Business Fights Poverty Event Announcement
The Future For Africa Is Trade Not Aid: Celebrating the UK-Africa Investment Summit
What is the current landscape for trade and investment in Africa? Africa has substantial economic potential. The IMF estimates that Africa is home to eight of the world’s 15 fastest growing economies. By 2050, over 2 billion people will live in Africa and one in four global consumers will be African. These thriving, young, innovative […]
10 People Who Inspired Me in 2019 and Make Me Optimistic for 2020
We are fast approaching the darkest day in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice on 22 December. For some, it is tempting to read that as a metaphor for this moment, with the forward march of national populism and continued foot-dragging on climate change. But do not despair. All around us in 2019 have been […]
Welcome to Business Fights Poverty Magazine Issue 4: Delivering Impact
How Can International Donors Help Businesses Scale their Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals?
SURVEY: How Can We Embed Purpose Authentically into Business
The Rise (and Rise) of the Gig Economy in Kenya – And How to Take It to the Next Level
Nzelu has not only found regular employment, he has also hired an assistant and invested in a motorcycle to help him to move from client to client more quickly. He is part of the gig economy, a set of online marketplaces for short-term and freelance jobs, which has mushroomed in the last decade – not […]
Five Ways Companies Embed Purpose into their Business
Zahid Torres-Rahman, CEO and co-founder of Business Fights Poverty, opened the event stating: ‘Purpose is not CSR …confined to the sustainability department. It is this all pervasive force that can drive, and inspire and align how businesses operate and what they do.’ But how exactly do companies embed purpose into their business strategy and operations? […]
Connecting People to Purpose Creates Value for All Stakeholders
Earlier this year Larry Fink, of Blackrock investors wrote to CEOs of companies, including GSK, in a letter entitled “purpose and profit”. He said, “purpose is not a mere tagline or marketing campaign; it is a company’s fundamental reason for being – what it does every day to create value for its stakeholders.” In my […]
Registration Open: Business Fights Poverty NYC 2019, 23 September
Why the Truth of a Brand’s Story is in the Doing
For over 40,000 years we’ve been telling each other stories to make sense of the world –with ancient cave walls frequently offering a more captivating canvas than our slide equivalent today. Character-driven stories, particularly when there is a tension in the narrative, produce oxytocin in our brains, which enhances our empathy and connection to others. […]
Can Profit and Purpose Really Go Hand in Hand?
It’s fair to say I believe that, despite all its considerable limitations, capitalism is the least bad economic system around. But I also agree strongly with Martin Wolf, who wrote a piece in the Financial Times on 11th December 2018 with the view that businesses which only pursue profits lead to dire outcomes. The global […]
Joyeux Noel: In The Midst of War
It’s a piece of history that bubbles up from time to time: The Christmas Eve Truce of World War I. In December of 1914, German soldiers faced Allied troops in the early stages of the brutal trench warfare that characterized much of that global conflict. According to a BBC documentary, there were many “live and […]
Welcome to Business Fights Poverty Magazine Issue 2 on Purposeful Collaboration
Five Pillars for Embedding Purpose Authentically into Business
There is much talk about purpose, sustainability and business as “a force for good”, but is it for real or just rhetoric? The common ground between those who believe in the impact of purposeful business and those who question it is a desire for authentic action; the recognition that we need to move beyond words […]
Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019 Purpose Zone: Why Should We Decide 31 Years Ahead of Time What Will Happen in 2050?
Last week the UK government rejected all 18 of the recommendations put to it by a committee established to investigate, amongst other concerns, the negative impacts of the world’s second largest polluter – fast fashion. Meanwhile in Brussels the European Unionwas incapable of uniting to set a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 and over in Canada the […]
The Purpose Statement: Necessary, but Insufficient
Many organisations, big and small, put a lot of work into discovering their Purpose and crafting their Purpose Statement. They’re also defining or refining their Values, as a star chart to guide the positive evolution of their culture. Done thoroughly and inclusively, this is critically important work. But my question is: will a well-crafted Purpose Statement and […]
Why Purpose Must be at the Heart of Business Strategy
So much for a gentle start to the new year. Early 2019 has been a challenging time for those of us who strive to make organisations a force for good – whether we call it purpose, CSR, sustainability or inclusion. We kicked off the year in the midst of heavy fire from Anand Giridharas, journalist […]
How is Business Rethinking Generation Purpose?
Who are millennials? A generation of people who reached young adulthood in the early 21st century (born between 1981 and 1997) Millennials make up 27% of the global population or about 2 billion people (Pew Research Center, Global Business Policy Council) By 2025 75% of workforce will comprise millennials (Brookings Data Now) Why might millenials […]
Surviving Sustainability – Working In CSR Without Burning Out
This month marks my 20th year of working in sustainability. Two decades of climate change, poverty, women’s rights, biodiversity, innovation, growing livelihoods and changing lifestyles I’m so privileged to have found this career early. But over the years I’ve also had friends and colleagues burn themselves out or just become bitter about the pace of change. […]