessed firsthand the country’s economic rise. The stories one hears outside of China focus on prosperity, massive infrastructure projects, and an increasing middle class and consumer base. But when I […]
Backing College Loans To Low-Income Students In Mexico
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mexico has a smaller proportion of college students than other countries on a similar path of growth and progress, and a significantly lower proportion compared to their main trading partners. Although higher education in Mexico grew to record levels this past decade, just over […]
It is time for a learning revolution in Africa
Africa’s educational challenges are not fundamentally different from those of the rest of the world, although they are more basic and urgent – and they can, at times, feel more overwhelming. A recent study by the Brookings Institution revealed that more than half of the world’s out-of-school primary-aged children live in Sub-Saharan Africa and only […]
Keeping Our Promise to Every Woman, Every Child
Each of us has felt the sting of a broken promise, most likely in our early childhood. The lesson leaves a lasting impression, teaching us that when we make a promise, we must honor it. The launch of Every Woman, Every Child by the United Nations three years ago sparked a series of promises to […]
Critical Skills for Employability in Africa
Two days before our international participants were due to travel to Nairobi, Kenya for the ISESE Africa Skills Development Conference, I woke up to the headlines: “Flights suspended after fire destroys Jomo Kenyatta International Airport terminal.” Our team had planned for all sorts of logistical hurdles from visa hiccups to yellow fever vaccines, but we […]
Helping Women Overcome Cultural Norms to Become Innovative Entrepreneurs
With a focus in economic development in Africa, I decided to spend my summer interning with a nonprofit organization in Ghana. The organization addressed development issues from the aspect of women empowerment, by creating a global market for the goods produced by women entrepreneurs. They were seamstresses, bead makers, and batik makers; batik is an […]
A School Food Revolution
Ten Education Lessons from Tunisia
g.Maarifa aims to develop human capital in emerging markets where it is usually hardest to do so. We develop customizable and interactive platforms that increase access to educational and training content via mobile phones. Our platforms: deliver content, evaluate through testing, track performance, and manage data on a range of mobile phones. I went to […]
Education and the Global Jobs Challenge
In preparation for the recent 2013 Annual Conference and 10th Anniversary celebration, the Global Business School Network produced a research paper, putting the global employment crisis into context, titled “Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship: A Snapshot of the Global Jobs Challenge.” Employment has always been a central issue in development. In recent years we saw a […]
Health Franchising: Strengthening India’s Village-Level Private Providers
India is often portrayed as a rising “economic tiger,” yet many of India’s one billion+ inhabitants still live on the margin; approximately 30% live below the poverty line[i], and 70% live in rural areas[ii]. Communities in these remote, rural areas lack access to basic health care, and despite the existence of pro-poor government-mandated schemes the […]
Building Schools & Delivering Quality Education in China
Interview with Huaping Yang, Finalist for Youth Business International’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award Spirited entrepreneur Huaping Yang has overcome failure to launch an education business which today enables hundreds of students to work towards achieving their goals. Chinese company Chengdu Aosite Education (AST) is a three-pronged after-school tutoring chain for students of […]
Building Schools & Delivering Quality Education in China
Interview with Huaping Yang, Finalist for Youth Business International’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award Spirited entrepreneur Huaping Yang has overcome failure to launch an education business which today enables hundreds of students to work towards achieving their goals. Chinese company Chengdu Aosite Education (AST) is a three-pronged after-school tutoring chain for students of […]
Challenges and Lessons in Selling Nutritious Foods to the Poor
Following the Nutrition for Growth event in June and the expansion of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, there is more interest than ever in using markets to tackle undernutrition, especially the so-called ‘hidden hunger’ of micronutrient deficiencies. Some big businesses are trying to make low-cost products that are fortified with key nutrients, […]
The Business Case for Scaling Up Nutrition: Seizing the Moment
The huge political momentum generated this year has elevated the involvement of business in scaling up nutrition towards the top of the global development agenda. Arguably, there’s never been a better time for business to scale up its efforts to combat undernutrition. The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement has just welcomed the 41st country to […]
Building an Affordable Learning Market
By Katelyn Donnelly, Executive Director, PALF and Ravi Patel, Analyst, Affordable Learning Fund As we approach 2015, it is clear that the international community will not meet its commitment to universal primary education (MDG goals). As of 2011, UNESCO estimated 57 million children of primary school age were still not enrolled in school. Additionally, 69 […]
Harnessing the Potential of Corporate Volunteering
In 2001, CODESPA developed the Global Corporate Volunteering (CV) programme “Professionals for Development”. After more than 10 years of experience, CODESPA wants to share the main learning outcomes of this initiative, in which almost 150 employees of companies such as PwC, Carrefour or Canal de Isabel II, among others, have participated. These employees have contributed […]
Meet Mohan Singh: Inspiring Entrepreneurship through Mentoring
Do you remember that one teacher or guide who made a positive and lasting impact on your life? If you have ever provided support or advice based on your own life experiences, you have been a mentor to someone. And everyone needs a mentor. “Mentoring” might not be a glossy word but it is a […]
How Can We Create Business Opportunities in the Fight Against Malnutrition?
For decades, hunger has been the most serious problem plaguing developing and newly industrialized countries. While headway has been made in the battle against hunger, two billion people are still suffering from malnutrition in developed and developing countries alike. Because of this, on June 3rd and 4th, Ashoka Changemakers held a Globalizer Summit in Frankfurt, […]
Innovation Through Collaboration
A silo-buster is an innovator who refuses to allow a good idea to be pigeon-holed. Rather than being compartmentalized by the customary way of doing things, they break through corporate, academic, or societal categories, calling on a host of different disciplines and departments to take the next step. But innovation is only a first step […]