Making Solar Power Affordable
Author: John Converse Townsend, Ashoka Mexico’s solar energy market is booming. And that means more and more people, even those living on less than $7 per day, can afford clean electricity. The second-most populated country in the Americas is home to the fastest-growing regional solar market in the world. About 97 percent of Mexico’s population […]
Lifting Farmers Out of Poverty in Honduras
My family has been farming in Honduras for generations. In fact, at one time, my father was the largest cotton producer in the country, and all of my siblings and I studied agriculture while at university. So we know the important role that agriculture plays in lifting communities out of poverty, solving hunger issues and […]
Bridging the Gender Tech Gap
ohn Converse Townsend, Ashoka Gender equality is so much more than a women’s issue. It’s a sustainable development issue. Women’s empowerment not only has positive effects for local economies, but it is a predictor of better health outcomes and all but guarantees a more fair and stable society. This is not breaking news. But it […]
Collaborating on the SDGs: Start Here
With the jetlag from New York just starting to subside, I’d love to share my thoughts on some of the exciting things to emerge from the recent UN General Assembly at which the world’s leaders signed up to a new global development agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. Getting to this stage has been a long […]
A Productivity Target to Reshape the Development Agenda
Of all the Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 agenda that will be adopted by United Nations (UN) members later this month, the goals that relate to jobs and productivity are amongst the innovative ones that can change the development agenda. It was surprising that it took so long to get these important issues on […]
Improving Market Access for the Poor
What is the development issue? More than 80% of Malawi’s 17 million people live in rural areas, and agricultural labourers make up 90% of the total labour force1. Despite the fact that Malawi’s economy is based on agriculture, the country depends primarily on one major export crop – tobacco – which accounts for more than […]
In a Hungry Africa, We Cannot Wait for Pigs to Fly
Poverty and hunger often go hand-in-hand. But in my country of Uganda, farmers are generating a revolution that is overcoming both, and it is based on pigs. In the past 30 years, the number of pigs raised in Uganda has increased from about 200,000 to 3.2 million pigs. Today, more than one million Ugandan farmers […]
The Holy Grail of Inclusive Market Development
There is something satisfying knowing that when you buy your ethically sourced tea or coffee you are making a contribution to a movement that is helping to improve the lives and businesses of millions of poor producers. I can’t say I’ve ever got the same fuzzy feeling whilst serving my kids Malawian pigeon peas for […]
Brewing up Success for Tanzanian Coffee Farmers
By Ciara O’Sullivan, VSO VSO volunteer Joseph Ochuma is an Agronomist working with Karagwe Development and Relief Services (KADERES). KADERES is an NGO based in the Kagera region of North West Tanzania. Joseph started his current placement in 2012, although he was not new to VSO having previously volunteered at VSO Malawi working with the […]
New Generation of Business Leaders for Africa
Do you remember some of your most productive learning moments as an adult? They likely involved solving problems that were relevant to your life or working environment, and in a non-formal teaching environment. I vividly remember some “accelerated” learning experiences like arriving in Rwanda – my first Africa experience – with what I thought was […]
New Tools & Rules for Businesses in Global Development
Addis Ababa hosted the Third UN Financing for Development conference from 13 to 16 July to improve the quantity and quality of financial flows for development. The resulting Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) addressed the right problems, but it provided little tangible and time-bound answers. The follow-up process of the UN FfD Forum will therefore […]
New Tools & Rules for Businesses in Global Development
Addis Ababa hosted the Third UN Financing for Development conference from 13 to 16 July to improve the quantity and quality of financial flows for development. The resulting Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) addressed the right problems, but it provided little tangible and time-bound answers. The follow-up process of the UN FfD Forum will therefore […]
Helping Indian Smallholder Farmers Through Partnerships
Imagine you’re a farmer in rural India. You work on less than an acre of land, and your soil lacks the nutrients needed to grow a successful crop. Water is scarce outside of the monsoon season, when torrential rainfall can damage crops and wash away valuable soil and nutrients. You don’t have regular access to […]
Health System Innovations that Save Children’s Lives
What does ‘health system strengthening’ really mean? It is an aspiration we hear a lot. But what does it really take to make sure countries have the right resources in the right places to help people get the right health care when they need it – without falling into financial hardship as a result? At […]
Vlisco – The Benefits of Localisation
By CDC In West Africa, the name Vlisco evokes heritage, quality and individuality. Established more than 160 years ago, the Vlisco Group’s textiles are at the heart of fashion in West and Central Africa. The company designs, manufactures and distributes 70 million yards of branded fabrics annually through its operations and retail presence in Côte […]
Making Hunger History
Hunger has plagued humanity since the dawn of recorded history. It has featured in every era and every civilization. It has brought empires to ruin, and societies to their knees. In this second decade of the 21st century, we have the expertise, the technology, and the resources to feed every person, in every country. Yet […]
5 Ways Trade Can Deliver for the World’s Poor
It’s time to take the conversation about trade and poverty to the next level. Just about every day, UPS drops something at my doorstep. As a working mom with two busy boys, my store of convenience is the world as I shop online. As an advocate for women in living in poverty worldwide, I often […]
Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium
Too often, the challenges surrounding food security are tackled by different groups of experts in siloes. As a result, they can seem insurmountable, but in practice, real world solutions are possible. Forums like the Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium are important catalysts – helping to integrate debate, break down these siloes and canvas holistic […]
Growing Food in a Resource Scarce World
The world is changing. And those changes bring with them new structural challenges. Rapid population growth, increasingly scarce resources, food lost or wasted and climate change are putting enormous pressure on agricultural productivity which is vital for food security and livelihoods. No one will be immune from the effects of climate change. But it will […]
If You Want to Make Money be a Farmer, Not a Financier
As an investor, I’ll cut to the chase – I’m long agriculture. That’s to say I’m very optimistic about its potential despite the fact that the sector has been a disaster for the past 30 years – my own Commodities Index tells me that agriculture prices are just 75% of what they were in 1998. […]