'Business is Best' in Uganda
How much can you learn about the entrepreneurship culture of a country in one week? The answer, when you are travelling hundreds of miles with the Enterprise Uganda team, is a truly incredible amount. Late last year I was lucky enough to travel to Uganda along with Sarah Shearman, finalist in the Guardian’s International Development […]
‘Business is Best’ in Uganda
How much can you learn about the entrepreneurship culture of a country in one week? The answer, when you are travelling hundreds of miles with the Enterprise Uganda team, is a truly incredible amount. Late last year I was lucky enough to travel to Uganda along with Sarah Shearman, finalist in the Guardian’s International Development […]
How to Grow a Successful Enterprise Development Programme
Is there Any Evidence of Inclusive Business Results? Findings from the BIF Portfolio
There is a dearth of hard data on the commercial and social results of inclusive business. So we have been scrutinising thousands of pieces of data from 40 inclusive businesses, to see if findings from the Business Innovation Facility portfolio can help address that gap. On the down side, the businesses are still early stage, […]
From Bean to Bar, Putting Farmers First
Charley Wheelock founded Woodblock Chocolate with a commitment to trading fairly with cacao growers in the Caribbean Islands and South America. That direct trade relationship–a deeply personal approach to business in which Woodblock builds relationships with the first rung on the value chain–is imbedded in the company’s DNA. “The good you can do with cacao […]
Job Creation in South Africa
Unemployment in South Africa, especially amongst young people, remains one of our country’s most pressing challenges. It is estimated that three million young people are currently unemployed, representing nearly three quarters of overall unemployment in the country. For some, starting a business offers an alternative to finding a job, although for many a weak culture […]
Helping Small Enterprises to Grow
In Latin America, small-scale shopkeepers – Tenderos – are a critical sales channel for SABMiller, accounting for 40% of sales volume in the region. We estimate that 400,000 Tenderos in our value chain in Latin America fall in to the “survival” or “necessity entrepreneur” category, meaning that they run their stores to generate income to […]
How to Build Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
Sustaining and Scaling the Impact of Enterprise Development Programmes
Companies have a critical role to play in driving more inclusive and sustainable models of development and, in certain cases, solving specific development challenges. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to discover profitable new business models. Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which large companies can have a mutually beneficial impact […]
Pushing the Boundaries of Multi-Sector Partnerships
The simple habit of handwashing with soap is not universally practised and traditional hygiene promotion efforts have had limited impact. Research showed that fear of disease was not a key motivator of handwashing behaviour. Across key regions, a behaviour change was needed and campaigns were developed which looked at key motivations for behaviour change including […]
What Can We Learn from Inclusive Business Start-Ups?
There is clear potential for business to fight poverty, but it’s not an easy journey for entrepreneurs trying to start a business that can benefit poor people. The high risk and uncertainty both in the markets and in the business models makes it difficult to find the capital necessary to turn ideas from concepts into […]
Learning From Companies, Sourcing From Smallholders
A sustainable supply chain that sources from smallholder farmers – sounds easy. But it is common knowledge that long-standing problems like insufficient quantity and quality, side-selling of the harvest, rainfall, pests and prices, can often beset initiatives in practice. Two candid new case studies depict the innovative attempts of two businesses to set up smallholder […]
Investing in Agriculture in the DRC
Since the launch of CDC’s current strategy in 2012, our aim has been to invest where our job creation focus can have the greatest impact: in countries where the private sector is weak and jobs are scarce, and in sectors where growth leads to jobs. Our recently announced US$18.1m investment into Feronia, an agricultural production […]
ESG Integral to Approach of Emerging Market Fund Managers
CDC Group plc, the UK’s development finance institution and a leading emerging markets private equity fund investor, has announced the results of its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) survey of fund managers. The survey looks at fund managers’ evolving ESG support needs and the ways CDC can meet this current demand. Fifty-three individuals took […]
Local Bank Financing for Smallholder Farmers
Over two billion of the world’s poorest people live in households that depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The 450 million smallholder farmers within that group are a linchpin to global poverty-reduction. Yet most smallholders lack access to finance, holding them back from producing larger crop yields of higher quality to propel both economic growth […]
Education: An Untapped Investment Opportunity?
My mother was an English teacher. My Father an art teacher. My sister is a modern languages teacher. One could say that the ABCs are my DNA. Yet I opted for a career in business – not education. I chose to pursue the lure of success in the private sector over service in the public […]
Tackling the Youth Employment Crisis in Southern Africa
News headlines are filled with stories of a growing youth bulge and impending youth unemployment crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the bad news. Many social entrepreneurs are at work even now creating solutions to these types of challenges—a sort of counterbalance that shapes fortune out of misfortune. Young Africa (YA) founder, Ashoka Fellow Dorien […]
CSR is Dead – Long Live Social Intrapreneurship
Action speaks louder than words. It’s an age-old piece of wisdom that seems to be more true than ever in times where people don’t trust the promises of companies and their leaders anymore. Too many companies failed to deliver upon their promise of being socially responsible. They published beautifully designed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports, […]
Inclusive Business for Women Entrepreneurs
Women make up half the world’s population, but in many cultures and countries, women entrepreneurs face enormous challenges accessing opportunities – in education, business, and capital. Audry Maulana asks: What does the term “inclusive business” mean for some of the women attending IBF 2013? “Inclusive business is not charity,” even if the aim for many […]
To Change A Company, You Need Intrapreneurs
It can be hard to get a big, slow company to change its ways. It’s the efforts of courageous intrapreneurs that can change their trajectory. The key is to make your company a place where intrapreneurs can thrive. Multinational corporations aren’t always known for their agility. Organizational change, product evolution, or rebranding–just some of the […]