Equity of Learning in Lagos
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has published a report in Nigeria which shows full equality of learning in Bridge International Academies classrooms, regardless of a child’s socioeconomic background. It is a strong endorsement of DFID’s commitment to innovative private sector roles in improving service and opportunity for these families. Even though the report […]
Building Transformational Partnerships the Case of Cargill and CARE
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the internationally-agreed goals for people and planet—encapsulate a vision for the world we want to see. It is widely recognised that if we are to deliver on this vision, and defend progress already made, we must all—business, civil society and government—partner more effectively and more deeply than ever. The corporate-NGO business […]
The Intrapreneurship Ecosystem: Creating the Conditions for Social Intrapreneurs to Thrive
As more and more companies commit to using their core business to help meet the Global Goals, the spotlight is falling on social intrapreneurs – those talented individuals working inside organisations to generate and develop innovative ideas for projects with social impact. Much has been written about what makes an intrapreneur: the characteristics and attributes, […]
17 Business Models to Build Refugee Resilience
Turning a crisis into an opportunity is a bold idea. But, difficult to do in practice. This week world leaders have gathered in New York where they are expected to agree on a landmark commitment to strengthen the international refugee response under the Global Compact on Refugees. A commitment that hinges on the ability to […]
Businesses and Sustainability Standards Empowering Women in Supply Chains
Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the focus of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, but it is also integral to achieving all of the SDGs. Without doubt, companies and sustainability standards have an important role to play in achieving the goals and driving systemic improvement for women working in factories and […]
Partnerships Cultivate Change in the Niger Delta
Economic development is inherently unstable, and the ebbs and flows of progress can be unsettling. This is true in the Niger Delta, which contains one of the world’s largest supplies of oil and an abundance of other commodities like catfish, cocoa and palm oil. Yet, 70 percent of its 30 million people live in poverty […]
Investing in Africa: The UK announces its ambition to become the leading G7 investor in Africa
This week the UK Government announced its ambition to become the leading G7 investor in Africa, with UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, pledging £4bn to help create jobs for young people across the continent during her trip to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. This came with a welcome confirmation of the UK’s commitment to spending […]
8 SSIR Articles on Businesses Pursuing a Social Mission
Consumers increasingly expect businesses to look out for not only their shareholders, but also society at large. They want to see their values reflected in the products and services they use, and prefer brands that invest in meaningful, long-term relationships with their customers. Companies that take time to listen and respond to these consumer demands […]
How to Set up Global Partnerships for Impact and Success
Katie Hyson, Director of Thought Leadership at Business Fights Poverty caught up with the team from Novo Nordisk to talk about their new partnership, which aims to help ensure access to diabetes medicines and healthcare, is accessible to all. Here, Anne Gadegaard, Associate Director Corporate Sustainability, Soraya Ramoul, Director Global Access to Care and Mia […]
Two Powerful Lessons from Mandela for Today’s Precarious World
It was a beautiful moment when Caroline Modiba, South African soprano, sang Thula Babain front of images of Nelson Mandela in the Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford this past week; a moving celebration of his centenary on 18 July. Listening to Caroline sing, and seeing those images of Nelson Mandela, […]
Want More Intrapreneurs in Your Organisation? Create the Right Culture
The Intrapreneur Systems Challenge was launched in February this year with the objective of helping organisations unlock increased levels of social innovation and intrapreneurship. Co-hosted by Business Fights Poverty and The League of Intrapreneurs, and supported by DFID, CEMEX and the BMW Foundation, the objective of this Challenge is to deepen our understanding of the […]
Cultural Forces, Business and Peace: An Overview
It is true that governments sign treaties with one another or with groups within their jurisdiction to stop violence. A signal feature of government is control over weapons just as a responsibility of government is the security of its people. Determining when to use those weapons and when to stop and for what reasons is […]
CARE Examine the Importance of Gender Equity in Business
Gender equality is high on the corporate agenda, from sales of feminist merchandise, to gender pay gap reporting, to celebrities and politicians forming coalitions; confronting institutional norms and behaviour. It feels like we are in a moment in history where putting gender equity firmly on the table and creating positive change could make lasting equality. […]
What is a Refugee-Inclusive Business?
We stand #WithRefugees today on World Refugee Day and every other day of the year. A few weeks ago, the International Finance Corporation published a study revealing that the Kakuma refugee camp and surrounding neighborhoods in northern Kenya, one of the largest and long-standing refugee settlements, represents a US$56 million market opportunity. This is eye-opening […]
Brand Purpose – How Social Impact & Shared Values Win Customer Love
2017 – The death of marketing In 2012 the US PR and marketing consultancy, Edelman predicted that ‘purpose’ would be the re-engineering of brand marketing. Looks like they were right: in 2017, the online marketing platform CMO proposed that it’s now time to admit that traditional marketing is dead. That brands with real purpose and meaning are already winning the […]
How Can We Engage SMEs Exporting to Frontier Markets With the Case for Doing Business With Integrity?
Bribery and corruption are major barriers to global trade and investment. 43% of compliance officers of UK firms indicated that they had decided not to do business in a country due to the perceived risk of corruption. And at the firm level, the evidence shows that the disadvantages of bribery outweigh the benefits over the […]
Music, Business and Peace: An Overview
Welcome to an ongoing discussion about topics specifically devoted to the relationship among music, business and peace, which will be featured in Business Fights Poverty for the months of June, July, and September. This conversation has been the aim of two conferences on “Music, Business, and Peace” at Indiana University led by scholars at the […]
Interview with Alexander Bernstein: Leonard Bernstein’s Revolution
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein’s role as a larger-than–life figure is well-documented, especially in this year of celebration for the one hundred-year anniversary of his birth. Questions remain as to what one can learn from his music, […]
Interview with Jerry White, CEO of Global Impact Strategies, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia
Jerry is the CEO of Global Impact Strategies, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia, and co-chair of Global Covenant Partners. Jerry is known for leading high-impact campaigns including the historic International Campaign to Ban Landmines which was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1997. He also co-founded Survivor Corps, formerly […]
Connecting Music to Ethics
Many features of music contribute to its positive potential for promoting social harmony. But music’s influence on human interaction is not entirely benign. I consider features of music that enable it to serve such contrary projects. I begin by itemizing some of the mechanisms through which music creates feeling of solidarity among people. Among them […]