Innovations in local sourcing
Graham Mackay, CEO, SABMiller, speaking at the launch of Africa’s first ever commercial-scale cassava-based beer. The beer, ‘Impala’, will be brewed in Mozambique by SABMiller’s local subsidiary, Cervejas de Moçambique (CDM). Approximately 40,000 tonnes of raw cassava will be used annually in the production of Impala, creating new employment for over 1,500 smallholder farmers and […]
Sustained Renewable Energy for Africa
I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words on a matter of great importance for us in Africa. It is particularly appropriate that for some weeks now I have been talking about renewable energy resources in Africa. It is common knowledge that Africa is very well endowed with a rich variety […]
Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy
Will Africa have the power it needs in the future? Will Africa have the technology it needs to supply adequate power? Will reliable electricity become an unaffordable luxury for low-income Africans? In the last few years, utility bills have risen many times in most African countries. The rising cost of fuel combined with the rising […]
Africa: Consider Vocational training
It is worth recalling that vocational training is but one instrument for employment generation in Africa and, as such, should be kept in perspective. Whereas vocational training can develop appropriate skills and thereby improve labour supply and the “employability” of the work force, demand for labour depends on incentives for investment, including prices, the exchange […]
Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund Launches New South Sudan Funding Window
‘South Sudan: Wide open for Business’ read a recent headline on the Africa Business magazine. Juba and indeed South Sudan is bustling with activity. Driving through the capital city and to areas as far as Rock City, one can feel the developing vibrant business environment. The overwhelming response at the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund launch […]
Out of poverty and into profit: Are development partnerships a force for good?
To many people, charities and huge multi-national companies will always be strange bedfellows. As such, there can be a gossipy appetite to hear of a mighty culture clash when the two worlds come together in partnership – the sandal wearing NGO worker bewildered by their suited counterparts in the shadows of Canary Wharf. The truth […]
Are development partnerships a force for good?
To many people, charities and huge multi-national companies will always be strange bedfellows. As such, there can be a gossipy appetite to hear of a mighty culture clash when the two worlds come together in partnership – the sandal wearing NGO worker bewildered by their suited counterparts in the shadows of Canary Wharf. The truth […]
A New Private Sector Partnership to Share Business Skills
By Stephen Jordan, Founder and Executive Director, U.S. Chamber BCLC Over the last few years, BCLC has been working on different products to help companies manage their community engagement more effectively. At the recent Global Corporate Citizenship Conference (http://bclcglobal.uschamber.com), BCLC unveiled two products to do just that: our Business for Good Map and the International […]
Driving Private Sector Innovation to Fight Hunger
Business and food go hand in hand. Researching and developing new technologies that improve the quality of a seed or reduce the amount of time a farmer spends harvesting crops is largely done by the private sector. Private companies process, package, transport and market foods to all of us every day. So there’s no question […]
The Business of Addressing Global Hunger
Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are facing dire food crises. According to the ONE Campaign, the famine in Somalia could kill 750,000 human beings unless donors intervene. Meanwhile, in 2008, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that approximately 32% of Africans are undernourished. The private sector, in partnership with donors, may […]
Doing good by doing well: Shaping a sustainable future
Public pressure to tackle social issues isn’t just a threat to success–it’s also an opportunity for companies that know how to pick issues that are ripest for their leadership. Several trends are creating a new set of challenges for corporations. For example, even as a global company facing resource scarcity must create more efficient products […]
Is Business the New Aid?
Recently I had the opportunity to join a panel discussion organised by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) held in the margins of the just-completed series of UK Political Party Conferences (I spoke at the Liberal Democrat Party and Labour Party Conference Fringe Events; Sue Clark, Corporate Affairs Director of SABMiller, and board member of […]
We Have To Crack The B2B Code
Photo credit: Nicola Corby Business Action for Africa. Reflecting on the events that I was privileged to attend during UN week in New York, I was struck by the immense potential that exists to crack the code for scalable business to business partnerships that directly aim to address the Millennium Development Goals through inclusive business […]
Jo Wackrill and Jessica Scholl: True Business Leaders see the Possibilities in Challenges
By Jo Wackrill and Jessica Scholl In a compelling blog last month, IBLF’s Chairman Mark Foster said: ‘Now is the time for today’s business leaders to step up with confidence to engage with the challenges the world faces and lead the way to smarter, more inclusive and more responsible growth’. It is in seeing the […]
The AECF and its anticipated impact as a market shaping, pro-poor innovation fund
A thought leadership paper by Corin Mitchell and Hugh Scott of KPMG Development Advisory Services. The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) supports innovative business ideas, in the areas of agribusiness, rural financial services, and renewable energy that are commercially viable and will have the biggest development impact on rural Africans. The AECF is explained in […]
Mark Foster: The Business Sector’s Pivotal Role in Growth
The current debt crisis has been portrayed in apocalyptic terms. The downgrading of the US’ triple-A rating, the paralysis of the political systems and the deficit of leadership in both US and Europe are depicted as marking the end of the era of growth. Cut public spending too deep and too fast, and recovery will […]
Hiring a Corporate Volunteering Consultant? Here’s what to expect.
Your consultant should be intelligent, experienced, and competent. Here are a few pointers to help you choose the corporate volunteering consultant who can meet your company’s needs. Most of our readers work in the field of Corporate Citizenship, CSR, Corporate Community Investment and Corporate Volunteering. The majority are directly responsible for their company’s employee volunteering […]
Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Blog by Susan Olsen, Inter-American Development Bank
Africa – Here Comes the Judge
The significant reform of many of the commercial justice systems in Africa means that the economic growth the continent has generated in recent years is likely to accelerate. At a moment when global investors are conducting half-year reviews of where the most promising opportunities are for the next six months and beyond, the implications of […]
Paul Polak, Founder, iDE: At Least a Million
For many years I have been a vocal advocate for what I call the “Don’t Bother Trilogy” in the practice of design, which states: 1. If you haven’t had good conversations with at least 25 customers before you start 2. If the product or service you design doesn’t pay for itself three times in the […]