Aviva Carbon Offsetting Projects Improve 200,000 Lives
Aviva and ClimateCare are applying a new methodology to their projects in India and Kenya, which measures the benefits of carbon offsetting for society as well as the environment. The LBG Framework, a peerreviewed international standard for measuring corporate community investment which started life as the London Benchmarking Group, has allowed the organisations to identify […]
Getting to the Bottom of…Toilet Innovation
Danielle Batist, Communications Associate at Ashoka UK More than a third of the world population does not have access to a clean toilet. 1.1 billion people defecate in the open. On the first UN-recognised World Toilet Day on 19 November, two social entrepreneurs explain why “everyone should give a shit”. When the UN Deputy Secretary-General […]
Breaking The Cycle of Paying for Water
With taps every few metres in most UK city centres, quenching your thirst with expensive bottled water can feel both unnecessary and unsustainable. The booming retail market for drinking water on-the-go has made asking for a free glass somewhat of a taboo. One young social entrepreneur is trying to turn the tide. For 28-year old […]
The Challenges of Going to Scale
In our latest BIF insider “Scaling Inclusive Business – Why do some successful IB pilots fail to scale”, Jack Newnham identifies and examines seven broad reasons why some inclusive businesses do not go to scale. The publication draws on a range of examples (mostly not related to BIF), illustrating which hurdles could and could not […]
The Story of How Big Business Can Fix the World
Writing Everybody’s Business took us on a two-year journey through the world of business. We met people in boardrooms and on the front-line of operations – in mines, factories and farms, in data centres and distribution hubs. We saw first-hand how big corporations are taking on some of today’s toughest challenges, mobilizing the vast resources, […]
Market & Social Impact Research: A Dual Approach
Having worked in the local sustainable energy sector for the last seven years, I cannot stress enough how important it is to conduct both market and social impact research. Yet most organisations tend to focus on one or the other. Enterprises and charities founded in countries where they operate, especially when they are led by […]
Market & Social Impact Research: A Dual Approach
Having worked in the local sustainable energy sector for the last seven years, I cannot stress enough how important it is to conduct both market and social impact research. Yet most organisations tend to focus on one or the other. Enterprises and charities founded in countries where they operate, especially when they are led by […]
Does Scaling Up Compromise our Social Mission?
When charities concentrate on measuring the impact of their work it is easy to justify certain inefficiencies or not reaching scale, but a business wouldn’t have that attitude. That’s why SolarAid have chosen a business based approach; our mission to eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa requires that we get solar lights to people at […]
The Business of Agriculture: What’s missing?
By Alison Griffith,Senior Policy and Practice Advisor, Private Sector and Markets, Practical Action, and George McAllister, Director of Programmes, Garden Africa Smallholders have the potential to become the backbone of agricultural growth in Africa and to supply our growing demand for food – if they have the right environment. The World Bank’s proposal to develop […]
Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture
Smallholders have the potential to become the backbone of agricultural growth in Africa and to supply our growing demand for food. As Kato Lambrecht said in her blog yesterday, the policies and practices of governments can have a huge impact on whether or not they can realise that potential. The African Smallholder Farmers Group have […]
Making Markets Work for Smallholder Farmers
John Ngari farms a seven acre plot in Mbere Kenya. In a recent conversation he remarked that ‘It is an eye opener for us that farming can be a business. My sons can enter farming as a business just like any other. What I am looking for is to have my own, small-scale industry so […]
Only Business Can Solve Poverty
There’s nothing mysterious here. Poor people tell us they’re poor because they don’t have enough money—and who knows more about making money than businesspeople? Capital, Jobs, Scale Private business possesses three overarching and undeniable advantages in addressing the challenge of poverty: Profitable businesses attract substantial capital. Successful businesses hire lots of people. Successful businesses are […]
8 Insights from the Mind of an Intrapreneur
The inaugural 3-day Intrapreneur Lab offered a unique and intimate insight into the minds of today’s leading ‘social intrapreneurs;’ the enterprising individuals working on the inside of large corporations to create innovative business solutions that drive social change. Of course, entrepreneurial employees with noble motives have been part of large companies for years, but increasingly, […]
The Challenges of Going to Scale – A BIF Perspective
In our latest BIF insider “Scaling Inclusive Business – Why do some successful IB pilots fail to scale”, Jack Newnham identifies and examines seven broad reasons why some inclusive businesses do not go to scale. The publication draws on a range of examples (mostly not related to BIF), illustrating which hurdles could and could not […]
Zambian Businessman Starts Africa's First Green Party
After years in the maize exporting business and fifteen years of fighting to protect the rich natural resources, environment and landscape of Zambia, Peter Sinkamba has decided it is time to swap his activist hat for a politician’s. All the same, he will keep his business hat on when trying to persuade corporates to jump […]
Zambian Businessman Starts Africa’s First Green Party
After years in the maize exporting business and fifteen years of fighting to protect the rich natural resources, environment and landscape of Zambia, Peter Sinkamba has decided it is time to swap his activist hat for a politician’s. All the same, he will keep his business hat on when trying to persuade corporates to jump […]
Combatting Modern-Day Slavery
How many slaves work for you? Paradoxically – in 2013 – the question is still very relevant, and you might be surprised by the answer. Depending on where you live, what you buy, what your lifestyle is, you have almost certainly been touched by slavery. Almost nobody is clean. Modern-day slavery takes many forms: human […]
How to Change the Way the World is Fed?
As we mark World Food Day this week, we are greeted by the news that 842 million people – about one in eight – are still chronically hungry. Although this represents an improvement on the figures from previous years, it is not enough, and it looks like we are at risk of missing the Millennium […]
'Eco' Status Quo? Why We're Growing Our Own Food
Social entrepreneurs are driving a global movement to think, eat, and grow local. UK Venture Manager Julia Koskella shares Ashoka’s key insights for success as part of a series on leading trends in social entrepreneurship and the environment coming out of Europe. The past few years have seen a massive increase in demand for locally-sourced […]
‘Eco’ Status Quo? Why We’re Growing Our Own Food
Social entrepreneurs are driving a global movement to think, eat, and grow local. UK Venture Manager Julia Koskella shares Ashoka’s key insights for success as part of a series on leading trends in social entrepreneurship and the environment coming out of Europe. The past few years have seen a massive increase in demand for locally-sourced […]