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 […]
Pushpanath Krishnamurthy: Coffee and Climate change: Doom or a new opportunity
Pushpanath Krishnamurthy, Social Business & Markets, Oxfam GB A historic and unprecedented event at the COP 11 (CBD) Conference in October 2012 was the release of a landmark report, “Coffee to go? The vital role of coffee towards ecosystem services and livelihoods” by Pavan Sukhdev, the lead author of the TEEB report and UNEP’S goodwill […]
Jin-Yong Cai: How to end poverty? The private sector is part of the solution
Four years after the global financial crisis struck, the world still faces major economic challenges. Shocks from Europe, Asia, or the United States could undermine recoveries in many developing countries, hurting the poor the most. The threat is acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half the population still lives in poverty, and many countries remain […]
How to end poverty? The Private Sector is Part of the Solution
Four years after the global financial crisis struck, the world still faces major economic challenges. Shocks from Europe, Asia, or the United States could undermine recoveries in many developing countries, hurting the poor the most. The threat is acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half the population still lives in poverty, and many countries remain […]
Paul Polak: Achieving Success at the BoP
Question: If you build a better mousetrap will the world beat a path to your door? Answer: Without superb marketing and distribution nobody beats a path to your door. In my work with a multitude of affordable technologies over the past 30 years, one key feature has become abundantly clear: If you have met the […]
Marius Kokouvi: A Day in the Life of a Microfinance Loan Officer
Marius Kokouvi is a loan officer at WAGES*, lendwithcare.org’s partner microfinance institution (MFI) in Togo. Here he describes an average working day. My name is Marius YAKOUTO Kokouvi. For 3 years, I have been responsible for saving and loans at WAGES at the Atakpamé branch, which is in central Togo. My job is to connect […]
Top Resources of 2012
Whether you seek practical tools for entrepreneurs, or an overview of how inclusive businesses are grappling towards scale, there has been plenty for everyone in the highlights of 2012. On the Practitioner Hub on Inclusive Business we feature an Editor’s Choice every month. I have spent an enjoyable morning going back through the highlights of […]
My top picks of 2012
Whether you seek practical tools for entrepreneurs, or an overview of how inclusive businesses are grappling towards scale, there has been plenty for everyone in the highlights of 2012. On the Practitioner Hub on Inclusive Business we feature an Editor’s Choice every month. I have spent an enjoyable morning going back through the highlights of […]
The challenges facing women micro entrepreneurs
Lendwithcare.org, CARE International Women microentrepreneurs face many difficulties in developing their businesses: lack of appropriate skills, lack of mobility and lack of infrastructure may all pose significant challenges. In such instances the provision of microfinance to address the problem of lack of capital may have a limited effect unless steps are taken to address other […]
Has the debate on microfinance made us forget about the poor?
Ines ©Nancy Thomas/CARE The microfinance community can be a confusing and contradictory place. Ever growing and buzzing, it is a community built upon grand ‘for’ and ‘against’ statements, a place that is bursting at the seams with facts and figures and a place, let’s face it, that leaves even the most persistent of ‘truth-seekers’ feeling […]
There is a Case for NGO Corporate Partnerships for Development Through Inclusive Business
Private Sector Engagement Coordinator, CARE Bangladesh Over the last ten years, as an integral part of CARE’s mission to eradicate poverty in Bangladesh, we have been engaging with the private sector more and more to identify and implement innovative solutions to the most pressing development challenges of our time. To our private sector partners, we […]
Business-NGO partnerships: not why, but how….
For some time now many of us have woken up to the fact that there is more to business-NGO partnerships than money. Money, of course, remains important in these economically tight times – NGOs certainly need all the money they can get at the moment and it’s great to see corporate philanthropy remains strong. We […]
Michael Mapstone: Business-NGO partnerships – not why, but how….
For some time now many of us have woken up to the fact that there is more to business-NGO partnerships than money. Money, of course, remains important in these economically tight times – NGOs certainly need all the money they can get at the moment and it’s great to see corporate philanthropy remains strong. We […]
Grassroots Business Fund Closes $47 Million Fund for Impact Investing in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
December 4th, 2012 (Washington, DC) –The Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) announces today that is has successfully closed a $47,000,000 fund, with support from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the German Development Bank, the Netherlands Development Finance Company and more than two dozen additional governments, foundations and private individuals. GBF will target businesses in emerging markets […]
To Make HIV/AIDS Education More Effective, Start with Empowerment
While in Kenya this month, I sat in on a HERproject training on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for future peer health educators. BSR’s HERproject uses a peer-to-peer training methodology to reach women working in factories and farms in Asia and Africa—to date, we’ve reached more than 200,000 women across eight countries. The training was the […]
Waste Is Wanted: Feeding the Hungry Instead of Landfills
The need for proper nutrition is among the most primal. Yet in our own country, one in seven homes and one in five children in the United States are labeled as food At the same time, food waste is also epidemic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States throws out 40 percent […]
Brussels event looks at ways to engage private sector in sustainable agricultural development
European Development Days, an annual event hosted by the European Commission and held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, is Europe’s premier forum on development and international affairs. In 2012, the meetings addressed inclusive growth, resilience, and private sector engagement, with a special focus on new partnerships and innovative financing of anti-poverty solutions. One high-level panel […]
Unlearning to innovate: 7 steps entrepreneurs need to know when getting into inclusive business
Dr. Fernando Casado Cañeque. Director, Centre of Partnerships for Development It is typically in crisis situations when the absence of political leadership becomes most evident. In such situations, it is also when social innovation becomes most needed. However, as a concept, for innovation to be really social, it should challenge current thinking models and recognize […]