Using Inclusive Market Research to Advance Business and Development Outcomes

Honduras TMS woman in field farming

Collaboration between donors, development practitioners, and the private sector holds tremendous potential to enact positive social change. The private sector plays a vital role in driving economic growth, job creation, access to financial resources, and inclusive product design, all of which are essential components of promoting social inclusion and advancing women’s economic security. Recent research […]

Six Principles for Businesses to Drive Sustainable Behaviour Change in Low-Income Communities

Six Principles for Businesses to Drive Sustainable Behaviour Change in Low-Income Communities

Six Principles for Businesses to Drive Sustainable Behaviour Change in Low-Income Communities. Creating a more sustainable future for people and planet will require fundamental changes in attitudes and behaviours across society worldwide. This is no easy feat; altering behaviours is a long process, one which requires consistency and encouragement. Business plays an important role in […]

Five Years On, Have Companies Improved on Respecting Human Rights?

woman in field

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) recently published its its 5th iteration of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB). The 2022 benchmark scores and ranks 127 of the largest and most influential companies in the food and agricultural products, ICT manufacturing and automotive manufacturing sectors on their human rights commitments, due diligence processes, grievance mechanisms, supply […]

How to Build a Robust Human Rights System

“Some problems are just too complex for a simple solution. When it comes to human rights abuses, a punitive approach can drive the problem underground, making it even harder to address.” As a human rights specialist at the Rainforest Alliance, I have learned that creating an environment where farming communities feel supported to speak up […]

How Storytelling Can Paint a Full Picture of Impact for Businesses 

Group of people walking in hard hats and overalls at work

Across the globe, inclusive businesses are making differences in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable – from empowering rural women to improving access to education. However, plain numbers struggle to capture the breadth of important work they are doing to investors, potential partners, and the people they aim to help the most. To bring […]

Five Lessons from Ten Corporate-Charity Partnerships

In one of my series of articles about progress on eliminating world poverty in the last 25 years, I talked about why it’s not just about official aid. Government policy and the private sector really matter too. At CARE I worked with ten of the UK’s largest FTSE100 companies. And I gave a couple of […]

New Research Reveals the Benefits and Costs of Gender-Smart Technical Assistance to SMEs and Investors

Woman smiling, Selling Banana's on a stall

Gender lens investing includes three key entry points for investors: (1) providing capital to women-led/founded companies and/or gender-forward businesses; (2) applying a gender lens to the investment cycle, such as during pipeline development; and (3) funding and supporting the design and implementation of gender-inclusive technical assistance (TA) activities. Investors often focus on the first two […]