Case Studies Archives

In Benin, Young Entrepreneurs are Tackling the Plastic Problem

Through TechnoServe’s BeniBiz program, young entrepreneurs like Babatundé Oguidi are getting the training and technical advice they need to run successful micro-enterprises.

Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

May 21, 2019

Making Supply Chains Safe for Women Workers: Where Compliance Programs End, Supplier Relationships Matter

The Guardian reported on a recent study that “Nearly half (43.1%) of 763 women interviewed in factories in three Vietnamese provinces said they had suffered at least one form of violence and/or harassment in the previous year”. The question is how buyers and suppliers address this issue?

Gender

May 21, 2019

Smallholder Coffee Producer Organisations Can Thrive as International Businesses

Smallholders produce around 80% of the world’s coffee and brands rely on them for a steady supply. Yet, smallholder producer organisations (SPOs) have been tarnished with the image of being disorganised and slow. At Twin, we know that SPOs can thrive as international businesses that create sustainable supply chains. In our latest report, we demonstrate how.

Agriculture

May 15, 2019

Competing in the Digital Age – Building Job Opportunities in Uganda and Kenya

By 2022 Uganda’s ICT industry is projected to hit US$1.1Bn, and Kenya’s US$1.7Bn and will create around 40,000 new jobs. But, this is not enough to keep pace with the global expansion of the industry. While technology has the potential to tackle youth unemployment in Africa, the lack of qualified workers in Kenya and Uganda risks holding these sectors back.

Technology, Youth

May 14, 2019

Gender Equality: Closing the Gap in the Private Sector Around the World

Investing in women has several business benefits – from financial performance to innovation. And companies have made a significant progress on equality in recent years. But are we doing enough to empower women while building business value globally?

Gender, Innovative Business Models

May 7, 2019

New Ideas are Essential to Ward off Global Water Shortage Threat

Katharine Teague, Head of Advocacy at AB Sugar, explains why one of the world’s leading sugar businesses has created The Innovate Irrigation Challenge in partnership with WaterAid and the Centre for Industrial Sustainability at the University of Cambridge.

Agriculture, Water and Sanitation

May 7, 2019

Giving Women Better Access to Finance Could Unlock $330 Billion in Annual Global Revenue

Giving women better access to finance could unlock $330 billion in annual global revenue. Yet 80% of women-owned businesses are not getting the credit they need. In response, CARE International has launched a campaign calling on the financial sector to develop products and services that are specifically designed to meet the needs of marginalised women.

Finance and Investment, Gender, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

May 3, 2019

People Power Fighting Malaria in Tanzania

Jacob is on the front line of the fight against malaria in Tanzania. He has been leading a project, supported by Comic Relief and GSK, to train hundreds of volunteers to help equip communities with life-saving knowledge to help beat the disease. The progress they have made in just two years is incredible.

Health, Partnerships

April 25, 2019

Practical Action and the IKEA Foundation: Can Small Holder Farming Really Work for Some of the World’s Poorest?

Practical Action and the IKEA Foundation have launched a new partnership worth €6.4million. The partnership will work with 6,000 young smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. Currently, half of the world’s small holder farmers go hungry. The partnership aims to develop the learning and evidence to demonstrate that sustainable farming can provide decent livelihoods whilst protecting the environment.

Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Climate Justice

April 24, 2019

Water-Wise Coffee: Making Sustainable Business Profitable in Ethiopia

As greater traceability and ever-growing consumer interest in coffee origins increase the incentives for sustainable production, more opportunities to align profits and sustainability will emerge. If we are innovative and approach problems from a business perspective, we can help the supply chain grow even greener.

Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Water and Sanitation

April 24, 2019

WE SOLVE: A Unique Partnership Creates Jobs for Women and Breaks the Barriers to Clean Energy

The Arusha region is home to Tanzania’s nomadic Maasai and other communities who farm and herd in the plains around Mount Meru. Communities here face life without light as soon as the sun sets, meaning that kids can’t play in the streets or study and families are often dependent on expensive and toxic fuel-powered resources to do their daily chores. It is also here that women are seeking a livelihood so they can take care of their families.

Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Gender, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

April 22, 2019

We Learned Simple Ways to Improve the Local Environment and Our Income

In the Nawa region in Côte d’Ivoire, Mondelēz International’s Cocoa Life partners with Impactum and CARE International to engage women and address climate change and deforestation through a Green Entrepreneurship pilot project. They are helping women learn the knowledge and skills needed to create a sustainable future for cocoa farming communities, and generate income for themselves and their communities.

Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Gender

April 10, 2019

How is Cross-Sector Collaboration Driving Transformative Social Impact in the Luxury Industry?

Partnership overview: For Burberry, modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. Key to this agenda is supporting diverse communities around the world that sustain the company’s supply chain, which means partnering for the long-term with NGOs like Oxfam to ensure quality livelihoods for those communities. But how does this work in practice?

Innovative Business Models, Partnerships

April 10, 2019

Helping Women Thrive: Give a Loan, Create a Community Role Model

Worldwide, women have much less economic opportunity, security, and freedom, but microloans help women obtain capital they otherwise would not have access to. This support allows women to start their own businesses, go to school and invest in the health of their communities and families, creating a ripple effect in which entire societies thrive and women are regarded as role models and leaders.

Finance and Investment, Gender

April 3, 2019

Claims, Credibility and Landscape Approaches

As the rates of climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss continue to increase, the urgency to address these sustainability challenges grows. In recent years, landscape and jurisdictional approaches have become an increasingly popular response to these challenges. Patrick Mallet, Innovations Director at ISEAL, and Akiva Fishman, Senior Program Officer at World Wildlife Fund, discuss what credible assurance at a landscape level looks like.

Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Governance and Transparency

April 1, 2019

Celebrating IWD 2019: M&S Joins Better Than Cash Alliance

M&S has made a bold commitment to helping its supply chain convert from cash to digital wage payments, but they recognise they can’t do this alone. In this article, M&S celebrates what can be achieved through collaboration with partnerships, other businesses and NGOs.

Finance and Investment, Gender, Partnerships

March 21, 2019

How Can We Address the Global Sanitation Challenge? Insights from “Make a Splash! Toilets for All”

Japan’s maker of water and housing products, LIXIL, has invested in a sustainable social business – SATO – to help bring affordable toilets to those that need them. In 2018, their work on SATO led them to a new partnership, “Make a Splash! Toilets for All” with UNICEF to tackle the global sanitation challenge. How did this partnership evolve and what has been learnt along the way?

Innovative Business Models, Partnerships, Water and Sanitation

March 11, 2019

Spearheading Change within the Chocolate Industry to Protect the Forests where Cocoa is Grown

Forests in cocoa-growing areas are essential to our chocolate. They make cocoa farms more productive through diversification and providing shade, and help absorb carbon emissions, helping create a balanced ecosystem in farming communities. Unfortunately, these forests are under threat. Deforestation is a pressing issue that the industry has a responsibility to address.

Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Climate Justice

March 11, 2019

Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Needs to Start at Home

Before promoting women’s empowerment abroad, NGOs should ensure that their own staff and operations reflect gender development goals through awareness training, affirmative hiring practices, and demonstrated leadership as well as implementing practical solutions in the workplace like childcare assistance, flexible schedules, and remote work options.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Gender

March 11, 2019

Businesses for impact in the spotlight: 4 insights into transforming access to financial services in Nepal

How can technology be used to create inclusive financial infrastructure for women in remote communities? The Palladium-run SPRING Accelerator supports entrepreneurs who can bring products and services to adolescent girls. Read an interview with Accelerator participant, Amit Agrawal, CEO of Janaki Technology Pvt. Ltd., about his journey towards increasing financial inclusion for women in Nepal.

Finance and Investment, Gender, Technology

March 7, 2019