Education in India: Time for a Bold New Experiment
Strategy Director, ARK International Public and private schools are failing to give children in India a good education—we need an alternative approach. It rained hard last night in Delhi, and the narrow street in one of the city’s slum colonies—home to no less than four private schools—is ankle deep in mud. In one school at […]
Delivering on Africa's Promise
Africa is forging ahead. Sustained growth – despite the global downturn – has strengthened its leaders’ resolve to stay on a path of reform, even if sometimes the pace is slower than one might wish. Its businesses are beginning to build brands capable of competing internationally. Its consumers are spending more and creating opportunities for […]
Delivering on Africa’s Promise
Africa is forging ahead. Sustained growth – despite the global downturn – has strengthened its leaders’ resolve to stay on a path of reform, even if sometimes the pace is slower than one might wish. Its businesses are beginning to build brands capable of competing internationally. Its consumers are spending more and creating opportunities for […]
The impact of European Commission support to PSD? We’re still none the wiser.
With ever-increasing pressure for donors to “show impact” for their aid programmes, there was a lot of interest in last week’s presentation of the Evaluation of EC Support to Private Sector Development in Third Countries from 2004 to 2010. But what can the European Commission (EC) actually take from this evaluation? The report estimates that […]
Meeting Nutrition Commitments in Latin America
Nestlé Executive Vice President and Head of Zone Americas (AMS) Last week I attended the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Peru, where discussion will focus on the theme of ‘delivering growth and strengthening societies’. In a region where many countries shoulder what’s known as the ‘double burden’ of malnutrition, one way to strengthen […]
Creating Second-Class Employees? The problem with social intrapreneurship
I was fortunate to join a discussion this month hosted by Business Fights Poverty on what social intrapreneurs can learn from social entrepreneurs. The discussion was lively and rich, and I encourage you to read it for yourself. But one fundamental question did come up in the comments that I think deserves more consideration: Why […]
How do we deliver on "Africa’s promise", and was the UK right in its decision to end direct aid to South Africa?
How do we deliver on “Africa’s promise”, and was the UK right in its decision to end direct aid to South Africa?
A boost for small retailers in Latin America
Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, SABMiller Latin America Whilst other parts of the world have struggled with economic uncertainty and – at best – stagnating growth, Latin Americans maintained steady levels of economic growth and financial resilience. This success is also reflected in other, developmental factors: in 2012 poverty fell to a 30-year low, and over the […]
Supporting Retailers in Latin America
I am a strong believer in the power of enterprise. Small and micro entrepreneurs in Latin America – as is the case around the world – are drivers of inclusive growth and local jobs. They lift people out of poverty and create new empowerment opportunities for women. They meet the needs of local consumers, as […]
Reshaping the business of social change
My name is Monique Villa and I run an international, award-winning organization in rapid expansion. My mission is to create value. My motto is global impact. I am CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate charity of the world’s leading source of news and information. I am a business woman working in philanthropy. To […]
Ending Poverty through Partnership
Back in 2000, the international community took the unprecedented step of setting itself some ambitious goals to tackle world poverty. With only a few years left to meet these Millennium Development Goals, much has been achieved but much remains to be done. While it is right that we do everything in our power to ensure […]
From good to great – how to scale up successful programmes
One of the challenges in the international development sector relates to what is sometimes described as “pilot paralysis”. If that’s an unfair description of the fact that many successful development programmes seem to get stuck at a relatively small scale, then perhaps we can agree it’s a cause for concern that not enough impactful programmes […]
Challenging conventional wisdom in Africa: Unilever and TEDxEuston
Unilever’s state of the art savoury foods plant at Riverhorse Valley in Durban, South Africa Any business that is in Africa for the long term needs to become part of efforts to drive equitable and sustainable growth. Doing this while simultaneously developing new products to meet the rapidly changing needs of a growing, urbanising, and […]
Infrastructure in Africa and How the Private Sector Helps
Infrastructure is an essential foundation of development. Effective, well-regulated systems for the provision of power, transport, water, and the fast-converging world of telecom, media, and technology lie at base of successful economies the world over. There is almost no way to overestimate their impact in raising incomes and improving living standards—whether measured through their contribution […]
Microsoft for Africa
Claire Lee, Head of Partnerships, Emerging Business Team, Microsoft Corporation The latest plan for Microsoft in Africa is all about enabling African youth realize their full potential. AliFaramawy, Corporate VP in MEA area, says: “For years, we have led the way in Africa: we opened many offices, hired hundreds of people, built a partner network, […]
Realising Africa’s Potential
This year on 1 December 2012, TEDxEuston will be “Challenging Conventional Wisdom” on several issues relating to the African continent at the beautiful Mermaid Conference Centre on the bank of the Thames. This will be the fourth edition of TEDxEuston that started with two London based African doctors who were invited to the TEDGlobal Conference […]
Emerging Africa: Unleashing Africa’s Innovation Potential
By Kris M. Balderston, US Special Representative for Global Partnerships In the last week, I’ve travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town to Addis Ababa. Along the way, I’ve been struck over and over again by the ingenuity, entrepreneurship and innovation of the people I have met from townships to capital cities, from villages to major […]
How Will You Celebrate National Volunteering Week?
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy’s inaugural words will never ring as true than during National Volunteer Week, which this year falls on April 21-27. First instituted in 1974 by President Nixon, National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate […]
Green Growth- The Role of the Private Sector
The question that traditional, public policy focussed development practitioners used to ask was “does the private sector matter for development”? Looking at the data, the answer is an overwhelming yes. Just by looking at small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) we can see that they contribute to 50% of jobs and 90% of all enterprises in Africa […]