Thoughts about women and gender equality
Last month we marked 100 years of International women’s day and the question everyone wanted an answer to and still does I suppose is, “How have things changed for women in that time?” For my part I have written several blog posts on the issue of women and gender equality to celebrate that milestone. This […]
Joe Phelan: Rolling up Sleeves for Development
In the world’s top corporate boardrooms, its lecture theatres and in the planning sessions of think tanks and development agencies such as my own, much is made of uncovering new business solutions for development challenges. Inclusive innovation is the current buzz. This is important work. Today, in rural Maharastra, India, I was reminded of another […]
Clare Melford: Japan Crisis: What is the Role of Business in disaster Response?
In one of the most dramatic pictures of earthquake and tsunami-hit Japan, a man is shown to pick his way through wreckage and over downed cables on his way to another shelter. He is not looking for his family, but for the 50 employees of the company he built and ran that was literally swept […]
Acumen Fund and AECF: Innovative Approaches to Financing Pro-Poor Business
An increasing number of businesses find that investing in pro-poor business approaches yields not only bottom line rewards, but also poverty alleviation. However, employing these inclusive business models to produce such results can be challenging when short-term time horizons exist for capital investments and barriers to financial access persist for small and medium-sized enterprises. During […]
Building the Pace on Inclusive Business Models
We have reached a tipping point in the way business sees its relationship with the developing world. A growing number of companies, from large multinationals to small-sized start-ups, are moving beyond philanthropic, risk mitigating, CSR-focused activities, to find new ways to do business that benefit both the poor and their core business. We are seeing […]
Great Expectations from New Entity UN Women
Earlier this week, I attended the UK launch of UN Women. Its Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet addressed a packed audience in London to make the case for gender equality and women’s empowerment. She spoke evocatively about her hopes for UN Women and the World Bank’s upcoming report that positions gender equality as ‘smart […]
Peter Brew: Business Must Play its Role to Ensure Sustainable Growth in China
China, with the rest of Asia, has become the engine of growth that can fuel recovery in Europe and North America. It is imperative that a new mutually enhancing partnership is forged by governments and business based on sustainable economic, social, ethical and environmental practices. The role of business, however, in making this sustainable growth […]
Barclays to Provide Financial Services to Poor Communities
March 16, 2011 New York and London—Around 60,000 people in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda will soon have access to financial services through Barclays’ commitment to the Business Call to Action (BCtA) ―a global initiative aimed at supporting the private sector’s efforts to fight poverty. Barclays’ pledge is part of the bank’s three-year, £10 million […]
"Microfinance in Africa needs clear definition" by Will Derban, Barclays
Microfinance in Africa needs clear definition Blog written for Business Fights Poverty by Will Derban, Barclays Since the incidents of how some people who could not repay micro finance loans were treated in India, many have asked if Africa will face similar problems, and if so how can we prevent such occurrences. I have been […]
“Microfinance in Africa needs clear definition” by Will Derban, Barclays
Microfinance in Africa needs clear definition Blog written for Business Fights Poverty by Will Derban, Barclays Since the incidents of how some people who could not repay micro finance loans were treated in India, many have asked if Africa will face similar problems, and if so how can we prevent such occurrences. I have been […]
The Key to an Engaging Employee Volunteer Program
If you want an engaging employee volunteer program, you’ll need to make it 3 dimensional. Here’s how. If you’re even vaguely familiar with Realized Worth, chances are you’ve heard us mention the “Journey of the Volunteer.” Whether in blogs, presentations, or client work we talk about this journey as much as we can. Why? It […]
Stephen Farrant: Responsible Business Goes Mainstream
As responsible tourism goes mainstream, the issues of environmental and social responsibility have been placed firmly on the agendas of global company boards. But the myth remains that it is only small specialist companies that have adopted a responsible tourism strategy. This is however, not the case and major global travel and tourism companies have […]
Désirée Abrahams: Where is the Business and Human Rights Arena Headed?
In December last year, IBLF advertised for a Programme Coordinator to work on business and human rights. Needing to get someone in quickly, we set a one-week deadline and an essay of 250 words, themed ‘In your opinion, what does the future hold for business and human rights over the next five years?’ We were […]
Graham Baxter: Voluntary Coalitions – in Crisis or Just Growing Up?
Voluntary coalitions set up by business, government and civil society groups to address ethical challenges risk losing their potency when they become detached from the leadership agenda. Once leadership of the agenda for tackling specific corporate responsibility challenges moves from the CEO’s office to the operational areas, there is a natural shift to focusing more […]
CGAP concerned about efforts to remove Nobel Prize winner Yunus from Grameen Bank
PRESS RELEASE: CGAP yesterday released the following statement from Tilman Ehrbeck, CGAP CEO, and Vijay Mahajan, Chair of CGAP’s board, on the efforts to remove Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus as Managing Director of Grameen Bank. View and contribute to the Business Fights Poverty discussion on Muhammad Yunus and his contribution: “We are deeply concerned […]
Employee Giving & Volunteering – What Matters Most
Corporate Volunteering promises an array of benefits, but there is one single benefit that overshadows the rest – one single benefit that is the sole measurement of success for your program. Photo by David Reese For me, the question is never, “How much did you do?” The question is, “Why does what you do matter?” […]
Employee Giving & Volunteering – What Matters Most
Corporate Volunteering promises an array of benefits, but there is one single benefit that overshadows the rest – one single benefit that is the sole measurement of success for your program. Photo by David Reese For me, the question is never, “How much did you do?” The question is, “Why does what you do matter?” […]
The Microfinance Industry is a Hack? I Beg to Differ
The recent crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India triggered a rigorous debate about the merits and viability of microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation. Stories of over-indebted borrowers committing suicide and microfinance institutions charging exorbitant, sky-high interest rates are rampant in the media. Looking at the facts and studying the alternatives, I believe the skepticism […]
MicroWHAT?? From Microfinance to Microinsurance.
As a social business dedicated to improving access to insurance among economically disadvantaged communities in the US and across the globe, Avana wants to raise awareness about the importance of microinsurance in development and poverty reduction. Our first several blog entries will be dedicated to answering some of your most commonly asked questions about the […]
Blog Action Day 2010: Could a floating brewery provide a business solution to water scarcity?
Without water there can be no beer. It might seem like an obvious statement, but the ability to get enough good quality water to make high quality beers over the coming decades is an issue that SABMiller is putting a lot of effort into. This week we unveiled some research that our technical team has […]