Arafa: The Tanzanian Solar Engineer Leading the Way for Other Women in Her Village
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by women in some of the poorest communities in the world and to recognise the impact economic empowerment and increased participation in public life can have on their lives. Arafa, a mother of four from a rural community in Southern Tanzania, was chosen by […]
Arafa- the Tanzanian solar engineer leading the way for other women in her village
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by women in some of the poorest communities in the world and to recognise the impact economic empowerment and increased participation in public life can have on their lives. Arafa, a mother of four from a rural community in Southern Tanzania, was chosen by […]
Empowering women through skills development in Tanzania’s oil and gas industry
BG Group entered Tanzania in 2010 with a genuine commitment to making a positive contribution to the lives of the Tanzanian people as much as to the country’s economy. As a world leader in natural gas with activities in more than 20 countries, we understand the importance of investing in sustainable development to ensure the […]
Private Sector and Women’s Empowerment- Weaving Together Two Strands of Development’s “Golden Thread”
VSO How can businesses factor gender equality into their development partnerships with NGOs? As we approach International Women’s Day on 8th March, a series of articles from VSO and our partners, published every day this week on Business Fights Poverty, looks at how the private sector and NGOs can play a part in supporting women’s […]
Behind the Brands: Where is our food produced and under what conditions?
We have all watched public confidence in the European food industry plummet in recent weeks with the revelation that many familiar products in supermarkets, some restaurants and even in school dinners contain horsemeat. And ‘horsegate’ is not the only issue. According to the Guardian, EU labelling regulations allow tomato puree grown and processed in China […]
Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value
Help your programme scale up! We are looking to invest in social change by helping innovative, commercially viable, and high impact initiatives achieve social scale and financial sustainability. The winning entry will benefit from financial support of up to CHF 500,000 (approx. USD 530,000). Specific fields of activity include, but are not limited to: agriculture, […]
Cocoa Life- the project empowering women in Ghana’s cocoa growing communities
Cocoa has been grown in Ghana for over one hundred years and it is the second export crop for my country after gold. However we found that the supply of cocoa was dwindling because of many challenges. Young people were not getting involved in cocoa farming leaving such labour-intensive farming like cocoa farming in the […]
Kristie Wang: Nutrients for All – Thriving Ecosystems for Productive, Resilient Food Systems
Natural ecosystems ensure that vital nutrients flow from soils to food to people. Thriving ecosystems are the bedrock of healthy nutrient chains, the basis of all life on the planet. So what’s the issue? Degraded by human activity like unsustainable agricultural practices, ecosystems around the world and their capacity to regenerate are threatened. This escalating […]
Nutrients for All – Thriving Ecosystems for Productive, Resilient Food Systems
Natural ecosystems ensure that vital nutrients flow from soils to food to people. Thriving ecosystems are the bedrock of healthy nutrient chains, the basis of all life on the planet. So what’s the issue? Degraded by human activity like unsustainable agricultural practices, ecosystems around the world and their capacity to regenerate are threatened. This escalating […]
Nutrients for All: Vitality in Soil, Food, and People
Being fully nourished is a must for good health, but did you know that the carrot you’re eating today probably has far fewer vitamins and minerals than a carrot grown 50 years ago? Soil depletion, as a result of unsustainable farming methods, is a primary culprit. Another cause of depleted nutrients has been the breeding […]
Interview with Jillene Connors Belopolsky: The Bigger “Whole” in Business
What if 1 + 1 could somehow equal 3? For social intrapreneurs working for social or environmental welfare from within a large business, there’s a chance it can. In order to create a whole that’s bigger than the sum of its parts, social intrapreneurs must be savvy. They must not only develop solutions to pressing […]
Development in Transition
This morning the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, gave a major speech on international development, setting out her priorities for the Department for International Development (DFID). The event was hosted by ONE Campaign UK. Below is a transcript of the speech: I’ve been privileged to head up DFID now as Secretary […]
Business Model Innovation for Bottom of the Pyramid
By Julia Guren, Impact Lab On December 6th, Impact Lab and LAB Open Innovation came together with the support of Business Fight Poverty to present a discussion on the challenges and opportunities faced by social entrepreneurs whose work is geared at the Bottom of the Pyramid (‘BoP’). The event brought together a panel of voices […]
Prioritising Africa – Introducing Microsoft 4Afrika
There is an African proverb that reads, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”We couldn’t agree more. Microsoft has been operating in Africa for 20 years, and today we have offices in 14 countries. As we look forward to our next 20 years, we wanted […]
Social Impact Bonds Help Investors Bridge Philanthropy and Business Goals
Long before doctor and entrepreneur Paul Polak began trying to revolutionize social investing — before he could even drive a car — he was planting the seeds for a movement he hopes will change the way some people do business. It was 1939, and Polak’s father was making a good living as a peasant farmer […]
Who’s Innovating at the BOP?
Solar-powered milk cooling systems in Ethiopia, bio-gas charges for electric devices in Bangladesh, testing kits for substandard medicines in Kenya; these are just three of the many innovations that served as an anchor for discussion at last month’s “Implementing Inclusive Innovation” conference, hosted by the BoP Innovation Center in Amsterdam. The Business Call to Action […]
Lisa Dreier: Can partnerships feed the world?
Global food systems are increasingly at risk. Rising demand, scarce resources and increased volatility are putting new pressures on agriculture and food systems. More than 870 million people are chronically hungry, many of whom are small farmers. Farmers are not the only ones struggling. Governments, companies, international agencies and civil society groups are looking for […]
Can partnerships feed the world?
Global food systems are increasingly at risk. Rising demand, scarce resources and increased volatility are putting new pressures on agriculture and food systems. More than 870 million people are chronically hungry, many of whom are small farmers. Farmers are not the only ones struggling. Governments, companies, international agencies and civil society groups are looking for […]
SolarAid's 'SunnyMoney' becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]
SolarAid’s ‘SunnyMoney’ becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]