Enhancing the Livelihoods of Women in Unilever’s Agricultural Supply Chain
Unilever Case Study on Women’s Economic Empowerment Overview Empowering women is critical to eradicating poverty and accelerating global development. In Unilever’s case, this is hugely important for us. Over 70% of the people making the decision to buy our brands are women. Our future growth depends on meeting their needs and aspirations and on supporting […]
Mars Women Empowerment Plan
Background Women provide approximately 45% of the labor in cocoa supply chains, yet they face discrimination in access to resources compared to their male counterparts. They often work unpaid on family farms and are not always viewed as “farmers”. Low education, poor access to health services and limited training greatly disadvantage women (and their families) […]
Access to Finance and Women’s Economic Empowerment
Cherie Blair Foundation Case Study on Women’s Economic Empowerment In 2014 the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women partnered with Accenture and CARE International to promote the long-term financial independence of Rwandan women, by providing a combination of mentoring, training and improved access to financial services. Financial inclusion is a deeply gendered issue in Rwanda, where […]
Brexit – What Does It Mean for Fairtrade?
Negotiating our way out of Europe will be a tough and lengthy process. Nobody can predict the exact outcome of the Brexit negotiations, but it is possible to identify those people that could be affected and build scenarios showing how they could be affected. This blog outlines how Fairtrade certified farmers could be affected by […]
Banking on Social Innovation
Caroline Anstey, Global Head of UBS and Society and former Managing Director of the World Bank, spoke to Adam Lent, Ashoka’s European Director of Research and Innovation, about a revolution in finance that currently is driving social change. Caroline believes firmly that the financial sector can drive social change by becoming more open as a […]
Virtuous Circle: Increasing Productivity and Fighting Poverty
What do engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, shipping company Maersk and Kenyan toilet provider Sanergy all have in common? All three are using the circular economy concept to increase their productivity. In Sanergy’s case, they use the waste from their network of high-quality, low-cost toilets in the slums of Nairobi to produce agricultural inputs and energy. […]
Empower a Woman and a Whole Community Will Thrive
Empowering women benefits everyone and is essential for cocoa growing communities to thrive. Research shows that increasing women’s involvement leads to improved financial management by farmers, better education of youth and more sustainable, thriving communities. Cocoa Life, Mondelez International’ cocoa sustainability program, is deliberate about promoting women’s empowerment. Cocoa Life has worked to mainstream gender […]
Building the Social Enterprise Eco-System in Thailand
In South East Asia, 95% of coral reefs are endangered. In Thailand the richest quartile of the population own around half of the country’s income, whilst the poorest quartile have less than 10%. Only 38% of the population are educated to a secondary level and social and environmental problems are rife. The Thai Social Watch […]
Access to Finance, Gender Bias and Climate Change Resilience for Smallholders
Olam expands on lessons learned from 5 years of the Olam Livelihood Charter Despite extensive progress being made under its Livelihood Charter, global agri-business Olam predicts that smallholder productivity across Africa, Asia and South America will still be massively hindered by lack of access to finance, equality for women and climate change impacts, unless far […]
How Can Sustainable Development Remain a Priority?
Bhaskar Chakravorti explores innovation in sustainable development amid Brexit, anti-globalisation and a worldwide slowdown. The summer is heating up with reminders that the first anniversary of the launch of the2030 Agenda is not far – and when it comes to implementing sustainable development worldwide, time passes rather quickly. The high level political forum (HLPF) on […]
Unleashing Inclusive Business for the SDGs
On 5th June 2016, Business Call to Action (BCtA), in cooperation with The Partnering Initiative (TPI), SNV Netherlands Development Organization, UNDP Bangladesh and Business Fights Poverty hosted an exclusive invite-only event introducing Inclusive Business in Bangladesh to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The primary objective […]
Interview with Komal Sinha on CSR Trends in India
Komal Sinha, Head of Partnerships at ClimateCare’s India Office, has been working with CSR teams to plan and implement corporate social responsibility programmes in large corporates in India for over 10 years. In that time, she has witnessed a drastic shift in how organisation’s CSR priorities have changed. Two years on from India’s implementation of […]
Why International Volunteering is (In)valuable to Your Company
Getting involved in international corporate volunteering can leave you with mixed emotions. It sounds alluring, but you might get laughed out of the board room for making the case. The crucial question you will need to answer is; what would volunteers and the business get in return from spending anything from a month to a […]
Empowering Women in the Supply Chain
Primark is a Finalist in the Unilever Global Development Award supported by Business Fights Poverty. We asked them some questions about their programme and the lessons learnt. Q) What challenge does Primark’s programme serve to change? Like almost every other fashion retailer, Primark products are made in countries like India where wages are lower and […]
Saving the Lives of One Million Children
GSK’s partnership with Save the Children is a Finalist in the Unilever Global Development Award supported by Business Fights Poverty. We asked them some questions about their programme and the global development impacts achieved. Q) What challenge does the GSK-Save the Children partnership serve to change? In 2015, 5.9 children under the age of five […]
Challenging Innovators to Turn the Power On in Africa
Six hundred million. That is the number of Africans who do not have access to electricity. Imagine what this might be like. No street lights to help you find your way home after dark. No place to charge your computer or cell phone. No way to read a book before bed or have your kids […]
Bringing Sustainable Energy to Informal Settlements
Pollinate Energy is a Finalist in the Unilever Global Development Award supported by Business Fights Poverty. We asked them some questions about their programme and the lessons learnt. Q) What challenge does Pollinate Energy’s programme serve to change? 400 million people live in India without electricity. Wood cooking fires and kerosene lamps cause epidemic levels […]
Three Key Steps to Empowering Women in Global Value Chains
Global value chains can be a powerful lever for empowering women, but companies must identify where women work, must develop a clear gender strategy and must articulate the business case for supporting women. As the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment continues to develop its thinking over the next few months, they should […]
Transforming Cotton Supply Chains in Côte d’Ivoire
Olam International is a Finalist in the Unilever Global Development Award supported by Business Fights Poverty. We asked them some questions about their programme and the lessons learnt. Q) How did Olam International’s programme begin? When we began operating in Côte D’Ivoire in 2008 we had to consider a number of risks. The region was […]
Catalysing Impact Investing in East Africa
FSG’s newest office, located in Mumbai, houses our inclusive markets team, which works to develop and scale inclusive business models to create new opportunities and better lives for the global poor. Learn more about our inclusive markets approach. While East Africa has demonstrated robust growth over the past years, poverty is still widespread. Across the […]