Content Leads
In a world shaped by overlapping crises, from climate change to conflict and deepening poverty, the pressure on those committed to positive social impact is intensifying just as resources are shrinking. The challenge is stark: how do we achieve more, for more people, with less? At Business Fights Poverty, we see a clear determination across our community to remain ambitious despite these constraints. Our Partnerships Series, timed with FCDO’s Global Partnerships Conference, explored how organisations are responding. Two themes are emerging as critical.
First, the growing importance of systemic partnerships, bringing together diverse actors to pool resources, align efforts and tackle complex challenges at scale, while keeping trust and co-creation at the centre. Second, the transformative potential of AI to increase efficiency and unlock knowledge, alongside the need to ensure inclusion.
Thank you to our speakers, contributors, and community members for sharing insights on
how we can remain ambitious, even at a time of crisis and constraint.
This paper explores how organisations can stay ambitious in a context of overlapping crises, rising needs and shrinking resources. Drawing on insights from Business Fights Poverty’s Partnerships Series, it highlights two practical routes forward: systemic partnerships that align incentives, share risk and build trust; and human-centred AI that can unlock knowledge, increase efficiency and extend capability while protecting rights, inclusion and accountability.
MON 18 MAY
As part of the AI for Global Development Conference, hosted by the University of Cambridge Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence, Cambridge Global Challenges, and Business Fights Poverty, this session explores how partnerships can unlock AI’s potential.
Global development faces rising needs and declining funding, creating urgency to deliver impact at scale. AI offers new ways to address challenges in health, education, climate resilience, and economic inclusion, but translating innovation into sustained outcomes remains difficult.
This session examined how to move from promising pilots to scalable impact, with speakers sharing real-world examples and insights. It highlights how cross-sector partnerships can bring together key actors to turn promise into practice.
WED 20 MAY
Getting Growth Right: a vision for global prosperity in the next decade
Organised by the London School of Economics, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Business Fights Poverty, this official companion session to the FCDO Global Partnership Conference explored what it means to “get growth right” amid geopolitical fragmentation, AI, climate risk and demographic change.
Building on the Beyond GDP agenda, it examined how growth metrics must evolve to support shared wellbeing, sustainability and resilience within planetary and social boundaries.
Panellists from government, industry, academia and multilateral organisations discussed implications for policy, business and supply chains, and how countries can adopt credible, politically viable growth models.
WED 20 MAY
Ambition in the Face of Crisis and Constraint
In a context of overlapping crises, rising need and tightening resources, how can social impact leaders remain ambitious? This interactive Community Forum brought together the Business Fights Poverty community to explore practical responses to doing more with less.
Drawing on emerging insights, the discussion focused on two key areas: building effective, trust-based partnerships to drive systemic change, and harnessing AI to increase efficiency and impact while managing risks.
Participants shared experiences, challenges and solutions, with a focus on human-centred approaches that enable collaboration, innovation and meaningful progress in difficult times.
