BUSINESS FIGHTS POVERTY GLOBAL SUMMIT 2021
Session Recordings
MON 13 JUN
POVERTY
Understanding the latest poverty trends and drivers.


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WELCOME | ONLINE

1.30 - 2.00 PM BST
8.30 - 9.00 AM ET

What are the poverty drivers and priorities for business action?

Welcome by Zahid and Yvette Torres-Rahman, Founders, Business Fights Poverty

Followed by a Fireside Chat with:

Jane Nelson, Director, Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School

Jason Channell, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, Citi Global Insights

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FULL RECORDING
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WEBINAR | ONLINE

2.00 - 3.00 PM BST
9.00 - 10.00 AM ET

How can businesses tackle the new wave of poverty?

This session will explore the role business can play in tackling the new wave of poverty. What are the current poverty trends, and how businesses can use a multidimensional approach to poverty to respond? What is the role of collaborative action to tackle the deep systemic issues that drive poverty? Why should businesses take action and what lessons have we learned that could help others take action?

Speakers:

Anouk Heilen, Global Sustainability Director, Social Equity and Inclusion, Unilever

Jamie Coats, Co-Founder, SOPHIA Oxford

Catalina Garcia, Global Director of Corporate Affairs, AB InBev and Board Director, AB InBev Foundation

Pablo Del Valle, Citi Country Officer, Citi Colombia

Katie Hyson, Director, Thought Leadership, Business Fights Poverty (moderator)

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SUMMARY AND RECORDING
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WORKSHOP
IN-PERSON AND ONLINE

3.30 - 5.00 PM BST
10.30 AM - 12.00 PM ET

How do we work together to tackle multidimensional poverty?

This session will explore how we can work together - across business, government and civil society to tackle multidimensional poverty. How does your organisation think about poverty in your sustainability strategies and what lessons have you learnt about measuring progress? How does your organisation take action in tackling poverty and what lessons have you learnt from success or failure about having an effective impact? What examples of partnerships are you working in to tackle poverty, and what have you learnt about the factors behind a successful / unsuccessful partnership?

Lead Discussants:

Clive Allison, Global Sustainability Director, TRANSFORM, Unilever

Ian White, Special Representative, UK & Ireland, The World Bank

Myriam Sidibé, Founder, Brands on a Mission

Pamela Molina, Manager, CSR, Agrolibano

Tijana Williams, Director, NTD Access Programmes, Global Health, GSK

Valeria Gomez Palacios, Nicaragua, Co-Founder, Global Emergency Response and Assistance, One Young World and European Commission Peace Ambassador

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SUMMARY AND RECORDING
TUE 14 JUN
EQUITY
Addressing the inequities that underpin poverty.


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WELCOME | ONLINE

1.30 - 2.00 PM BST
8.30 - 9.00 AM ET

How can business tackle inequality?

Hosted with WBCSD

Welcome by Zahid and Yvette Torres-Rahman, Founders, Business Fights Poverty

Followed by a Fireside Chat with the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality

Peter Bakker, President and CEO, WBCSD

Ilham Kadri. CEO Solvay and Chair, WBCSD

Yvette Torres-Rahman, Co-Founder & CFO, Business Fights Poverty

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WEBINAR | ONLINE

2.00 - 3.00 PM BST
9.00 - 10.00 AM ET

How can business support the economic inclusion of LGBTI people and persons with disabilities in emerging markets?

This session, hosted with IFC, will explore how business can support the economic inclusion of LGBTI people and persons with disabilities in emerging markets. What are some recent examples businesses focusing on the inclusion of LGBTI people and persons with disabilities as employees and as customers, and what is driving this? What are some good practices that others can adopt? What are some lessons learned on this inclusion journey, and what more does the business community need to do? The session will draw on new research by IFC on the role of inclusive banking in supporting employees and customers. Available at www.ifc.org/lgbti and www.ifc.org/disability 

Hosted with IFC


Speakers:

Fiona MacDonald, Diversity & Inclusion Lead,Talent & Culture, ANZ

Kelly Widelska, Economic Inclusion Advisor, IFC

Philip Crehan, Founder, Eolas Consulting and Senior Advisor, Center for Values in International Development

Simon Brown, Senior Global Technical Lead for Economic Empowerment, Sightsavers

Rudaba Zehra Nasir, Global Lead, Economic Inclusion, IFC (moderator)

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WORKSHOP
IN-PERSON AND ONLINE

3.30 - 5.00 PM BST
10.30 AM - 12.00 PM ET

What difference does tackling restrictive gender norms make to micro-enterprise and other social impact programmes?

Hosted with Hand in Hand International

Gender norms restrict the lives of women and girls across the world. Drawing on new research and key learnings from micro-enterprise programmes in Kenya, Tanzania and Afghanistan, we demonstrate how practical interventions that challenge accepted attitudes can empower women to earn and control their own incomes and have their say in and outside the home.

Join us online for this hybrid interactive session to find out why tackling gender norms is worthwhile and the practical interventions needed to empower women and support women's micro-enterprises.

Lead Discussants:

Aatif Somji, Senior Research Officer, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, ODI

Amalia Johnsson, Director of Programmes, Hand in Hand International

Dorothea Arndt, CEO, Hand in Hand

Jane Sabuni, CEO, Hand in Hand

Elizabeth Githinji,
Customer Development, Leader-Maua
Mars Wrigley

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SUMMARY AND RECORDING
WED 15 JUN
RESILIENCE
Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable people and communities.
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WELCOME | ONLINE

1.30 - 2.00 PM BST
8.30 - 9.00 AM ET

How do we build a living wage movement?

Welcome by Zahid and Yvette Torres-Rahman, Founders, Business Fights Poverty

Followed by a Fireside Chat with:

Marina Leal, Sustainability and Human Rights Manager, Natura &Co

Anna Barford, Prince of Wales Fellow in Pathways to a Circular Economy, supported by Unilever, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

Annabel Beales, Director, Learning and Engagement, Business Fights Poverty

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WEBINAR | ONLINE

2.00 - 3.00 PM BST
9.00 - 10.00 AM ET

How do we apply a climate justice lens to build business and community resilience?

This session, hosted with Change by Degrees, will explore how businesses can put people at the heart of their climate actions. What does climate justice as a term mean, and what is the latest thinking on equity, justice and climate resilience? How can a climate justice approach based on participation and human rights enable the communities to be at the forefront of solutions? What have we learnt about the action businesses can take, individually and in partnership with others?

Hosted with Change by Degrees


Speakers:

Andrew Hunt, Co-Founder and CEO, Aduna

Tara Shine, Co-CEO, Change by Degrees

Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Founder and CEO, The Green Protector

Sheena Susan Varghese, President, High-Range Organic Woman Fairtrade Farmers’ Association (HOWFFA)

Alice Allan, Collaboration Director, Business Fights Poverty (moderator)

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WORKSHOP
IN-PERSON AND ONLINE

3.30 - 5.00 PM BST
10.30 AM - 12.00 PM ET

How can business best support the livelihoods of refugees?

This session, hosted with Visa, will explore how businesses can best support the livelihoods of refugees. What models of engagement of the business community to support refugees in the immediate and longer-term are showing promise and can be scaled? What is needed to take action to the next level, what are the bottlenecks and how can we overcome them?

Hosted with Visa Inc


Lead Discussants:

Noor Alkasseer, Arabic Language Partner, NaTakallam

Hamze Ghalebi, Founder and CEO, Remotion and former President, SINGA

Katherine Brown, VP, Inclusive Impact, Visa Inc

Michel Botzung, Manager, IFC

Scarlet Cronin, Senior Director of Global Partnerships, Tent

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SUMMARY AND RECORDING
COVID, conflict and climate change are among a confluence of challenges driving a tsunami of poverty that is already crashing into the lives of vulnerable people and communities around the world. 
The World Bank estimates that the pandemic, inflationary pressures and the impact of the war in Ukraine, will push an additional 75 million to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year, compared to pre-pandemic projections.

The Business Fights Poverty Global Summit explored these trends and deep-dived into how driving equity and building the resilience of people and communities are key to fighting poverty across its many dimensions.

We tapped into the latest thinking on the role that businesses can play, alongside governments and civil society, and heard directly from leading business practitioners and international development experts.

According to the UN, COVID may have set back progress in tackling global poverty by nearly ten years. Together with conflict and climate change, the world faces a huge wave of poverty on a scale that we haven’t seen in a generation.

This Summit gave us a chance to share insights, build new connections and identify new opportunities to collaborate on this urgent issue.

Access Insights.
Build Relationships.
Drive Collaboration.

The three-day Summit included highly interactive sessions that brought together voices and insights from across the globe, from business, NGOs, academia and government. We shared the latest thinking on the role of business in driving equity, building resilience and fighting poverty. We deepened connections and built new relationships to drive forward collaborative action.

We got the chance to:


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Hear about the latest trends in poverty, and what role business can play, alongside government and civil society.
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Access the latest practical insights from real-world examples of businesses taking action on equity, resilience and poverty so that you can scale the impact of your own efforts.
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Tap into current thinking and best-practice lessons on priorities for collaborative action, and identify new connections to take forward your own partnerships.
Watch the video for a selection of Global Summit participant quotes from across our community and learn about their priorities for fighting poverty.
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Learning Resources Supported by
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REPORTS & FRAMEWORKS

Briefing Paper: The Poverty Tsunami

COVID, conflict and climate change are among a confluence of challenges driving a tsunami of poverty that is already crashing into the lives of vulnerable people and communities around the world. This briefing explores these trends and the role businesses can and should play.

The Case for Living Wages

A report on how paying living wages throughout core operations and the value chain strengthens business performance, resilience and stability, while delivering measurable social impact and enabling businesses to more effectively deliver on human and labour rights obligations. Published with Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Development and Shift, with support from Unilever.

Climate Justice: Key Insights From the Online Forum Discussions

A summary of a series of online forum discussions about how business can put people at the heart of their climate actions. The series also covered the role of education and skills in the just transition and how thinking about diversity and inclusion can help spread the burdens and benefits of climate action.

Rebuild Better Framework

A framework for action that builds on the COVID-19 Response Framework to highlight ways in which business can help rebuild better from the pandemic. With the Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School and UK Aid.

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COMMUNITY ARTICLES

It’s time to collect more and better gender-disaggregated supply chain data

By Peter Bakker, President & CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

As more and more boardrooms have sustainability at the top of their to do lists, Peter Bakker, President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), warns that if tackling inequality is not a key part of your plans, your sustainability efforts will fail, and your business will suffer. | READ ARTICLE

The Global Impact of War in Ukraine

By Christopher Borthwick, Senior Private Sector Partnerships Specialist, ActionAid UK

Businesses responded to war in Ukraine by providing unprecedented support to people fleeing, but war is increasing food and energy prices, pushing families to the brink of survival elsewhere. Businesses must protect communities in their supply chains by preparing them to respond to disaster. In today’s globalised economy, this can benefit us all. | READ ARTICLE

Driving Social Entrepreneurship and Nature Conservation in Mexico

By Hina West, WWF International

The Copalita-Zimatán-Huatulco watershed in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico is home to one third of the country’s biodiversity and equally rich in culture. Zapotec indigenous communities have lived in the upper and middle parts of the watershed for centuries, since pre-Hispanic times. Read how indigenous Women from this region are driving social entrepreneurship and nature conservation. | READ ARTICLE

Are you integrating your brand purpose into tangible strategic action?

By Justin DeKoszmovszky, Archipel&Co

What’s the point of an inspiring brand purpose if it doesn’t translate into meaningful action? The key is moving beyond words and theory, embedding your purpose in your core business to deliver quantifiable, sustainable business and social impact. We explore strategies to get there, including purpose-to-action pointers you can implement now. | READ ARTICLE

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PODCASTS

David Grayson, Chris Coulter and Mark Lee, The Sustainable Business Handbook

David, Mark and Chris provide us with frank updates on where business social and environmental impacts have gotten to. And together they share their insight into how we can all help businesses to take impact. | LISTEN TO PODCAST

Clive Allison and Nivedha RM

Reaching a point where our world is sustainable – where people and our planet are safe and secure is arguably the toughest journey we face. The saying goes – ‘If you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.’ My social impact pioneer guests know all about partnering to go far… meet Clive Allison and Nivedha RM. | LISTEN TO PODCAST

Ashley Onyango

Ashley explores the positive impacts of mobile money and examines the challenges that remain.| LISTEN TO PODCAST

About Us
We are a global community of people, companies and organisations passionate about building an equitable and resilient future.

We believe in the power of business to help improve the lives, livelihoods and learning opportunities of the most vulnerable people and communities.

We know that driving system-level change for a better future requires people to unite across traditional divides and come together in fresh and creative ways.

We curate purposeful collaboration to help companies and their partners access the insights and relationships they need to unlock new opportunities for business and social impact.

Join us. We are Business Fights Poverty.


Business Fights Poverty is proud to be a Founding UK B Corp.

© 2022 Business Fights Poverty. The Business Fights Poverty logo and tree device are registered trademarks. View Terms and Conditions.
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