Paul Polak: The Last 500 Feet
By Paul Polak, Founder, iDE, Author Out of Poverty Developing new practical and profitable ways to cross the last 500 feet to the remote rural places where poor families now live and work is the first step towards creating vibrant new markets that serve poor customers. In rural Orissa, India, the women are not permitted […]
The Water Food Energy Nexus
By 2050 demand for resources is set to increase significantly as the global population grows to nine billion and becomes more prosperous. Global economic growth is being driven largely by emerging markets. Over the medium term, the World Bank estimates economic growth of 6% in developing countries compared to 2.7% in higher-income countries1. This is […]
Interview with Paul Hohnen: Greenwash, Sustainable Development and Saving the Planet
In an interview for Making It Magazine, sustainability specialist, Paul Hohnen, answers questions about ‘greenwash’, sustainable development, and what governments and the UN need to do to save the planet You have worked on economic and environmental issues for over three decades, as an Australian diplomat, as a Director of Greenpeace International, as Strategic Director […]
Reasons to be both hugely disappointed and very excited
In an interview for Making It Magazine, sustainability specialist, Paul Hohnen, answers questions about ‘greenwash’, sustainable development, and what governments and the UN need to do to save the planet You have worked on economic and environmental issues for over three decades, as an Australian diplomat, as a Director of Greenpeace International, as Strategic Director […]
Education in Africa – looking beyond 2015
“If the youth of our continent are going to be successful in the modern workplace they need more than just books and pens. They need to be immersed in a technology-rich environment from an early age.” Ensuring that all children in Africa receive some sort of education at all is a challenge in itself. A […]
Enabling Green and Inclusive Markets – A Case for Public-private Collaboration
Sustainable development and green growth require real dialogue between private and public sector actors on how to improve the operating environment for green and inclusive businesses. To support this, the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), UN Global Compact and the World Resource Institute’s (WRI) New Ventures initiative, organized an event “Enabling green and inclusive […]
Kourage: The Power of Sport to Fight Poverty
I’m Chris Markl an economics professor and an expert on foreign investment and job creation. I’m also the founder of Kourage Athletics. Kourage Athletics is Kenya’s running brand. Our mission is to leverage the tradition of Kenyan runners to create authentically kenyan running apparel. In addition Kourage seeks to become the first African brand that […]
The ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ Approach: Responsible Capitalism or Business as Usual?
Yesterday evening I took part in a Public Debate at Saïd Business School, organised by the Centre for New Economies of Development – a collaboration between the Universities of Oxford, Sussex and Edinburgh. The event also saw the launch of a new website to encourage academic discussion and knowledge sharing on the BoP: responsiblebop.com Below […]
Creating a sales force of solar entrepreneurs
Which continents have the highest number of mobile phone subscribers? The answer isn’t Europe or the Americas, where mobile phones first took off, but Asia and, as of 2011, Africa. By the end of last year there were over 600m mobile phones subscribers from Cairo to Cape Town, according to research by the GSMA. This […]
Resources for practitioners: inclusive business models in the energy sector
We are delighted to launch a new series of monthly Editorial Specials, in which we highlight our favourite resources on business and development. As the concept of inclusive business takes root and people move from ideas into action, an increasing number of sector-specific reports on inclusive business models have begun to come out. This month, […]
Business Solutions to Enable Energy Access for All
Business solutions to enable energy access for all is the first major publication of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Access to Energy initiative. It has been released today to coincide with the launch of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All by the United Nations’ Secretary-General, HE Ban Ki-moon. Addressing the […]
News: 30 Million Rural Poor in India and South Africa to Benefit from Banking Services
New York, 14 December 2011—Two companies announced today they will be providing banking services to more than 30 million low-income people in India and South Africa by 2015 through their commitments to the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including […]
Empowering Women Through Business
At a recent event in London organised by Business Action for Africa, UK Department for International Development and the Institute for Development Studies titled: “Advancing Gender Equality through Business and Partnerships”, we discussed the compelling economic and business case for investing in the economic empowerment of women. We know that improving the economic position of […]
New Ventures to Promote Clean Energy
Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank More than 12 million low-income people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America will gain access to clean energy following four companies’ commitments made today to the Business Call to Action, a global leadership initiative that promotes sustainable economic and social development. The companies also expect to create approximately 42,000 […]
Four Companies Announce New Ventures to Promote Clean Energy
Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank More than 12 million low-income people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America will gain access to clean energy following four companies’ commitments made today to the Business Call to Action, a global leadership initiative that promotes sustainable economic and social development. The companies also expect to create approximately 42,000 […]
Zidisha.org Facilitates $100,000 in P2P Microloans, “Turns Microfinance On Its Head”
While conducting fieldwork for a microfinance organization in West Africa in 2006, Zidisha.org founder Julia Kurnia noticed something startling. Loans that were funded at zero interest by well-meaning participants in the popular microlending website Kiva.org were costing the impoverished beneficiaries more than 35% on average in interest and fees. The exorbitant rates were charged by […]
Sustained Renewable Energy for Africa
I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words on a matter of great importance for us in Africa. It is particularly appropriate that for some weeks now I have been talking about renewable energy resources in Africa. It is common knowledge that Africa is very well endowed with a rich variety […]
Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy
Will Africa have the power it needs in the future? Will Africa have the technology it needs to supply adequate power? Will reliable electricity become an unaffordable luxury for low-income Africans? In the last few years, utility bills have risen many times in most African countries. The rising cost of fuel combined with the rising […]
Stephen Farrant and Shivvy Jervis: We Need a Green ‘Innovation Revolution’ for Business to be Truly Sustainable
It’s a straightforward premise really – in the longer run, all business has to be environmentally sustainable or the laws of science will take over. We believe there is a clear and compelling business case for energy-intensive businesses to put environmental responsibility and resource efficiency on their core agenda now. And with the operating environment […]
Moving Minds, Moving Money: SOCAP/Europe in Amsterdam
On Monday, I attended the launch of SOCAP Europe in Amsterdam. Founded in 2008, as a “multi-platform organization dedicated to the flow of capital towards social good”, SOCAP has already established itself as one of the leading events on the impact investment calendar in the US, but this is the first time the event has […]