Investing in Latin America’s Water and Sanitation Solutions
In recent years, rattling off the stats underpinning the problem of water and sanitation solutions has thankfully become more common. Awareness is on the rise. But that doesn’t change the fact that an estimated 2.5 billion people – 37 percent of the world’s population – face the health risks associated with deficient or absent sanitation […]
The Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles – Paving the way for Responsible Business in Nigeria
Entering Lagos – a city of 7 million and the second fastest growing city in Africa – is quite an experience. One is immediately stunned by the chaotic atmosphere, the obvious energy that can only be found in a booming African economy and the feeling that opportunities lie in every corner. For an outsider visiting […]
Living Goods – the “Avon of pro-poor products”
Photo credit: Esther Havens By Susannah Hares, Head of Innovation, ARK International Tim Harford, in his quite brilliant book Adapt, said: “Few company bosses would care to admit it, but the market fumbles its way to success, as successful ideas take off and unsuccessful ones die. When we see the survivors of this process – […]
World Water Day: A Sustainable Water Solution for Coffee Processing in Ethiopia
Lensamo Lamiso’s coffee wet mill sits near the banks of the Kolla River in Ethiopia’s Sidama Zone. During the harvest season, the site bustles with activity as 150 seasonal workers process fresh coffee “cherries” from thousands of local farmers. But this activity comes at a cost. Lamiso’s mill uses a large amount of water to […]
Fuelling Botswana’s flourishing entrepreneur scene
There is a strong culture of entrepreneurship in Botswana, a country that stands as one of Africa’s notable economic development success stories over the past two decades. But despite the country’s relative success, unemployment remains a major issue; hence job creation and economic diversification form a central theme for all key stakeholders, including public, private […]
Toilet Teachings: 2 Toilet Ventures Illustrate Strategies For Success In Inclusive Business
I’ve leant more than I ever expected about toilets the past 6 months. But understanding toilet ventures has taught me a lot about how inclusive business works. In fact, the challenges and innovations that we can see in two sanitation projects in slums of Kenya and India illustrate typical issues for businesses that are solving […]
Lendwithcare in the Philippines – Providing more than just microcredit
Like every visit to a lendwithcare.org partner, it has been characteristically heartening to see how these businesses are thriving because of access to vital capital. A typical story is to see that within a year or so of investment, coupled with financial and business advice from our partner MFIs, entrepreneurs have managed to double or […]
IFC: MICROINSURANCE – A Private Sector Safety Net
When people lack insurance, accidents, disasters, and death can bring financial devastation. And in the developing world, most people lack insurance. But a new IFC investment will help 11 million people obtain it in the coming years. When tragedy strikes, those in low- and middle-income groups often lose their earning power and face immediate hardship, […]
Cassava beer in Ghana – New Beer, New Opportunities
Today we’re excited to announce the launch of our cassava beer, Eagle, in Ghana. It marks not just the launch of a new beer brand, but the opening up of new opportunities for business, consumers and Ghana’s smallholder farmers. It is estimated that more than 70 percent of Ghanaian farms are 3 hectares or smaller […]
Fortifying the Peruvian value chain
Retired teacher Dora Pinto Salazar runs a restaurant in Peru. She is an enterprising woman with boundless optimism, culinary flair and a natural charm with people. Her restaurant is popular and well located, but with the help of entrepreneurship support, she was able to help improve her business further. SABMiller plc’s subsidiary in Peru, Backus, […]
Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business in Uganda
On 2 March, 2013, as part of the 2013 Series, a group of inspiring people came together in Kampala to talk about “Bridging the Gap for African Women in Business”. The event was livestreamed here on Business Fights Poverty, and the focus of a blog by one of the event’s lead organisers, Ida Horner. Hope […]
Igniting a culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa
“Often businesses are not focused on the future – they think small and I encourage them to dream big,” says Olga Lutz. Dignified and determined, Lutz knows the power of big thinking. Despite her modest roots in Zwelihle township outside Hermanus in South Africa, she has developed a small consulting business and skills centre – […]
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 […]
The VSO-Accenture volunteer helping Nigerian female farmers improve their livelihoods
“My role will, I believe, lead to greater efficiency and fewer challenges for those working in agriculture in Nigeria’ s Nassarawa State, Plateau State and Kaduna State. As a Knowledge Share Manager for VSO Nigeria, my job is part of the VSO secure livelihoods program, Making Markets Work for the Poor. This program aims to […]
Impact Accelerator- Social change through the power of entrepreneurship and business
Jesse Grainger, Agora Partnerships Thirty-six entrepreneurs representing 25 companies from Mexico to Chile arrived in Managua, Nicaragua Monday, January 28 for the start of Agora Partnerships’ Entrepreneur Retreat, a four-day kick-off to Agora’s Impact Acceletrator The phrase Impact Accelerator refers to a program that invests and leverages social, human, and financial capital into entrepreneurs working […]
Eric Clayton: The League of Intrapreneurs United
A new force for entrepreneurship is stirring within established corporations: the social intrapreneur. They help businesses innovate from within by fixing their sights on social change as pioneers, while at the same time keeping their hands on the steering wheel as pragmatic leaders. Like social entrepreneurs, social intrapreneurs seek to make a positive impact in […]
Interview with Lourenço Bustani: the New Way of Doing Business
“Brands have tremendous difficulty understanding people as people,” according to Lourenço Bustani. He is pointing to the big challenge facing businesses nowadays as they try to deal with people’s needs in a changing economy. Bustani is a Brazilian innovator who decided to show the private market that it is possible to be prosperous without abdicating […]
Interview with Richard Wiltshire: From Idea to Implementation
“You can do an amazing amount of good, working with some of the largest companies in the world,” says Richard Wiltshire, senior manager at Accenture. As a social intrapreneur, Wiltshire believes being a corporate citizen is an unspoken commitment of every employee. Whether they start an effort on their own or join one such as […]
Interview with Dymphna Van der Lans: The Courage to Lead
When Dymphna Van der Lans was asked to set up a new alternative energy business for BP in emerging markets, she embraced the unique challenges and risks of working within an organizational structure, yet pushing into new territory, that are part of leading an intrapreneurial initiative. Here, she offers some key insights from her journey […]