Empowering Poor Populations: How Business Can Transform Poverty Relief

empowering the poor through business - Portrait of a Latin American farmer working in agriculture at a farm and looking at the camera smiling

Freedom is Not Trusted When It Comes to the Poor Population, Let’s Change That with Business There has been a consensus that capitalism and the free market are not designed to overcome poverty. We need to overcome this belief. We celebrate the capitalist economic framework for its ability to improve the lives of the majority who […]

Redefining Women’s Leadership in the Garment Industry

Women and Garment Industry- Indian women in textiles factory with arms crossed

RISE: A Reflection on Women’s Advancement Beyond Supervisory Roles in the Garment Industry Key Points Women workers are underrepresented in leadership roles within factories in the Ready-made-Garment (RGM) supply chains Existing activities focused on workers’ and supervisors’ capacity building to promote women to supervisory roles don’t fully match the expectations of workers or address their […]

Achieving Decent Work and Economic Growth by 2030

Woman in shop holding mobile phone

Achieving Decent Work and Economic Growth by 2030: How Are Companies Making a Difference Through Payment Digitization? Responsible digitization of payments is helping companies around the world make progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set to be achieved in less than seven years. This is particularly important for small retailers, smallholder farmers and low-income workers with limited […]

Why Doesn’t the Private Sector Talk More About Socio-Economic Inequality?

White and blue high rise buildings near a body of water in the day time

The private sector has a responsibility – and, in the long term, arguably a commercial imperative – to tackle inequalities through the levers that it can pull directly: improving pay and working conditions, tackling inequalities in recruitment and promotion, encouraging workers to unionise, ensuring that their products and services are produced and priced fairly, and […]

Parents in the Workplace: Help Co-Create a New Tool for Employers

Parents in the Workplace: Father working from home hugging daughter

Employers rely on parents for a thriving workforce. Over 70% of all mothers with children under 18 in the US[i] and UK[ii] work. That number rises to over 90% of all fathers. Today’s workforce is made up of more people with dependent children than those without them. But most employers don’t do enough to support them—and mothers […]

The Kenyan woman changing young farmers’ futures

Twenty years ago, Victorine Atieno Owino began her career as a volunteer at the Ugunja Community Resource Center in southwest Kenya’s Siaya County. She filled her days organizing books as a librarian and handling paperwork as an administrative assistant, supporting the center’s work building the skills of local community members. But a common need began […]

Empowering underserved women around the globe

A look at inspiring inclusive business ventures and supporters to underserved women In Zambia, beekeeping used to be men’s work. Making beehives from barks and hanging them high up into trees requires strength. Later, farmers spend days in the fields to harvest honey. For women with children, this is hardly possible.  This is gradually changing. […]

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 […]

Five reasons why digital work may help promote inclusion of youth with disabilities

Digital jobs are opening up important new work opportunities for youth with disabilities in developing countries.  The COVID‒19 pandemic has accelerated the expansion of jobs which offer flexibility, accommodations for disability and functional access for remote communities. In our new report “Digital Jobs for Youth with Disabilities,” S4YE highlights strategies that programs have used to increase inclusion of […]

Sea freight strengthens Kenya-to-Europe flower supply chain

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, global supply chains were hit hard, affecting millions of workers across the globe. In the Kenyan floriculture sector, the subsequent 25-40% air freight reduction has meant lower export rates, a supply slowdown, and loss of jobs for thousands. At FlowerWatch, we’re involved in a project of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, […]

Over 300 practical tools to make your youth employment initiative a success

Youth unemployment in developing countries is a pressing problem – youth face multiple constraints that affect both their decision to enter the labor force and their access to employment. And the Covid-19 has further exacerbated these issues. According to the World Bank youth and women are particularly negaitively impacted by the effects of the pandemic. […]

Scalability, Sustainability and Participation in Value Chain

This is the second in a three part series, published in the lead up to Standard Chartered’s Futuremakers Forum online events 2020.  Join the conversation exploring innovative ideas and tangible solutions for financing young entrepreneurs. Supporting youth-led enterprises is good for business and vital for inclusive economic growth. According to the World Bank, SMEs represent […]

Businesses Share Employment Practices to Eradicate Poverty

Last Thursday was International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Whilst ending poverty is a motivating goal, it is not always clear how to work towards this lofty ambition through day-to-day business operations. In a new toolkit, Reducing Poverty through Employment, members of the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition (GISC) have collaborated to share their experience […]

A Conversation on The Future of Work at the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit

To mark the launch of a new Challenge supported by Walmart on the Future of Work, Enrique Ostalé, Regional CEO of UK, Latin America and Africa at Walmart International, and Zahid Torres-Rahman, Founder and CEO of Business Fights Poverty joined Brad Staples, CEO of APCO at Concordia’s 2019 Annual Summit, to speak about International Future […]

We Need a Reskilling Revolution. Here’s How to Make it Happen

As the world faces the transformative economic, social and environmental challenges of Globalization 4.0, it has never been more important to invest in people. Valuing human capital not only serves to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to respond to systemic shifts, it also empowers them to take part in creating a more equal, inclusive and […]

The Future of Work – A Social Challenge

“Worst case scenario: there simply won’t be enough jobs in the system in the future. Business cannot escape from this responsibility – we must join together to collectively take action, before this becomes a devastating social crisis.” Charles Tsai, Senior Manager, Fossil Foundation. If the transition to the future of work isn’t handled properly, trust […]

Galvanizing Businesses to Generate Positive Social Impact Through Impact Sourcing

Three months on from the launch of the Global Impact Sourcing Challenge, we are delighted by the outpouring of support from GISC members, over half of which have already responded. The Global Impact Sourcing Coalition (GISC), a business network creating jobs for those most in need through Impact Sourcing, challenged its members to hire 100,000 […]

Female Employees Fast Tracked From Line Workers to Supervisors

The readymade garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh is the greatest contributor to female employment in Bangladesh; over 3.2 million of its employees live at the bottom of the economic pyramid (defined as people with less than US$10 per day in purchasing power in 2015 US dollars). Recognising this, at DBL Group we have focused on […]