The Paradox of Partnership
At the heart of every partnership lies a paradox, an inherent contradiction that cannot be ignored in the process of building a successful collaboration. A primary goal of cross-sector partnership is to bring together organisations with different but complementary attributes and to achieve something together that neither organisation can achieve independently. That is what most […]
Connecting Impact Investors with SMEs
Last week Christian Aid joined forces with four of our peer NGO’s (Traidcraft, Practical Action, Twin and Challenges Worldwide) to launch ACRE (Access To Capital For Rural Enterprises) – a new platform to link investors with SMEs needing long-term capital to expand and benefit their communities in rural Africa, Asia and Latin America. We have […]
Inclusive Innovation – Context Matters
Image: How can wearable technologies become relevant for the BoP context? Check UNICEF’s Wearable for Good Challenge for some inspiration. In this second post of our blog series on Inclusive Innovation we focus on the challenges that lie in the adaptation of global (technological) innovations to specific markets and users in emerging economies. In the […]
Collaborations Expand Tech Uses to Aid Refugees
Technology is playing an unprecedented role in addressing the global refugee crisis. In part, this is due to a level of collaboration that is new to the traditionally competitive, independent tech community. The massive numbers of people fleeing war and deprivation – over 82,000 refugees sought refuge in the first two months of 2016 alone, […]
Connecting Corporations and Social Enterprises
By Sheena Raikundalia, Senior Consultant, Intellecap Kenya-focused entrepreneur Moka Lantum, Founder and Managing Director of Microclinics, is preparing for pitch to a large pharmaceutical company. The Nairobi-based healthcare management company provides patient and clinic management systems to peri-urban and rural clinics. The software developed by his company, tracks commodities in clinics and enhances, availability, accessibility, […]
Cross-sector Approaches in Countering Violent Extremism
In the spirit of this year’s Global Partnerships Week (GPW) theme of “Leveraging Innovation in Partnerships”, Concordia has long been a proponent of innovative and collaborative efforts that advance global security agendas combating violent extremism (CVE). Many of the GPW partners, and a number of the affiliated organizations and events this week, have dedicated significant […]
US State Department Celebrates Collaboration
By Andrew O’Brien, Special Representative, Global Partnerships The word “partnership” seems to be everywhere these days — and the U.S. Department of State is proud to be at the center of it. While public-private partnerships (P3s) have been around for years, they are increasingly becoming a primary way to achieve our objectives in diplomacy and […]
Three Lessons in Strengthening Health Systems
What does it take to make health systems more robust – to ensure they can handle everyday illnesses, as well as pre-empt and manage future challenges or crises? There is no easy answer to this question; but what’s obvious is that there’s no single way to strengthen a health system. We need to think laterally. […]
Reaching the SDGS – New Alliances in Digital Development
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on all of us to work as partners to end extreme poverty, fight inequality, and address climate change. Digital technologies enable government and citizen action towards these global goals. The rising ubiquity of mobile phones, the increased global use of communication and social media applications such as WhatsApp and […]
Clarity Matters in Inclusive Business
Inclusive businesses are commercially viable core-business models that provide at scale innovative and systemic solutions to the relevant problems of the poor and low-income people. While inclusive business is becoming increasingly popular, there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, how it addresses the poor, and how it works. Inclusive business models […]
Livelihood Agenda for Refugees and Host Communities
On 3rd and 4th February 2016, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany and Kuwait co-hosted an international conference on the Syrian regional crisis. In advance of this, CARE International, the UK Department for International Development, Business Fights Poverty and the Ethical Trading […]
Unlocking Solutions with Inclusive Business Innovations
Over 300 representatives of companies, social enterprises, and governments Asia-wide will gather next week at ADB for the 2nd Inclusive Business Forum for Asia. The forum, organized by ADB and 8 development partners, is one of the year’s most significant regional events on inclusive business in Asia. ADB defines inclusive business as a private sector […]
Hybrid Social Finance: Partnerships That Drive Success
By Bernard Coffey, Former business leader and long-time volunteer, Ashoka Support Network (ASN) team It was a simple networking dinner where a business executive met a social entrepreneur with a great idea, which led to a long-term and very successful partnership in the nascent field of social finance and “impact investing.” The social entrepreneur, Luke […]
Local Young People Solving Global Challenges
“No career is a sure thing anymore. The uncertain, rapidly changing conditions in which entrepreneurs start companies is what it’s now like for all of us fashioning a career. Therefore, you should approach career strategy the same way an entrepreneur approaches starting a business.” – Thomas Friedman, LinkedIn Founder The world today is shaped by […]
Embracing the Promise of Technology for Social Progress
By Ryan Scott, Co-Founder, NetCreations As global leaders prepare to gather at the 46th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, I’ve been musing on the topic of their forthcoming discussion: Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The premise of this anointed age is that human progress is now fully oriented around science […]
Introducing a New Database on Inclusive Business
If you search Google for ‘inclusive business’ you get 46.5 million results in under a second. But it would take you years to get through them. And if I search for inclusive business solar, or inclusive business models, or inclusive business Malawi, you find some good stuff and some not. So what would you do […]
The Ripple Effect of Vision Care on the SDGs
When the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) were formally adopted last year, many in the sustainability community saw this as a moment of triumph. The seventeen goals are not only ambitious but also universal, and the private sector worked hand in hand with government and academics in their development. Yet sceptics have wondered whether the […]
Helping Young People Build a Stronger Private Sector
Image: Cristian Leger, founder of Dermaloe in Chile, who received entrepreneurship support from Accion Emprendedora – a member of YBI With 3.5 billion young people in the world, its clear that the Sustainable Development Goals will not be met without a clear focus on youth. There has been a lot of discussion about how we […]
Making Markets Work for Refugees
Ahead of the London Syria conference in early February, donors and governments in the region are working closely to agree a new plan for responding to the refugee crisis in the region, the private sector will be critical to its success. On the 4th of February the eyes of the world will turn to London, […]
The Problem with Slavery and the SDGs
The inclusion of slavery eradication in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is recognition by the international community that, until now, many of the world’s poorest people had been comprehensively ignored in the wider struggle to end poverty. That is a fact confirmed by the number 5.5 million, the International Labour Organization’s most recent […]