Investing in Better Housing can Build the Resilience of 40% of the World’s Population
Global investment is falling well short of the needs of those living in vulnerable housing. Current estimates predict an annual need of $3 to 4 trillion globally to achieve adequate housing for all, which will be particularly important for the 1 billion people living in informal housing. Those living in informal housing – that is, […]
Empowering the Next Generation: The Future of Youth Entrepreneurship
At Youth Business International (YBI), the only organisation dedicated to youth entrepreneurship on a global scale, we believe that young entrepreneurs are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they’re the changemakers of today. In our rapidly evolving world, young people are stepping up as innovators, driving social change, and forging paths in entrepreneurship like never […]
From Waste to Wonder: Empowering Global Education and Transforming Lives
Redefining Waste: Turning Corporate Surplus into Lifelines for Communities in Need In today’s world, where the effects of climate change and social inequality are increasingly evident, the need for innovative and sustainable solutions is more critical than ever. Environmental degradation and the widening gap between social inequalities pose significant challenges to our collective future. Waste […]
Afro-futurist Innovators Know What We Should Build Next
How might philanthropy shift if we framed Black economic mobility as an inherent right and a collective responsibility? Might we, as funders, abandon “risk” terminology to automatically recognize Black, African, and diaspora founders’ expertise and authority? Might we trust Black and diaspora leaders’ advocacy of their communities’ real needs, widely supporting proximate leaders to author […]
Social Entrepreneurs Advancing the SDGs Through Systems Change Strategies
How Social Entrepreneurs Advance Sustainable Development Goals in Africa Through Systems Change Strategies Despite significant progress in the alleviation of poverty and in promoting health and education, recent reports indicate that the international community seems far from achieving the SDGs by 2030. In the 2022 SDG report, the United Nations Secretary General has called for […]
10 Businesses Making the SDGs their Business
Some of the best ideas and boldest actions are coming from entrepreneurs and start-ups embedded in low-income communities. These disruptors are driving innovations that are tackling environmental challenges, improving people’s health and building inclusive economies. Investing and learning from them is one of the best ways to accelerate sustainable development. This is the purpose of […]
Making the Care Economy Everyone’s Business
Take our survey to help us better understand business motivations for addressing the care economy and how entrepreneurs innovating in this space could support your business. Are you an FMCG company, concerned about the double day women in your supply chain are working – at the factory and then at home. What does this do […]
Six ways social entrepreneurs can step up to help refugees
Half of refugees in the UK struggle to get employed. What can those of us working in the social impact space do to help them find meaningful work? In the recent WISE Ways to Lead webinar, hosted in partnership with NatWest, we heard from social enterprises working with refugees to answer just that. Read on […]
NaTakallam – where language learning meets social impact for refugees
Today, there are over 100 million forcibly displaced people in the world. They face not only the loss of assets and livelihood but also of their agency. Mobilizing displaced individuals to regain their agency and earn an income is at the heart of NaTakallam’s mission. However, xenophobia is becoming more widespread – given a microphone […]
Boda Boda, Economic Development and the Future of Work
The term BodaBoda originated from Busia County, Kenya in the late 80s. It was used to refer to bicycle taxis that drove passengers and light luggage across the border town of Malaba. The cyclists of these taxis would shout, “Border!Border!Border……” to attract those that were heading towards the Ugandan border. Thus the adoption of the […]
Are you a social innovator working to increase access to healthcare? Apply now!
Health expenditures push an estimated 100 million people worldwide into extreme poverty every year; Only 290 million people worldwide (less than 4% of the world population) have access to Universal Health Coverage; According to the World Health Organization, the number of individuals that suffered financial hardship from healthcare payments increased in the last decade; The […]
Seeking entrepreneurs and SMEs that are innovating in the care economy
The entire global economic system relies on care giving – the millions of unrecognised and under-valued hours spent ensuring offices are cleaned, children and the elderly are taken care of, and food is prepared for families and workers. Usually this type of work is viewed as a ‘burden’, and a barrier to women’s economic empowerment, […]
Failing to Win: Lessons from an entrepreneur who went ‘all in’
After backpacking across Africa in search of changemakers building scalable, high-impact businesses, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn convinced his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000 to co-found Zoona, one of the continent’s earliest fintechs. That risk paid off big time, as Zoona went on to process $2.5 billion of transactions and generate […]
Growing Haiti’s food systems with determination and partners
Even before the novel coronavirus became a global threat, the United Nations had dire predictions for Haiti in 2020. A UN humanitarian agency report in December 2019 forecast that within months 40 percent of Haitians would “require urgent humanitarian assistance.” Causes included political upheaval, insecurity and rising food prices. Adding a pandemic to the mix […]
How Can Businesses Support Economic Inclusion for People in Extreme Poverty?
Before COVID-19, over 700 million people worldwide were living in extreme poverty. The pandemic could push an additional 150 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2021. People experiencing extreme poverty already have limited access to health care, food, clean water, and public services. They face obstacles in accessing markets, employment opportunities, and […]
Women entrepreneurs make changing norms the new norm
As we’ve noted before, success in the social sector is usually seen as “scaling out” — as described by Iman Bibars, regional director of Ashoka Arab World. This male-dominated “franchise model” often results in big budgets and large numbers of beneficiaries. But many women take a different, incredibly successful approach: “scaling deep.” “When women adopt a […]
What are the innovations that could shape and transform the next decade?
The essential systems transformations that sit at the heart of the delivery of the SDGs will all depend on innovation: in decarbonization technologies, transport technologies, in preventative healthcare and in gene technologies, materials and materials reuse, in building design, building use and reuse, in sanitation and in the sanitation economy, in agricultural practices, food storage […]
Five Questions on Partnership with the Pollinate Group
1.What is Pollinate Group’s business model? Pollinate Group is a social enterprise with a mission to empower women as leaders of change to distribute products that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities. It was established in Bangalore in 2013, and later expanded to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kanpur and Lucknow. […]
From Suicidal Depression to Social Entrepreneur: Creating a New $bn Industry for Rural Africa
15 years ago I was working in the London advertising industry, promoting products I didn’t believe in for clients who didn’t appreciate it. I ended up asking myself ‘What am I doing with my life?’ The lack of a sense of true purpose and meaning in my life lead me into a downward spiral and, […]
New Fund to Address Social Isolation Through Technology Closing Soon
Social isolation is a major public health concern, affecting people of many backgrounds, ages, locations and socio-economic circumstances. Research has shown that this issue can be linked to poor physical and mental health as well as potentially negative effects on communities. And those effects are felt most by those communities affected by additional challenges such […]
