The Rise (and Rise) of the Gig Economy in Kenya – And How to Take It to the Next Level
Nzelu has not only found regular employment, he has also hired an assistant and invested in a motorcycle to help him to move from client to client more quickly. He is part of the gig economy, a set of online marketplaces for short-term and freelance jobs, which has mushroomed in the last decade – not […]
Focus on Dirty Legacy Sectors to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals
This type of progress has, understandably, been most evident among companies for which the required changes are relatively “easy,” such as those from the pharmaceutical, water, and food sectors. By contrast, little progress has been made by sectors contributing substantially to poor health and climate change, including companies that profit from tobacco, coal, palm oil, […]
Systems Leadership Can Change the World – But What Exactly Is It?
Transforming a complex system – such as the energy, health or food system – is a monumental task requiring coordinated action by people with very different viewpoints. Systems-change initiatives often engage hundreds of organizations – governments, companies, civil society organizations, worker associations, research institutions and others – combining their capacities to achieve a shared goal. […]
To Change the World, Business Must Share its Profits and Power
Achieving the SDGs will take more than redefining the role of business in our unequal society. This year’s UN General Assembly is finally here, and pledges to once again achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have already begun. Much of this activity is focused on the private sector, a key actor in delivering on these ambitious […]
Strengthening the MSME Ecosystem to Enable Business Growth and Social impact in Frontier Markets
For large companies operating in emerging and developing countries, Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are key business partners along the value chain – as suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers. MSMEs can create access to untapped low-income markets. As retailers, clinics, pharmacies or service providers, they reach both rural and urban households with goods and […]
Being Authentic About Purpose: From Words to Action
Recently, a group of 181 CEOs, collectively representing over 15 million employees and more than $7 trillion in annual revenues, declared that they are no longer putting shareholders before everyone else. The “Statement of Purpose of a Corporation”, issued by the Business Roundtable, is a bold re-imagining of the principles of corporate governance that they […]
How Technology Can Help Tackle Modern Slavery Through Worker Engagement
Modern slavery in supply chains: a global challenge Over 40 million people are in modern slavery. It is a crime affecting all countries, yet it is often hidden and difficult to measure. In a new Business Fights Poverty Challenge, we are setting out to explore how technology can help tackle modern slavery through worker engagement. […]
How Can We Save Purpose from Purpose-Wash?
The common ground between the critics and champions of purpose is the desire for authenticity. Our Challenge on Purpose asks how we can move beyond rhetoric to embed purpose meaningfully and consistently across business. We initially identified Five Pillars to build authentic purpose within organisations and sought the opinions of the Business Fights Poverty network […]
The New ILO Violence and Harassment Convention: Signalling a Shift in Norms and Expectations
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. In June, representatives from governments, unions and employers’ organisations gathered in Geneva at the annual International Labour Conference to commemorate a century of tripartite engagement at this, the oldest of the United Nations agencies. For those of us working on gender-based violence, sexual harassment […]
Romero: The Ambivalence of the Sacred
The business people saw a real possibility for their sector to positively impact peace through economic development and the capability of crossing boundaries to get people to work together. However, many (most) of them reacted with a degree of horror that the folks from religion would be there: “They’re the ones that cause intolerance, torture […]
Purpose Precedes Clarity; Clarity Precedes Success
Following my experiences of Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019, I explore the link between purpose, clarity, and success, and share learnings about how companies around the world can embed purpose authentically. In my opinion, Business Fights Poverty 2019 was an event of paramount importance to the world of business. This year, BFP put forth the […]
How Should Business Encourage Family-Friendly Workplaces?
Family friendly workplace policies, such as paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and support for affordable childcare, play a fundamental role in ensuring children get the best start possible in life. But are businesses doing all they can to support parents manage a changing work-family balance? A new study recently published by UNICEF shows that some […]
How Male Mentors Can Develop Women at Work
The workforce includes more women — especially in traditionally male professions — and business leaders are changing workplace environments to be more flexible, collaborative and caring in a calculated effort to attract and retain the best talent, both male and female. Organizations that don’t adapt to this battle for talent risk marginalizing or excluding 50 […]
Raising the Purpose Banner (Again) is Only the Start
It’s great to see my partners @MartinJenkins and their clients in New Zealand making strides forwards (see here). It is progress when communications and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) teams unite under the purpose banner*. But to deliver sustainable success for all it is critical that Executive Teams and their Board’s grasp the initiative and hot-wire purpose into […]
Big Impact: How Go Give to Create Change
The over 22,000 members of this community are here for one thing: Collaborating for Social Impact. Are we ready, willing and able to be open to how to achieve that? Honestly? Impact, can be defined in many ways and on many levels, in short term, in long term. We can categorize in a multitude of […]
The Fix Up: Campaigning for the Right Reasons – Marketing Campaigns vs “Advocacy” Campaigns
I’m on a mission to harness the power of brands to add genuine value to societal progress, whether that be social or environmental. Why? We’re facing unprecedented times – a climate and environment emergency has been declared, displacement is a threat for more and more communities, civil space is increasingly restrictive, regressive girls’ and women’s […]
As One: A Different Chapter in Table Tennis Diplomacy
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon accepted an invitation from China to send an American table tennis team to play some exhibition matches. Several incidents encouraging the interaction between the countries and their teams had occurred prior to 1972, including in 1971 when a U.S. player, who missed the team bus, rode the Chinese bus. […]
How Can Businesses Unlock the Potential of Social Intrapreneurs?
Building on the “The Intrapreneurship Ecosystem: Creating the conditions for social innovation to flourish in your company,” a business guide produced by Business Fights Poverty and The League of Intrapreneurs (LOI) with support from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), CEMEX, and the BMW Foundation, we recently held two online discussions. A panel of […]
Five Ways Companies Embed Purpose into their Business
Zahid Torres-Rahman, CEO and co-founder of Business Fights Poverty, opened the event stating: ‘Purpose is not CSR …confined to the sustainability department. It is this all pervasive force that can drive, and inspire and align how businesses operate and what they do.’ But how exactly do companies embed purpose into their business strategy and operations? […]
How Businesses Can Help Achieve the SDGs for Refugees
The SDGs were launched, to great fanfare, as a blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for everyone. As states signed up to the Global Goals in 2015 they pledged to leave no-one behind and prioritise the fast-tracking of action for those with furthest to go. Yet four years on, research shows that […]